Grip firmness for best shooting

[Questor]

How do you grip your handguns for best combination of accuracy and control?

[Swamp Yankee]

Questor,
     I use a med. grim but have a nasty habit of rapping my thumb around with to much presure. When the groups go bad I have to remind myself to let up and thing usually return to nornal....Jim

[Heavy C]

Questor,

I use a light to medium grip.  It mainly depend on the handgun and the caliber.  If I'm shooting my High Standard 22 it is definitely a light grip.  Super Blackhawk 44 mag or my Contender in 7-30 Waters definitely the upper end of the medium.

[williamlayton]

I take a tip from the golf grip.
A light grip is a lot stonger than most would think. A light grip takes a lot of stress out of the small muscles.
A light grip allows the recoil to be more easily absorbed and quicker return to target.
Now, I am not talking a limp wrist or grip.
When I swing a putter the grip would almost seem to float in my hand but it is firmer than it would seem.
When I swing a driver or other club at 80 or 90% of my strength the grip pressure is light, taking the small muscles out of it and allowing faster swing speeds--yet the club never leaves my hand and gives me better control of the clubhead than a death grip. The muscles just react quicker.
NOW, the longer I shoot the stronger the grip becomes and tension builds. Just a natural thing that one has to think about and take a little more time between shots to relax a bit.
Blessings

[Graybeard]

I voted for your second category Light (just enough to keep gun in hand, plus a little more) as best fitting my way of gripping a handgun. It is why me and single actions get along no better than we do. If they have much recoil my grip is so light the hammer gets me pretty badly during recoil unless I alter my normal grip. With double action guns which aren't made to roll in the hand it's no problem.

Over the years I've found this gives me my best accuracy.

[jro45]

I voted Firm grip but I don't shoot to many handguns that don't recoil alot. Like the S&W 500,
44 mag., the 45/70 to name a few.

[Lloyd Smale]

depends on the gun. Id say for most a good firm grip but when shooting a real big gun like a 475 or a 500 you need to take a very firm girp on it or you will wear the sight in your forehead. Believe me ive been there more then once and it hurts!

[Arc Angel]

How do you grip your handguns for best combination of accuracy and control?

 
Actually this is a hot topic on several other gun boards right now.  Mas Ayoob recommends a, ‘crush grip’; he is not, however, adamant about it.  An early film of the legendary pistol sharpshooter Ed McGivern shows him holding his pistols with just enough force to hit what he is aiming at.  Me?  I hold my pistols with a firm grip that, if I were younger, might be more forceful.  It is not so much important to me how hard or soft I hold a pistol; it’s more important for me to grasp the pistol exactly the same way every time I pull the trigger. 

Don’t, ‘lemon squeeze’ a pistol.  Hold it, instead, between the front strap and the back strap as if the handgun were a loose pack of playing cards that you were holding only by the edges.  Remember to keep your thumb(s) pointed forward, too. 

There are two cardinal pressure points on a pistol frame where the maximum amount of force must be applied in order to stabilize the front sight (muzzle) and hold the pistol steady as the sear releases.  If these points are focused on AND maintained all sorts of shooting problems (misses) can be avoided. 

The first spot is on the front strap - immediately under the trigger guard.  This spot has to be firmly pressed into.  The second spot is the most important; it varies from pistol to pistol; but, generally, it is located about halfway up the backstrap.  If you don’t control this spot, then, your shots are going to wander with most of them dropping on the sear release. 

The knack?  Press firmly on both of these spots with your gripping hand.  You’ll know you’ve got it right when the front sight has a slight tendency to lift as you apply pressure.  Personally, I believe it is impossible to become truly competent with a pistol – and stay that way - unless you regularly dry-fire.  Snap caps are as necessary as live ammunition; in fact, snap caps will prevent you from wasting 100’s of live rounds on confusing practice. 

Here's my money where my mouth is!    

12 Yard, Rapid Fire: 



 

 

16 Yard, (Really) Rapid Fire:  (Had the, 'rhythm' going!)   

 

20 Yard, (Really) Rapid Fire: 

 

Now that I've got your attention, would you like to look at a few baby pictures of my grandchildren?   

[corbanzo]

I like to use a medium soft grip, if I grip to hard, I always seem to turn a little bit when sqeezing the trigger.  I know that the gun can shoot, so I let it shoot, it might snap back in the hand a little bit more, but the bullet is already gone by then. 

[PaulS]

As long as you don't drop your gun when it goes "BOOM" and you can get it back on target quickly with the same grip each time then you are holding it with the right grip.
The guy next to you may be holding it like if he let up it would blow the earth up and on the other side he's holding it like a piece of china. All three of you are holding it right if you are shooting what you aim at and as quickly as you need.