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[seanross]

Being new to shooting, I am in the process of working out a grip.  I have a relative who is a SWAT team commander in Farmington, NM, so I asked him to show me how he shoots a pistol, which he was glad to do.

His two hand grip is with thumbs high and parallel, so the dominant thumb is above the thumb safety and the non-dominant thumb along side or above the slide release.  He holds his thumbs parallel (ie. not crossed) and extends the dominant arm then pulls in with the non-dominant arm to create kind of an isometric tension.  It works fairly well.  On my first day firing an H&K 45, I was able to get a decent grouping at 8 yards or so.  Even so, the grip feels fairly awkward and the recoil of the pistol causes the slide release to gauge into my thumb.

Since I am new to the process, I wanted to do a little exploration.  Most German guns have some ribbing placed along the front of the trigger guard.  I have been firing my airsoft Sig replica with the non-dominant forefinger on the front of the trigger guard.  I initiially gripped my H&K the same way and was quickly corrected.  I didn't think it appropriate for a newbie to debate an experienced shooter on how to grip a pistol, but I was still wondering why all the German guns have the ribbing along the front of the trigger guard if it was such a bad idea.

Does anyone have any resources on various ways to grip a pistol?  I would kind of like to explore various methods before deciding which one is right for me.

[Hock]

Sean, before you get a lot of technical answers? Remember that all guns are different and all hand sizes are different. A point most always overlooked by mindless range instructors.

Right there in your home state a trooper pulled up to police shooting, got out of his prowl car, pulled his gun under great stress and, did his "both thumbs pointing forward" trained thing. His trigger finger went a hair too deep inside the trigger guard and his shooting thumb tip landed on his other thumb tip! For a second or two, he could not pull the trigger! And he told me he thought he had a malfunction. Then he figure out what happened.

Luck! The fight was over but his big hands on the small gun, mixed with required hand grip training? Didn't fit him.

Your best thumb position may come from your personal experimentation rather than some standard doctrine. I think I wrote about this in the Training Mission One, the  gun chapter.

I always let people shoot a bit first and I see what they are doing, then make my suggestions. (did I say "always?"... that should be "use to." Actually, I now farm out range instruction to people I trust who are range vets.

Steve Krystek told me you are going out to Vegas this January for the camp and his advice will be absolutely excellent.

Thumbs up! (well...you know what I mean!)
Hock 

[Professor]

Steve Krystek told me you are going out to Vegas this January for the camp and his advice will be absolutely excellent.

Thumbs up! (well...you know what I mean!)
Hock 

Steve will advise you to shoot the same way for most semi-auto pistols.   The H&K .45 shoots very well in this manner, but you need large hands....It really depends on the pistol and the shooter...and a good instructor to know the difference....Steve can certainly help you with it.

Jeff

[gumbey]

for two handed stances, i utilize both the weaver (bladed) and isosceles (squared) stance. the grip you are using in which both thumbs are parallel with the pistol i use when doing the isosceles. perhaps, another way to maintain control of the pistol is with the weak thumb placed on top of the strong thumb, which enhances more control over the pistol. this is mostly  taught to beginners or first time shooters in the military. it's up to you, but from personal experience and experimentation, i prefer using this kind of grip when shooting with the weaver stance. then again, another factor, as stated by others previously, can also be the makeup of the pistol. hope this helps.

[CQCTI Director]

Hi Sean,

Since you stated you're new to shooting, I thought I would throw in one point.  You may know this already, but it's worth mentioning.  Begin working the single-hand grip or shooting with just one hand, right from the beginning.  Many, if not all of us, make the range mistake of concentrating on two-handed grips only.  While two-handed grips are important, when the feces hits the fan (i.e. - real bullets flying), the majority of people find themselves shooting one handed and moving.  We also may be shoving people out of the way, opening doors while searching, carrying flashlights in low light conditions, etc...

On the lighter side, it would solve the parrallel or thumbs crossed issue. 

Jim