How To Improve Handgun Grip For Increased Accuracy In All Shooting Competitions
When competing in shooting disciplines, competitors’ accuracy and precision are frequently tested. Handguns are commonly used in several shooting disciplines, meaning that perfecting your grip is essential for achieving the best possible results.
Knowing how to grip a handgun is essential to help you increase your precision and accuracy in any shooting discipline.
At RangeCraft, we advise you on how to properly grip a handgun and warn you about common mistakes to avoid to help increase your accuracy in shooting competitions.
How to properly grip a handgun
When participating in competition shooting that requires you to fire multiple shots at targets, a perfect handgun grip is crucial for maximising your performance. There are key points to remember when gripping a handgun, as having a proper grip can help you improve your accuracy and precision.
Hand and thumb placement
Your handgun must be properly aligned to ensure the best possible shooting accuracy. Your handgun in your dominant hand should be lined up with your forearm to reduce the impact of recoil. Aligning your handgun with your forearm will ensure sufficient support to control the handgun’s recoil fully.
You should align the web of your dominant hand high along the backstrap of your handgun, in addition to lining up your handgun with your forearm. With your non-dominant hand, tilt your wrist forward without losing touch with your dominant hand’s base. This will help you to lock your wrists in place and decrease recoil.
Locking elbows
It is recommended that you keep your elbows slightly bent when shooting to help reduce the effect of recoil. Allowing your elbows to bend slightly when shooting will minimise the effect of recoil in the shoulders, meaning you can keep your handgun level.
If you lock your arms by extending them straight out, the full effect of the recoil will be diverted back into your shoulder, causing you to raise your handgun unnecessarily.
Thumb direction
When implemented correctly, your thumb should be pointing toward the target, but this doesn’t mean your wrist is positioned right. When canting your non-dominant wrist, you should feel some discomfort if you have a proper grip.
Once you have locked your non-dominant wrist, you should then lock your dominant wrist, which is accomplished by having correct grip pressure. It is recommended that you apply pressure higher than a firm handshake but not too much to cause strain in the wrists.
Common mistakes to make when gripping a handgun
A perfect handgun grip is essential for competition shooting to help competitors achieve accurate and precise shooting. Perfecting your handgun grip also ensures you safely handle the firearm whenever you draw it. Below, we advise you on common mistakes to avoid when gripping a handgun.
Interweaving fingers
By interweaving your fingers, you have less surface area on the firearm, compromising the stability. Interweaving your fingers will negatively affect your accuracy and precision, as you will have less control when shooting.
If you interlock your fingers when shooting, you could injure yourself as the pressure from the firearm’s recoil squeezes your fingers together. Avoid interlocking your fingers when shooting, as this can cause pain that could last for a prolonged period.
Strength of your grip
Knowing how hard to grip your handgun is crucial to ensuring you have maximum control over the recoil to increase accuracy. Having too firm of a grip could result in your hands becoming fatigued, which could be detrimental to your shooting accuracy.
You must ensure your grip is firm enough when shooting, as a loose grip could cause several problems. Having a loose grip could result in the recoil causing damage to your arms, as you will not have sufficient control over the firearm. This could also cause you to drop the gun or for it to fly out of your hands, which is a potential hazard to you and those in your surroundings.
Gripping too low
When gripping a handgun, ensure that you are gripping it at a suitable height, as gripping too low could cause injury. If you grip your firearm too low, you will have less control of the recoil, which could result in a dangerous blowback and cause injury to your arm. Having little control over the recoil could risk the gun flying out of your hands, potentially resulting in a serious injury.
Which shooting stance is best?
While having a proper grip is essential, having a proper stance can give you an excellent foundation for achieving the best possible results. Below, we tell you three different stances you can implement to enhance your shooting performance.
Isosceles stance
The Isosceles stance is where the shooter faces the target square on, with their arms fully extended to make an isosceles triangle. The shooter should have their feet shoulder length apart when bending their knees and leaning forward slightly.
This is an easier stance to take and allows you to simply move to different targets, making it ideal for shooting competitions. You may be less stable from any forward or backward movement; however, this can be solved by putting more weight forward and bending your knees.
Weaver stance
The Weaver stance is achieved by placing your non-dominant leg in front of your dominant leg while leaning slightly forward. Your firing arm should be extended out, whereas your supporting arm should be slightly bent.
This allows you to control the recoil more effectively than the isosceles stance while being more stable. However, the Weaver stance can make it more difficult for shooters to rotate on their non-dominant side.
Chapman stance
An adaptation of the weaver stance, the Chapman stance requires the shooter to fully extend their shooting arm with the supporting arm bent downwards. The Chapman stance comes with the same benefits and drawbacks as the Weaver stance; however, the Chapman stance is better for recoil management.
Improve your shooting accuracy at RangeCraft
This blog will help you perfect your handgun grip to help you achieve the best possible results in competition shooting.
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