Gripmaster or other grip strengthening techniques

D

Disaster Monkey

Inactive
So I was looking at this product: http://www.gripmaster.net/gripmaster/

... and was wondering if it's any good. Especially if it provides any benefit as far as effective handgun marksmanship is concerned. The company that produces it claims it is beneficial, but I think they might be biased. Has anyone used this one, or something similar? My current grip and trigger control strengthening technique consists of either firing my pistol at the range, or dry firing it at home, but I'd like something I could do at work and they frown on either of those activities there.

If this product is not effective, does anyone have any other grip and trigger finger strengthening products or techniques to share?

Thanks in advance ...
 
Anything similar will work, even a tennis ball.I have one that is a V spring. A firm consistant grip is very important for a pistol .If the gun moves in the hand between shots or if the grip is not consistant between shots the point of impact is going to be different for each shot.As I learned I was one of many who found that when I started with the 45 my 22 scores went up because I was gripping better !!
 
Gripmaster

I taught in the local regional police academy for 10 years, and we used to issue them to recruits who had grip strength issues (and they still issue them to this day).

My PD also bought a set for issue to those who needed it.

Specific to handgun marksmanship, in any grip strength exercise that you do you need something that will allow you to work the trigger finger as an independent unit. You do not want to be accustomed to tightening the grip in a convulsive manner because it'll cause the shots to jerk low.
 
Strengthen Grip

Any of those finger tightening gizmos or balls will work in the employment setting. To supplement those exercises and strengthen the WHOLE HAND there's a really simple exercise using a sheet of newspaper.

Take a two page sheet of newspaper by the corner, holding it with your thumb and forefinger. With the paper in front of you at arms length and using only your fingers, wad the paper up into a ball. You'll probably only be able to do one sheet every other day for a while till your hands get stronger, they'll tend to cramp if you do it too often, but thats a good place to start. Only takes a couple of minutes a night and it's easy to guage the progress with both hands.

If you want there is another exercise to strengthen forearms. Don't want to bore you unless you're interested.
 
try drumming!

im a drummer and have been for eight years. my grip is firm because of it. no one i know can take a stick out of my hand, and shooting my .45 is a breeze.
also try doing push ups on your finger tips. its damn hard but you will end up with forearms like popeye
 
If you want there is another exercise to strengthen forearms. Don't want to bore you unless you're interested.
Click to expand...

I'm absolutely interested in any exercises that could improve handgun grip, trigger control and stability. Please do share any helpful tips you may have.

I should clarify that I am pretty strong already, and have decent grip strength. I workout with weights regularly, and have some old school v-shape grip exercisers which I have used. The thing about those is that they don't really work if I hold them upside-down, and as such they tend to work my pinkie finger much more than my trigger finger.

Dre_sa ... well, I tried, and I can't do pushups on my fingers. I'm thinking if I start by doing them vertically, leaning up against a wall, I might be able to build up to it. Do you have any other suggestions for working up to proper finger pushups?
 
I've broken my right wrist three times. Partly due to that, and partly due to work (loading tank rounds, moving sections of tank track, etc.) I also damaged my right elbow. My grip strength decreased to the point that I was no longer able to keep rounds in a dinner plate sized area at distances as close as 7 yards...shooting a 9mm.

In the course of therapy, I started with light weights (1 to 2 to 5 pounds) to strengthen the wrist and elbow, while also using grip putty for my hand and wrist. I can tell you from experience that the combination of weights and putty has worked. One of my coworkers has used a gyroscopic ball to great effect as well.
 
How serious are you about strengthening your grip?

If you are really serious you will disregard all the previous postings and go to www.ironmind.com. This is the web site of the company that caters to professional stongmen, olympic athletes, and really serious amatuers. This company has numerous types of equipment designed to increase all aspects of hand, finger, thumb, and wrist strength. I GUARANTEE THEY HAVE HANDGRIPS THAT NONE OF YOU WHO HAVE POSTED TO THIS THREAD WILL BE ABLE TO CLOSE. No condesension intended and you will understand the truth of my previous statement when you go to the website.

In a world devoid of semiautomatics, a properly set-up Webley is the ultimate full-size self-defense handgun.
 
strengthen for shooting

Okay Monkey. You need to know that I'm an older guy raised during a period when if you wanted to exercise you made or found the stuff that would work. Picture the training methods from one of the Rocky movies where Sly was at an isolated Russian farm and his opponent trained in a modern gym.

I took a piece of broomstick and cut it off about 14-16" long. Drilled a hole through sideways to accept a cotton clothesline rope. Put the hole offset to one side because the rope iis going to wind up across the stick. Holding the handle at arms length in front of me and cut off the rope at floor length. Attached a LARGE (maybe 5#) brass or bronze hinge I picked up at a scrap yard that came from an old safe. Holding the stick out in front at arms length, wind the hinge up till it hits the stick. Then wind the weight down (don't let it fall down). Repeat in the opposite direction. In the case of IZ with a wrist injury you could now start with a 1# weight fron K-Mart or Wally. It really builds the wrists and forearms. I also took a piece of 1/2" rod (I think it was an old lawn mower axle), forced it through a 5-5 1/2" lawn mower wheel, bought two bicycle handlebar grips. Get on your knees on the floor and with the wheel on the floor in front of you and stretch out forward till you are prone then pull back till you are again in an upright kneeling position. Only do this one time a night to start and gradually add reps. That works more on abs and the wing muscles (don't know what they're called)

The hand, wrist and forearm developement really helps in making the handgun feel like a feather in your hand. I think the exercise thing with the individual finger manipulation would work better for specifically the trigger finger, but I never tried anything like that. Good luck.
 
put a tennis ball under the palm of each hand with your fingers spread out on the floor. this will get you used to the finger pushups.also watch you balance when using the balls it takes a looooong time to get it right. i learned this trick when i was doing martial arts training. took 6 months to get to my fingers alone. do a lot of punching a big heavy bag will also strengthen your wrists a bit. but keep your wrists straight and dont let them bend when hitting.
 
I have the medium and the heavier of the GripMaster units. I bought them for my 15 year old son who is thin as a rail. He started with the medium and has worked up to the heavy. The nice thing about these, is that you can work each finger seperately or together. His trigger control has improved, as has his groups. You can also work the forearm muscles, and wrist. I think it was money well spent, recieved them within a week of ordering them.
 
Gripmaster

I was at the Pat Goodale Practical Firearms Training class and he had a gripmaster but it also had an attachable gun site ramp for the gripmaster that helped you practice trigger control while using the gripmaster. I have not been able to find this attachment. Does anyone know about this and where to get it. Thanks.
 
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