Sore Thumb?

D

Dave P

New member
Who ever said there never too much shooting? It seems that after shooting 2-300 rnds in my fairly new 1911 each session, that my shooting thumb gets pretty beat up. These are medium loads, not too hot. It stays sore for a couple of days. Not to mention the callouses that I am getting on the web of my hand!

Anybody else get sore hands from pistol shooting? I guess I should do more weak hand drills, huh? Or wear those cute shooting gloves? I have tried padded cycling gloves, but they make the grip too fat.
 
What part of which thumb gets hurt? I know a lot of new shooters get sore thumbs from reloading magazines, especially when taking classes where they burn up 300-500 rounds a day. That is normal and you will get to the point where it won't bother you anymore.

As for the callouses on the web, I have one on each side of the strong hand's web, one on the thumb and one by the knuckle of the index finger. These are from those parts being in contact with the regular and ambi thumb safety. I also have one on the palm of my strong hand where the bottom edge of the MSH contacts the palm.
 
Cycling gloves. They're cheap, leather palms, nice and padded, pretty awesome. They do alter your grip a bit because they're kinda thick, but after 200 rounds in my S&W J-frame, I'm glad I bought them. They won't protect your thumb, but they do significantly reduce fatigue. A friend of mine just picked up a Ruger SP101 with the short barrel, and the first thing he did after buying it was pick up a pair of cycling gloves.

You still need to shoot bare-handed to build up the calluses, but for heavy practice, padded gloves are really nice.
 
Your thumb may be about worn out, might be time to think about buying a new one.

Seriously though, I wore some Past glove a while back and was pleased. Though they do make a fat gun feel even wider still, they help tremendously on heavy recoiling handguns (like the scrappy Glock G29) if you can still manage a secure purchase.

Best to shop around and see if you can find something with a thin palm support that extends between the thumb and index finger.

Good luck.
 
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GIVE YOU A HAND

Serious: are you holding the gun correctly?
I've never known of a correctly-gripped 1911 causing trouble.
 
Yes, I am holding the gun normally. I guess it is the lowest thumb joint that is getting beat up, where the thumb meets the hand; seems to be right were the grip is!
And reloading mags doesn't help, thats why I use my left hand for that now.
I will try some thinner gloves, that surely can't hurt!
 
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