Thumbs on top question

S

Steve Smith

New member
OK, I'm trying to come up with a good place for my thumbs. I like having my thumbs ride the safety, right thumb down first, with left on top of it (I'm right handed, btw). However, I have a new match barrel that was fitted to my SA free from the warantee dept., and it is really tight, and sometimes sticks (about 1/8" out of battery) when I'm firing slowly in a target style poise. It doesn't stick when I'm shooting IDPA of IPSC, but one guy suggested that I but my left thumb on my slide lock...just because "it's better" he said. I tried it, but -duh- the slide doesn't lock back when you do that. It does seems to help the "out of battery during target style shooting" problem. I have to admit, I like the slide lock thumb ride. What's the opinion of TFL on this all thumbs matter?

[This message has been edited by Frontsight! (edited August 22, 2000).]
 
If by target-style pose you mean one-handed in the classic NRA competition style, and you're having problems as you describe, you might be "limp-wristing" just a little. Not enough to prevent cycling, but possibly just enought that the empty brass barely ejects and the recoil spring does not fully compress. This is just a guess on my part.

I use a Weaver stance; I place my right thumb on the safety of a 1911 and the left thumb atop the right thumb. For me it is comfortable and causes no problems. FWIW, I have relatively long hands and fingers; somewhat slender.

As I've watched many shooters in IPSC, I've come to believe that the shape/size of one's hands truly defines what is "the right way" for any given shooter.

FWIW, Art
 
I shoot thumbs up.I have seen too many people have jam problems because there thumbs are riding the slide and decreaseing the speed.

------------------
Bob--- Age and deceit will overcome youth and speed.
I'm old and deceitful.
 
Here's the grip I use...

If you take your standard strong hand grip, with the strong hand thumb riding the safety, and look at the weak hand side of the pistol, you will see some grip showing.

Put as much of the meaty heel of your weak hand palm on the grip surface as possible while wrapping all four fingers around the grip (over the strong hand fingers and under the trigger guard). Place your weak hand thumb immediately below your strong hand thumb and (more-or-less) point it toward the target. This should put the end of your weak hand thumb in a position to touch the frame just at the extreme forward end of the slide stop. That way it won't interfere with the slide stop operation. Gripping the pistol is accomplished by pressing the palms together, along with finger pressure, and the weak hand contributes about 60% of the grip pressure.

Once you get accustomed to this grip, it will become very natural to point the gun at the target by simply pointing your thumbs at the target (even works in low light or darkness for up-close point shooting). It's also a very stable grip allowing good stability and recoil management during double taps as well as good target-to-target sight acquisition.

Try it, I think you'll like it!

Mikey
 
Mikey: If I may add one small point to your excellent description of "my" grip..<gg>..I had some difficulty with this grip at first, until I watched an IPSC video...the trick for me was to rotate my left hand slightly downward at the wrist, which will naturally point the left thumb forward, and postion it perfectly under the right thumb..
Has anyone actually *proven* that thumbs riding on the side of an auto's slide will decelerate it (enough to cause a malf)? I seriously doubt it, myself.
 
No, Art, actually, I shot a qualifier for my NRA instructor's course Sunday and in fact had no problems when shooting one-handed, because I hael the gun more firmly like when shooting competitively. The trouble normally comes when I handle the gun with a "target" mindset, rather than a defensive mindset. Very weird. You're doing exactly what I've been doing for a while, actually.

Mikey, are you saying to have your weak hand thumb under the thumb safety?

Oh, and when I tried having my left thumb on the slide stop, I definately felt the slide slow down.

[This message has been edited by Frontsight! (edited August 23, 2000).]
 
Yes. Strong thumb rides the safety and weak thumb rides underneath but touches strong thumb. And Mike Davies is absolutely correct in that the weak wrist is slightly broken (like a modified Weaver grip).

If positioned properly, the weak thumb can not be in contact with the operating surface of the slide stop because it will be too far forward to interfere.

Mikey
 
My grip I guess is unconventional.

Firing hand thumb on top of safety. Non-firing hand three fingers wrapped with index in front of trigger guard and thumb riding slide stop.

I grip revolvers this way also. However my firing thumb is riding on top of the non-firing one.

I like being consistant with my grip.

Besides it works for me. At CCW, with a Charter Arms Undercover, I scored a 16X-100 with 20 rounds firing mostly double action.

I also earned a EIC Badge and a training/try-out for an Army Pistol Team using this grip.

So my point is try many different grips and pick the one that works for you no matter how different it looks.

Sgt.K
 
I didn't have any pictures that show me gripping my pistol but here's a couple of fellow club members that use a similar grip.

View


The fellow with the Glock uses the weak hand index finger in front of the trigger guard. The 1911 guy doesn't (and neither do I). The photos show that the weak hand thumb is below and forward of the strong hand thumb.

Mikey
 
When your support hand covers your strong thumb, you then have a great grip/support of your thumb, but not of the pistol. Open up that strong thumb and see how much of the grip panel you can now really support.

The index finger on the trigger guard weakens the grip, imho, but whatever works for you...
 
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