Hurley's Gold

A Slightly Scientific Look at the Thumbs Forward Pistol Grip

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  • Younggun

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    Seems I was translating the initial posts somewhat differently than they were intended.


    I still haven't been able to push myself in to the locked wrist. Mostly due to "crap, that doesn't feel right".

    May mess with it again one day when I have some time and extra ammo.
     

    BIGPAPIGREG

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    Seems I was translating the initial posts somewhat differently than they were intended.


    I still haven't been able to push myself in to the locked wrist. Mostly due to "crap, that doesn't feel right".

    May mess with it again one day when I have some time and extra ammo.
    that is exactly how it felt for me. Kinda like soooting & working a pump SG left handed for the 1st time:facepalm:. But when I stuck with it, I couldn't argue that my grouping was much better. Does take some getting used to it though.
     

    larlev

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    Ive tried the aggresive style and found for some reason my left wrist hurts badly after a few rds. Not sure what is going on.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    As far as grip strength training, I highly recommend this brand, as they are rated in measurable weight, which helps to kind of identify where you are, and how far you might need to go:

    Page Title - Ironmind


    The thing to keep in mind is, the typical department store grippers, like what you'd find at Academy, are way too lightweight to really build any actual strength. Kind of like curling those 2.5# or 5# dumbbells; you're not getting ripped off that. ;) Typical department store grippers are going to be much more around ~15-25#, which can start giving you an indicator of the massive difference in "weight" involved. With the CoC grippers (no jokes LOL), you have 60#, 80#, and the "trainer" starts at 100#. The trainer is seen as the low-end of grip strength, and yet that's roughly 4 times stronger than a department store gripper. To give you an idea on range, a lot of world class pistol shooters can typically close the #2 (195#), and some are more like the #2.5 (237#), and I think I've seen a few mention they're closer to the #3 (Probably people like Jerry Miculek, 280#). These numbers are roughly the pounds of force you have to apply to fully close the gripper so both handles touch. I have a #2, and I can barely close it with one hand, not the other, and not consistently enough yet, or certainly not for reps. If you're just starting out, might want to get a 60-80#, the trainer, and a #1 (120#) to have yourself covered for a little while. If you lift a lot of weights, do a lot of manual labor, etc. then you might already be at the Trainer, #1, or maybe even the #2, though the #2 is an unusual level of grip strength the average person is probably not gonna have.

    Whatever you do, if you do decide to "play" around with grip strength training, treat it like any other weights. Your rep ranges, number of sets, etc. are all going to be done very similar to typical weights. So you might be at 4-6, or 6-8 reps. If you start getting to 10-15 reps, you should probably get the next gripper up. Sometimes you can just do singles or a couple reps too. Just DON'T overdo it. You need recovery, just like with any other muscles, so you may only be able to do this stuff 2-3 times a week. ALSO, you absolutely need to work out those extensors. YouTube it. You can simply wrap several thick rubber bands around all of your fingers and expand them, for reps, and sets. Be VERY careful here, as you can really hurt your hands/wrists if you get too aggressive.

    Also, you can save time and simply modify some of the existing weight training you might already be doing. Deadlifts can be great for building grip strength. Think about what makes you hold on to something longer, and with heavier weights. Do deads, barbell curls, etc. You can do slow negatives, you can do short pauses or whatever. Get creative.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    Ive tried the aggresive style and found for some reason my left wrist hurts badly after a few rds. Not sure what is going on.


    It can be very uncomfortable for a lot of people at first. If you have any hand/wrist issues, that might also be a factor, and it could even mean that you simply can't do it without it exacerbating maybe a physical problem you might have with your hand/wrist. If you don't have any issues like that, for most people, it's just simply really awkward having that support wrist rotated all the way forward. You can't quite use your full grip strength in that position, and most people typically aren't used to having their wrist in that position. Unless there is a physical problem that you need to be worried about, I would just keep giving it an honest try for awhile longer. Anytime you're doing something like that, that may be something you're not used to, you're working muscles in a slightly different manner than you're used to, so there may be a little bit of discomfort or soreness initially, but for most people it will go away after having tried it for a little while. Worst case, doing or not doing this aggressive method is usually not a big deal for most uses. Even with the wrist slightly backed off, you're still 80-90% there.
     

    OnyxATX

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    I shoot thumbs forward, but today with SIG_Fiend I moved my support hand to REALLY straight forward with my thumb. It felt a little strange, perceived recoil felt about the same, but I was much less wobbley with my front sight.

    It's going to take a while to get used to canting my wrist that far (breaking old habits) but it was pretty awesome to see how much more still the sight was.
     
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