1911 tearing up my hand?

Is that your left hand in the picture? Are you left handed? If not, the web of your left hand should be nowhere near any moving parts. Both thumbs should be on the left side of the gun. The right thumb would often (normally?) be on top of the thumb safety - and the left thumb pointed forward near the slide stop. It feels a little unnatural at first, but works extremely well.

http://www.usacarry.com/proper-grip-guidelines-techniques-recoil-control/

and thousands of others by googling proper grip of 1911

Rob!
 
I only ever had slide bite on a Walther PPK because it was so small for my large hands I couldn't hold it without exposing my web. It got the taste of blood and became a man eater. The rental ciunter had to put her down. Tragic.
 
Most likely cause is friction during the recoil action. Training will harden up the area as well as tightening the grip. The looser the grip the more potential movement there is and more friction potential. Strong two handed grip will reduce the movement but experience will also toughen it up, minimizing the burn.
 
the trigger hand should not have a super tight grip, as I said before I think that is the issue.

A proper grip with a pistol should have the trigger hand holding lightly while the off hand is grasping both the trigger hand and the pistol tightly.


Especially with the recoil of a 45, it is more than the typical 9mm. The gap from the beavertail and frame is causing a slight rub (Red Circle)





not rubbing from the slide from a high grip, nor from hammer pinch.
 
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madcow said:
Especially with the recoil of a 45, it is more than the typical 9mm. The gap from the beavertail and frame is causing a slight rub (Red Circle)


not rubbing from the slide from a high grip, nor from hammer pinch.
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I think you nailed it! (Hammered it?):)

Hey Jory, I think your skin is softer than a baby's butt;) Just kidding, bro.
 
Jory,

Madcow's pic may be the issue, but more often than not, it is the edge on the rear of the safety. It happens on very high-end 1911s (2011s) that have the frame very well shaped as well. I have smoothed our the rear of the safety on 2 of my STIs as I was experiencing the same issue as you. Of course after many more rounds without being rubbed raw, I now have a small callus in that location.
 
Thanks again guys!

The thing is, this happens every time I shoot a course. Right around the 800 round mark that spot starts to rip off on my left hand only. I can shoot left or right handed, but i've been practicing left lately as i'm much more accurate due to being left eye dominant.

I think maybe I'm just a delicate flower.

Pics of grip on P229. Please don't mind the mess in my man room, or my sick star wars pajama pants

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So, I take back all my suggestions about grip. :redface: All you need are callouses. No grunge under your fingernails. No scars visible. Scars and callouses give character. Women like character! :cool:

Rob!
 
Rob! said:
So, I take back all my suggestions about grip. :redface: All you need are callouses. No grunge under your fingernails. No scars visible. Scars and callouses give character. Women like character! :cool:

Rob!
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Thanks! I'm glad to hear the practice has paid off on the grip. You're right about the soft girly hands- I have an office desk job.

Trinimon said:
Where'd ya get them Star Wars PJs? lol
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My lady friend says they came from walmart. They're comfortable beyond imagination

Import said:
Nice sig....great pj's...recon you've sorted this one out....
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Thanks! It sounds like I'm just fragile and need to shoot more to toughen my baby hands up
 
jory said:
I appreciate all the help, guys!

Note that this does happen when I'm shooting ANY handgun- it just usually takes a thousand rounds or so with my 9mm's. This happened within 200 rounds of .45 and .40. I just noticed it right off the bat because it felt like the guns were smashing my thumb. It honestly hurt my hand with every shot.

Sorry to sound like a little baby about it- i just need to figure out what's going wrong so I can fix it. Pic for reference. This is a week old wound, so it's a little faint. The day it happened, it was an entire flap of skin that had peeled away toward the inside (index finger) of my grip.

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I know exactly what you're doing wrong...If this is your trigger hand. You must roll the muzzle of the gun inward. The barrel of the 1911 should be perfectly aligned with the forearm. You're holding it like a hammer handle and the bones of your thumb are the only thing for the recoil to push against...kind of a rifle equivalent of resting the butt on your collarbone and squeezing off a round. .22LR, no problem. .303 British, and that will be the last time you do that!? Same with a pistol...even up to 9mm, it's not going to hurt if you grip the gun wrong....45acp and up...it'll bang up the thumb if you let it.
The recoil should be enacting on the palm of your trigger hand through the back strap...roll that muzzle inward (pigeon toe) to the right.
 
Can you kindly post a couple pics of your right hand grip.
Same angle of right hand, then left hand, from the side.

I think shooting with your left hand, your right hand is still dominant in your grip.
 
jory said:
Thanks again guys!

The thing is, this happens every time I shoot a course. Right around the 800 round mark that spot starts to rip off on my left hand only. I can shoot left or right handed, but i've been practicing left lately as i'm much more accurate due to being left eye dominant.

I think maybe I'm just a delicate flower.

Pics of grip on P229. Please don't mind the mess in my man room, or my sick star wars pajama pants


A6XSB50.jpg
Click to expand...

Nope...too much on the thumb. Roll the gun so the barrel is in line with your forearm.
*edit for clarity* In this pic, the rear sight should be lined up with the 2nd brown center link in your watch band. You'll also notice your trigger finger is now reaching for the trigger and will contact on the pad rather than in the first knuckle.
 
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After grabbing my gun and doing a couple dry fire/press out repetitions I think you may be onto something.

Now that I'm paying more attention, I find myself subconsciously bringing the gun to the dead center line of my chest, which is causing my left (firing) hand to #### slightly to the right. If I focus on driving the gun purely straight out with my left arm, I find that my wrist stays straight, and my slide is in line with my forearm.
 
its normal, if I go out and practice hard there is always "wear" in that spot from my 1911, its even worse when I haven't been shooting a lot and go shoot 1000 in a session. Shoot regularly enough and you build up a callous.
 
twoicebergs is on the right track. Madcow posted a nice pic of what a properly fitted ambi safety should look like. Unfortunately not every safety is fitted like that one is. I have a Edge that had a safety fitted that came back slightly into the grip safety radius. It left a spot which which was almost knife like, not sharp, but did stick out and made the same wound that you suffer on your soft office hands. I massaged the ambi safety a bit and now I have happy hands. I'd like to know if the Sig or the Kimber have safeties fitted like Madcow's or does the safety come back a little more than it should and drop into the grip safety radius. .
Ive been shooting 1911s competitively for over 30 years, all my guns have the same beavertail safeties and that was the only time I had an issue being hurt by the 1911.
Really dont think its hammer bite, just a spot where the radius isnt as smooth as it could be. Just my 2 cents
 
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Frame not in line with forearm, angled to the right with right hand and angled to the left with left hand, recoil impulse going through the thumb rather than directionally through the hand wrist and forearm.

Mostly happens when trigger reach is too long for hand size.
 
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