Gripping a handgun

I do not. It seems to me like one more thing to fight to keep your gun stable, considering how easy it would be to have that finger pushing or pulling the muzzle around.
 
Unless you know exactly how to "pinch" the forefinger and thumb of the support hand, it's not worth it. Merely placing the support index finger in the trigger guard is less advantageous than a proper support hand grip with the index finger indexing under the trigger guard.

The index finger "grip" really adds value when you have a Glock or 2011 frame. Much less so with a traditional 1911 frame/trigger guard.

Kyle Defoor has a good video on gripping with a modified "finger forward" grip. I'd post it, but I'm far too lazy... Search on YouTube.
 
I used to do so, but when I did my advance IPSC training (i.e fast shooting) it was obvious that because of such grip I was shooting low as my index finger would ever so slightly tily the gun downward. But that is only me of course.
 
v-king said:
Curious as to advantages/disadvantages of putting the other index finger on front of the trigger guard. How many of you do it?
It feels comfortable for me.
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Feels weird to me but to each their own. I don't know of any competitive shooters that do that.
 
You have to be careful with that type of grip. If you are not 100% consistent with your application of support hand pressure (ie. milking with your support hand) on the trigger guard it can/may cause you to drop or push shots.

People can shoot at a high level with that type of grip, Eric Grauffel comes to mind, but the vast majority of professional shooters have abandoned it for a more traditional thumbs forward, support hand index finger under the trigger guard, grip.
 
StoneHorse said:
I don't know of any competitive shooters that do that.
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One of the best pistol shooters that's ever lived does, Eric Grauffel
For the OP, whatever gives more A's and is more consistent, do that.

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That is all well and good with a pistol but don't ever do it with a revolver (you did say "handgun"). You can end up blowing your finger off from the energy expended from the front of the cylinder.
 
TrollGRG said:
That is all well and good with a pistol but don't ever do it with a revolver (you did say "handgun"). You can end up blowing your finger off from the energy expended from the front of the cylinder.
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Eww yuck. That does not paint a nice picture.
Yeah revolvers can be dangerous with that cylinder blast.
Revolvers can be nice for a new shooter, but proper grip is important. Single action revolvers too- those can be flippy. I haven't shot single action much, so when a guy at the range let me shoot his .44, i was quite cautious (especially since he was bleeding himself from his own error!).
For beginners & semi autos: it's to watch them to not rest their support on the slide... cause that will move quite quickly
 
frigpig said:
Really?

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The vast majority of shooters are NOT Eric Grauffel and even at the very top levels of IPSC and USPSA he is an anomaly using that grip style.

In his grip and stance video you can see he clearly demonstrates a regular grip, but then uses the trigger guard method when he shoots. I tend to think it is because he knows that the regular thumbs forward isosceles is the overall best method for the majority of shooters.

[Youtube]https://youtu.be/JZ1CEovVNdA[/Youtube]
 
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Don't do it. Under stress, the sympathetic nervous system will cause some degree of symmetrical muscle response, causing your support hand to pull the trigger the same as your strong hand. This will pull on the trigger guard and send shots flying erratically. Unless you've trained to such a high level that your body is completely immune to stress and the effects of fight or flight response. This would be the case for most top level competition shooters. However, when the paper targets start shooting back, bad technique will cause groups to open up, no matter how much training you have.
 
I don't know Grauffel. Is he the only one at his level that holds a pistol that way? I tried holding my pistol with my finger on the front of the trigger guard, doesn't work for me. Like I said before, feels weird. If that hold works for Grauffel, good for him.
 
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