Gigantic-sized hands

[Chia]

Hello again, I got my first serious air pistol with a wooden grip. It's a great gun, but I have absolutely massive hands (as in, the middle knuckle of my last three fingers line up with the center of the gun when I'm gripping it normally). I have found a way to grip it that dramatically reduces movement, but a large part of the grip isn't touching my hand.

I've read some of the grip guides on the site, but all caution against adding material too quickly. Is that my only option in a case like this?

The grip is a Steyr Evo right hand large.

[Ricardo]

I bet if you post a photo of your hand on the grip people with have lots of ideas.

[Gwhite]

Hello again, I got my first serious air pistol with a wooden grip. It's a great gun, but I have absolutely massive hands (as in, the middle knuckle of my last three fingers line up with the center of the gun when I'm gripping it normally). I have found a way to grip it that dramatically reduces movement, but a large part of the grip isn't touching my hand.

I've read some of the grip guides on the site, but all caution against adding material too quickly. Is that my only option in a case like this?

The grip is a Steyr Evo right hand large.

I don't know what size options Steyr offers, but you might want to consider an extra large grip from Rink, or, if you send them a tracing of your hand, they can make up a custom one for you.

http://www.formgriffe.de/en/

[william]

"... I have absolutely massive hands...."

Have you considered taking up ten-pin bowling where large hands confer a definite advantage?

[Chia]

"... I have absolutely massive hands...."

Have you considered taking up ten-pin bowling where large hands confer a definite advantage?

Considering every time I have picked up a bowling ball it seems to try to drop on my foot, that's probably a bad idea...


I'll get a picture later this afternoon. To give you an idea in the meantime, I have large palms and very long fingers. On a piano, I can stretch my thumb and pinky to hit an octave and a fifth above it. Think Rachmaninoff.

My lower three fingers fit nicely into the front, they just go so far that the second knuckle is in the middle of the grip. I discovered pretty quickly that this gave a poor stability (it left my trigger finger touching the side of the grip). Instead, I ensured that the middle of each joint lined up like how the ISSF website described: (this isn't my hand but is from the site)



The only "problem" is that a part of my palm near the heel rests on the back left edge of the grip and leaves a ton of air between most of my palm and the grip, although the grip is much more stable.

Hopefully I can figure out how to take the pics tonight. Me and cameras don't get along well.

Oh, one more thing. I looked at the Rink website, and I definitely have what they class as "overlong" fingers. My middle finger measures 100mm or so, and the palm measurement is only 95mm. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to drop on an entirely new grip.

[Gwhite]

While you save up for a grip that really fits, the key things about grip fit are:

1) It must be consistent. It doesn't need to fill every nook & cranny of your hand as long as your grasp of the pistol is the same every time. The various features on an orthopedic grip should primarily serve as reference points to help ensure consistency. The close fit of a molded/shaped grip can make consistency easier to achieve, but with practice, you can learn to shoot very well without a fancy precise fitting grip. I saw a shooter (Don Hamilton) win a free pistol match with standard grips on a S&W Model 41 when his Hammerli 162 electric trigger died. The Model 41 grip has no grooves, no palm rest, no thumb rest, just pretty much a straight stock.

2) You want all the support/pressure to be straight front to back, not on the sides. Having a gap under your palm on the side of the pistol can be a good thing. Your thumb & finger tips shouldn't be applying ANY pressure to the grip. It's usually best if they aren't touching at all.

One problem with an orthopedic grip is that if it really doesn't fit, it can be worse than a very plain grip. For example, if it has finger grooves in the wrong places or spacing, it can be pretty uncomfortable to hold onto. The extreme case is if it's for the wrong hand. I do a lot of gunsmithing for the team I coach, and I've had to test fire pistols with grips of all sizes (and for lefties), and it can be downright painful. One reason the Model 41 grips are so plain is so they can be ambidextrous.

[dulcmr-man]

You might also like to look at the following website:

http://www.precisiontargetpistolgrips.com/

While I have not used this service myself, I've seen several favorable posts in this forum that indicate the users were satisfied. I have not seen any negative posts.

Dulcmrman

[Ricardo]

I would suggest googling "grip fitting 101" and start from there. My guess is that you'll have to add stuff to the grip on the front side so that your hand fits like in the photo you posted. It's probably the easiest place to add stuff; your grip will look strange, though, but worth it. Start with modeling clay or play-doh kind of stuff to try it out. Or add layer upon layer of masking tape until it feels right. Then you'll have an idea of how much to add (plastic wood, epoxy putty, etc. I used Sugru on mine and like it).

[Chia]

Unfortunately, my camera is broken, so I can't post pictures. Sorry!

However, thank you for the advice here. This is useful stuff. I appreciate the suggestions and guidance.