Gwhite wrote:I find I shoot best with a firm grip. I find myself tempted to relax a bit with air pistol because there is no recoil, but it results in lower scores.
My first coach was a US Air Force Team shooter, and a Master with a .45. His favorite line was "The tighter the grip, the tighter the group". He taught us to grip harder & harder until we began to have tremors, and then back off just until they stopped. I'm unconvinced this is necessary even for .22, and with the hard narrow front strap on the High Standard pistols we shot, I ended up with inflamed tendons in my fingers. I still shoot with a fairly tight grip, but the better support of orthopedic grips seems to largely avoid the tendon problem.
I think your coach was right. A firm grip, especially on a large caliber pistol, does a bunch of things . . .
First, a very tight grip helps a shooter avoid tightening the fingers as the trigger finger is manipulated. If the grip is already very tight, it is often easier to move the trigger finger independently (or really more independently than otherwise) of the rest of the fingers in the hand.
Next, a tight grip helps to lock the wrist. It's not just grip tightening that screws up an otherwise good shot . . . ;)
Next, a tight grip helps to avoid recoil anticipation for a gun that has perceptible recoil. Many shooters, for the most part without even realizing it, have a subconscious chugging along saying to itself, hey, this thing is about to jump so just as the trigger breaks I had better get a tight hold on this thing . . . and the grip tightens involuntarily with predictable (bad) results. Again, if the grip is already very firm, there is less tendency for this.
Finally, a tight grip often hastens recovery from the recoil.
So, there is much to recommend in a tight, firm grip, but there is a reason for that when using pistols that have significant recoil. To the original question . . . forget whether tight is better than relaxed; return to the fundemental goals. The object is to achieve a repeatable, consistent grip (and everything else) which allows sight alignment, on target, which remains undisturbed as the hammer falls. That is all.
The middle finger you (the OP) ask about can be held tight to prevent its movement in sympathy with the trigger finger. If that helps achieve better trigger control for you, do that. Also keep track of your thumb -- another finger that wants to move in conjunction with the trigger finger. If you achieve more consistent trigger control with a relaxed grip, do that. :)