TargetTalk

I have always been told that when griping the pistol grip on my rifle that it should be firm but not like guerrilla tight. I also realize that as long as you do it the same way every time that you should get the same results in theory. What I am wondering, though is what are the finer points of an ideal grip? Should the entire palm of the hand come in contact with stock, or is it okay if only part of it does? Also should the wrist in relation to the arm be relatively straight, or is it okay if its bent?

Brian

Most of what I would elaborate on the subject goes back to what you first said. You want your grip to be as consistent as possible. I have talked with a number of coaches who suggest the wrist and forearm should be in line, but this is not possible for everyone.

In kneeling, my arm is too long for my wrist to straighten out. I don't find this to be a problem, but I can see how if not properly checked, it could lead to a damaging problem: my hand putting a torque on the stock. This could lead to my arm dangling from the stock, likely rotating it along the barrel axis away from my face (counter-acting my cant).

There is also the factor in air rifle that you might need a little pressure from your hand to pull the rifle into your shoulder. This is very true if you have a very barrel heavy air rifle. Typing this makes me want to try a butt heavy air rifle to see how it feels and changes the dynamic of my position. My air rifle scores are a tad poor (I feel like the only person that shoots higher SB scores than air) so I very well might do this and report back my findings, specifically what my right hand does.

As you may know, there is a trend for butt heavy air rifles, but where these shooters have the point of balance would be interesting to know.
I guess right under or just in front of the trigger guard.
I have heard other coaches suggest to pull the rifle into the shoulder with the trigger arm, but they emphasise that this pull should be gentle and consistant from shot to shot. The pistol grip should fill most of the air spaces between grip and hand and be comfortable. Too small a grip and the hand can over squeaze, to big and the hand can under squeaze.

In the book 'Air Rifle Shooting' there is a small section dealing with how hard you should squeaze the grip.

JSB

my theory with my Daughter was the same as hand gun shooting. The change in grip pressure with a handgun will change the impact point of the bullet. So I taught her to use the least amount of pressure and weighted the rifle so there was none or very little muzzle weight. I figured the least amount of grip pressure the smaller amount of change in impact if it varied a little and also there would be no mussel tremors in the hand and forearm. Made good since to me I dono ??

I generally agree with the above posts. I would add that good contact with the grip is desireable and will aid reproduceable hand placement (and therefore shot performance). Ideally the hand should make full contact and the grib should be held securely but not 'squeezed' too hard. Additionally the wrist should be in a straight line in all planes (and on both arms/hands). That isn't always easy to acheive unless you have an adjusteable grip or a dremmel, and of course a coach or helper to tell you exactly what position your hands are in - it certainly isn't easy to tell for yourself whilst in position. I should add that slightly bent is not ideal but is more than workeable, and I've seen very few shooters who shoot with 'straight' wrists. If however you get wrist pain then don't just carry on !

Rob.

"Firm" would be what I've been taught.
Elaborating would be: enough pressure to maintain 'firm' contact to shoulder.
So if a sling is properly used, the standing position would be the one to consider as the sling would take care of the pressure on the other 2.Remember that shooting should be relaxed if possible. That does not mean limp wrist/grip, just don't over do. Excessive grip will cause undue fatigue and make it harder to use the trigger finger properly.
PM me if you would like a few pages from some books. I will try to scan them if needed...
Ed