TargetTalk

I recently just got a Mec Handstop and it's already done wonders for comfort after switching from using the short, knurled kind. But one of this handstop's selling points is that its lateral adjustment can help reduce pulse transmission. How does this work? I thought that lateral adjustment was only for cant control.

thanks, Adrian

I am going to comment on your question, probably without ever seeing the MEC handstop, but from years of experience.

The handstop is not a magical new device. It is designed to allow some movement of where the sling rests on the back side of your hand. Also, to perhaps allow your palm to take a slightly different position on the stock.

Everybody is different. Everybody has different hands. Some people have pain on the back side of the hand, some on the inside of the hand, some have pulse transmission, some don't.

Back when I was learning, I tried perhaps 5 different handstops for the exact same reason. Most people I knew did the same.

Your job as an aspiring shooter is to find out what works for YOU only. That is what you are finding out as you transition from marksman/sharpshooter ranks to expert, and then you really know when you become a master.

Jeff

But it costs $130 for a metal button, surely it must be magical!!! :P

I realize its adjustability is simply there to help make you fit your rifle better, but I just thought it was interesting how MEC advertises its lateral adjustability specifically as way to reduce pulse transmission. Im just wondering how its position directly affects your anatomy. But I think youre right though, it might have to do with the sling position and vein/arteries on the back of your hand. Thanks.

I think it's a bit of a falacy / marketing hype. Pulse comes predominantly from the arm not the hand - the arteries aren't big enough (near enough to the heart) to produce a noticeable pulse when shooting.

I too use that sort of off set handstop though (gemini) and what it does for me over the old one is reduce the discomfort in my support hand massively. I'm guessing the pressure is more evenly applied across my hand / base of thumb.

Rob.

Yep, exactly the same as Rob says. I have the MEC offset to the second hash mark towards me and what it does for me is give me more contact with my hand, which alleviates the discomfort of a narrow stock (Precise) in a big hand. Can shoot match programmes now with no real discomfort at all, taking a break or two just to adjust sling tension. Before I got the MEC and started tweaking, fifteen or twenty shots would have me sore.

I find that lateral adjustment helps with keeping my wrist straight. By moving the stop to the left I can keep the location point in the web, AND have the mass of the rifle just by the thumb muscle and over the heel of my hand.