Hold the pistol with your non-dominant hand. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/f/f3/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet1-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet1-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/f3/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet1-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet1-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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<br />\n</p></div>"} With your dominant hand, form a “V” by spreading apart your thumb and index finger. Place the gun into the center of this “V” so that the front and rear sights line up evenly with your dominant arm. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/5/57/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet2-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet2-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/5/57/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet2-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet2-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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<br />\n</p></div>"} Wrap your middle, ring, and pinky fingers around the grip of the pistol. Make sure that you apply equal pressure with all three fingers, and use enough pressure to squeeze the grip of the gun into the back of your hand. Use your thumb to wrap around the other side of the grip, securing it in place. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/9/93/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet3-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet3-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/9/93/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet3-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet3-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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<br />\n</p></div>"} Use enough pressure to cause your hand to tremble slightly. Relax it just a bit so that the trembling stops. Remember this amount of pressure; it is the proper amount of pressure you will need in order to make this grip style work. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/8/8e/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet4-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet4-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/8/8e/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet4-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet4-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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<br />\n</p></div>"} Place your index finger on the trigger. The portion of your finger that lies between the tip and second joint should be the portion on the trigger. You need to make sure that your index finger can pull the trigger without disturbing the other fingers. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/c/cd/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet5-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet5-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/c/cd/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet5-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet5-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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<br />\n</p></div>"} Remember the placement of your fingers and the amount of pressure you have applied. This is the right way to use a one-handed grip. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/f/f7/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet6-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet6-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/f7/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet6-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-1Bullet6-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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Note that this grip will be much easier to pull off if you are using a pistol with less recoil. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/f/f4/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet1-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet1-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/f/f4/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet1-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet1-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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<br />\n</p></div>"} Use a two-handed grip whenever possible. In a two-handed grip, your non-dominant hand gives your dominant hand support and stability as you fire. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/c/c6/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet2-Version-3. jpg/v4-460px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet2-Version-3. jpg”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/c/c6/Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet2-Version-3. jpg/aid4044929-v4-728px-Grip-a-Pistol-Step-2Bullet2-Version-3. jpg",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
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Place the gun securely into your dominant hand. Spread apart your thumb and index finger. Place the gun into the crook that forms, keeping the gun back strap as high as possible. Wrap your middle, ring, and pinky fingers around the grip of the pistol. Your middle finger should rest just below the trigger guard. For the time being, rest your index finger along the opposite side of the gun frame. Wrap your thumb around the grip. It should touch the top side of your middle finger from the other side. Notice that there is a gap between the heel of your hand and the tip of your fingers to the left side of the grip. Take your non-dominant or support hand and wrap it around the strong hand so that this gap is no longer visible. Position the thumb of your non-dominant hand so that it overlaps with the thumb of your dominant hand. When it comes time to fire the gun, place your index finger on the trigger. The space between the tip of your finger and the top knuckle should be the only part on the trigger. The most common problem faced with the thumb-over-thumb technique is a tendency to “muscle” the pistol, or grip it too tightly. This causes the gun to become unstable during recoil, and if you aren’t careful, it may end up twisting in your hands.
As with the thumb-over-thumb grip, the straight thumbs grip starts with proper placement in your dominant hand. Place the pistol in the crook between your thumb and index finger. Make sure that you keep your hand as high on the grip of the gun as possible. Wrap your middle, ring, and pinky fingers around the grip of the gun so that the fingers are all side-by-side. The middle finger should also lie just below the trigger guard. Keep your index finger on the opposite side of the gun frame. Wrap your thumb around the grip as you would do with a thumb-over-thumb technique. The tip of the thumb should touch the top side of your middle finger. There will be a gap between the heel of your hand and the tip of your fingers. Use your non-dominant hand to fill this gap. Wrap it around the dominant hand from the opposite side, positioning the index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers over your dominant fingers. Line up your non-dominant thumb so that it lines up in front of the dominant thumb. Both thumbs must be pointing forward. Note that your dominant thumb will no longer be touching your dominant middle finger at this point. Instead, it will end up resting on top of the side of your non-dominant thumb. When you decide to fire your gun, place the top of your index finger on the trigger and pull. You should only pull with the portion of your index finger between the tip and the top knuckle. Note that there are some pistols that are difficult to shoot with a straight thumbs grip. With a SIG, the dominant thumb has a tendency to ride up the slide stop and prevent the slide from locking open when empty. With a Glock, the shooter may find himself or herself pushing up on the slide stop with the heel of the support hand and locking the slide open prematurely. With a Browning Hi-Power, the dominant thumb can put pressure on the slide stop at the rear and the non-dominant thumb can bang into the front of the slide stop during the recoil, thereby preventing the shell from ejecting.
With a teacup grip, the dominant hand rests on the gun as it would with any other two-handed grip. The non-dominant hand rests below the dominant hand, essentially “cupping” it from the bottom. The non-dominant thumb is usually positioned somewhere around the middle and ring fingers.
A shooter with crossed thumbs holds both hands around the grip of the gun from either side. The fingers overlap in front of the grip, and the thumbs cross over each other from the back of the grip.
When you grip the pistol, pay attention to what your shoulders and arms are doing. If they feel tense, you need to relax them. Your hands should be the only part of your body in which you feel the tension of the grip. You may find it easier to keep tension out of your arms if you grip the gun before your arms are in a shooting position. Push your arms out in front only after you have a secure grip on the gun. A pistol grip that is too relaxed will cause the pistol to recoil too much, but a grip that is too hard may mess with your sight alignment or cause your hands to weaken too quickly.
As a general rule, you want both hands to be as high up on the gun as they can be. You need to secure the center of weight or pivot point to prevent the gun from flipping over during its recoil. If you keep your grip too low, you will not be able to steady the gun at this point.
This technique reduces the amount of recoil you will encounter and can improve your aim. The supporting (non-dominant) arm should be bent with the elbow pulled down. The firing (dominant) arm should be fully extended with the elbow and wrist locked.
