divenshort Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Wondering if I am the only one who uses there middle finger as there trigger finer? My fingers are super short and using my middle finger just feels more natural to me then my index finger. Any pros or cons to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach1soldier Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Pretty popular in the paintball world but never seen it in the USPSA / 3 gun world. TIme will tell for you. If your fast and can shoot accurately, then have at it is my thought. You are losing a fingers worth of grip strength though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg in VA Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I did it for a while when I broke my trigger finger in the police academy, worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick84pb Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I've met people who do it. The idea or premise behind it is that your index finger 'drives' the gun and you are pointing at what you're shooting which forces some kind of additional hand-eye coordination. My hang up with it is that if it takes any attention away from your sight picture or changes your grip/handling in any way at some point you're going to hit a wall, so to speak, in terms of accuracy or performance. This is my take on it so don't think I'm being scientific or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I have seen it done but there are two potential problems. The first has already been mentioned, it decreases your grip. The second is a potentially greater problem. In an action shooting sport, it is important that you develop a means for keeping your trigger finger off the trigger when you are moving with the gun. Many people do that by placing their index finger along side the frame. Do you have a means of dealing with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick84pb Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I believe the people I've seen do it use the bottom edge of the trigger guard or their index finger to approach the issue Graham mentioned. I'll admit I have toyed with it, but I have never been able to find a way that was comfortable and acceptable to me at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIIID Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I know a couple shooters who do it, only because they are missing part of their index finger from accidents. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waktasz Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 How short? Unless you are missing part of your finger I don't think this is the best idea. What gun are you shooting? I shoot with a handful of women shooters with tiny little hands and none of them do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I shoot my .22 Magnum Hi-Standard derringer with the middle finger. Not going for speed (2-shot gun), but it feels more natural than using my "trigger" finger. I use my trigger finger for shooting Everything Else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divenshort Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Thanks guys I will post pics later showing why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) I'm wondering how/if it can potentially affect the cycling of the gun in terms of your high index finger contacting the slide. Paint ballers (and long gun shooters) don't have that issue, but handgunners do. I can see certain gun designs not having that issue due to a frame over slide design (a CZ for instance) which is fine for now, but what happens if you switch guns to a slide over frame design (such as a glock or 1911) in the future? You might have to start from step 1 to retrain yourself if it's an issue on that possible future platform. I know there's a lot of "future if's" in this, but I wouldn't do it for this reason. Edited June 3, 2015 by jkrispies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9cd5qn Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I've tried it - someone told me it was a way of reflex shooting? It's ok - all my guns function fine when I've tried it, and I've never had a loss of control when I've used this method. For me though I've put so much effort into learning and shooting with my index finger as my trigger finger that it feels incredibly odd to use another finger. But, having tried it, I know it can be done and it will work fine if I find myself without my trigger finger (a la Tom Berringer in the movie Sniper?) best of luck! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9cd5qn Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Oh, and I've tried it with full and compact sized glocks, sigs (full size), 1911 (gov)... All fired fine and I was able to maintain "combat" accuracy without difficulty. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 the finger on the outside of the trigger guard vs along the frame of the gun is going to be a potential disaster for you some time in the future .... ROs are looking for that finger NOT to be on the trigger guard because its really hard to tell if it's really there or actually on the trigger in which case you're going home .... I'm the MD for our Club's Steel Challenge matches which means I see a lot of first-time action shooters and every time I see one of them get into the 'make-ready ' position with their finger on the trigger guard vs the frame we have a long talk ... it's technically legal but you're playing with fire and you know what eventually happens when you do that ..... all I can say it that you've be warned .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballr4lyf Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Humans hands are designed to have the best dexterity and control with the fingers closer to your thumb. Barring injury or other physical problem, I'd encourage use of the index finger for working the trigger. You don't need a whole lot of finger finger real estate to work the trigger properly. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elcidaviator Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I shot a Walther PPQ Gen-1 for about a year in USPSA. The mag release is a paddle on the trigger gaurd. I would talk to the RO before the stage and let them k ow that that's where my trigger finger will sit during reloads/transitions. I never had any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 2 men shoot at my local match, using their middle finger as the trigger finger. One is an A class competitor, in both production and open. The other I have never shot with, and don't know his classification. Perhaps I should pick their brains next month, as both appear to have normal index fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folkstyle Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I have a hard time closing my middle finger without twitching the index. I tried doing it just now and the sight picture rocks the same as if I slapped the trigger. I do tend to have the grace and dexterity of a 3 year old though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I've met people who do it. The idea or premise behind it is that your index finger 'drives' the gun and you are pointing at what you're shooting which forces some kind of additional hand-eye coordination. I've employed this concept with speed shooting using my support hand on a rifle, and I've found it to be a successful technique especially when going from port arms (or the like) into the first shot while getting the gun into proper firing position, but after that I prefer aiming, lol. Of course, we're talking about a different situation between pistol and rifle. I'm dubious that this could be made to work effectively with a pistol using the firing hand, but I could well be wrong, and I'm no expert to speak of. Just my $.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I shot a Walther PPQ Gen-1 for about a year in USPSA. The mag release is a paddle on the trigger gaurd. I would talk to the RO before the stage and let them k ow that that's where my trigger finger will sit during reloads/transitions. I never had any issues. famous last words .... This is a big boy sport so as I said ... you've been warned .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan550 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 It makes it easier to pull the trigger on a sub-compact GLOCK, believe me! One of the guys at our range was having accuracy problems with his 27 (40 S&W) and tried the middle finger on the trigger. It made the pull seem lighter and his accuracy didn't suffer at all! Now for a full sized competition gun in a match, not really an option for the above mentioned problems, but for a self-defense scenario with a sub-compact, it will work for those having problems with a heavier trigger pull on a semi-auto, such as a lady using it as her first gun or someone not used to shooting in competitions. The middle finger is stronger than the index finger making the pull seem lighter. Just my $.02 Alan~^~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Ask Merle Edington, USPSA GM about this...he'll tell you it's no big deal. I came to know of Merle after doing this working on a mountain bike (***WARNING - GRAPHIC***): http://www.vipercrazy.com/hosting/kcobean/misc/finger.jpg I got lucky and missed the tendon attachments, so the tip of my finger still articulates normally and a good bit of the nail grew back so I can still use my index finger, but I was investigating the possibilities of middle-finger shooting right after it happened. From a grip standpoint, you'll just have to compensate for the lost grip contact by increasing the grip pressure of your weak hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm2953 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 On 6/5/2015 at 11:37 AM, kcobean said: Ask Merle Edington, USPSA GM about this...he'll tell you it's no big deal. I came to know of Merle after doing this working on a mountain bike (***WARNING - GRAPHIC***): http://www.vipercrazy.com/hosting/kcobean/misc/finger.jpg I got lucky and missed the tendon attachments, so the tip of my finger still articulates normally and a good bit of the nail grew back so I can still use my index finger, but I was investigating the possibilities of middle-finger shooting right after it happened. From a grip standpoint, you'll just have to compensate for the lost grip contact by increasing the grip pressure of your weak hand. I was just about to mention Merle. Shot with him at BITB last year and the RO tried to DQ him for having his finger in the trigger whilst moving. Merle said it wasn’t the first time that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT_Schultz Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 5 hours ago, jpm2953 said: I was just about to mention Merle. Shot with him at BITB last year and the RO tried to DQ him for having his finger in the trigger whilst moving. Merle said it wasn’t the first time that happened. Well, did he get DQ'd? The rule is no finger in the trigger guard and if the RO says he saw finger in the trigger guard ol' Merle is going home. At least if I'm the RO. There are no exceptions for which finger it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm2953 Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 12 hours ago, SGT_Schultz said: Well, did he get DQ'd? The rule is no finger in the trigger guard and if the RO says he saw finger in the trigger guard ol' Merle is going home. At least if I'm the RO. There are no exceptions for which finger it is. Sorry. Forgot that detail. His index finger is missing the top half of it. He shoots with his middle finger. So it looks like his index finger is in the trigger guard while he’s doing a reload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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