Weak Hand Thumb

[cz75ipsc]

Having thought I had learned the basics of IPSC-style shooting (grip, stance, shot calling, movement etc.), I was stunned when I read a thread which said that you shouldn't touch the frame with the weak hand thumb. It wasn't even the topic, it was said in an everyone-knows-it -kinda way. And I have never heard of anything like this before.

I touch the frame with my WH thumb (who could've guessed ). Of course the question here is, is it wrong? And a follow-up, if not resting against the frame, then where should the thumb be? Just "flying"? Somehow it doesn't seem very stable. I shoot a CZ75 IPSC STD (who guessed again gets double jeopardy) if that makes any difference.

I'm secretly hoping that you guys tell me the thread I read was a bad dream and my grip is A-OK.

[jessej]

cz75ipsc,

when i first started shooting handguns everyone around me shot with the WH thumb against the frame so guess what i did? Over time and reading in this forum, i now point my WH thumb towards the target with a downwards cant.

It might feel awkward at first but stick with it. I believe it helps maintain a consistent and neutral grip.

To add to that i also started resting my strong hand thumb on top of my weak hand thumb. That helped me realize when my grip just didn't feel right. It made sense to me that if your WH thumb is on the frame, during an intense string of fire, one could easily add excess pressure on the frame without really knowing it.

All of this isn't set into concrete. If it works for you do it, if not find your own way.

[benos]

The reason it might be beneficial to keep your weak-hand thumb off the grip is because, as the "stress factor" or "try-to-go-fast factor" changes, typically, so does your grip pressure. It's very difficult to keep your left thumb touching the frame without adding any side pressure to the gun, especially if "the juice is flowing." That's why I stopped doing it long ago. For me, the result was, day in day out, the gun tracked more consistently. And as far as recoil "control" goes - that 's what it's all about - predictability.

Like any grip change, it will feel weird at first. So first dry-fire the crap out of it, then work it into practice. Then after it's automatic in practice, notice how your gun tracks in matches, compared to how it used to.

After much experimenting, I found the best place or position for my weak-hand thumb was parallel with the frame, just below the slide.

be

[mas]

To add to Brian's astute observations, I have also noticed that when the thumb is pointing toward the target deliberately, additional (?) muscles appear to be used that helps the heel of the support hand to further stabiilize the platform. It was weird for me at first, but practice has made it automatic.

[AWLAZS]

Ok if your weak thumb is not tuching the gun where is it? I thought your thumb matched your index finger of your strong hand when it was not on the trigger?

[Ron Ankeny]

Brian pretty much covered all of the bases (oh now that's a shock). I always feel inept trying to add to anything he says unless it's in the form of a question. Take the following for what it's worth.

When I went into the gotta go faster mode that Brian talks about my grip mutated. My weak thumb would ride on the gun and change the tracking of the sights to a diagonal instead of upward and just slightly to the right. The trigger finger would go further into the trigger guard, my grip pressure would increase, then trigger freeze would rear it's ugly head.

Keeping my appendages away from the slide and frame, coupled with maintaining a neutral grip really helped me out a lot. Unfortunately my wrists are so loaded up with arthritis that I haven't been able to rotate my support hand forward to get to the point where my support fingers make a 45 degree angle to the ground when I open my hand. I have more muzzle flip than most goood shooters, but the sight tracks consistently and I can call the shots so I don't lose any sleep over it.

Next time you are at the range, do some of Matt's timing drills or a couple of Bill Drills. Rip them off like a house on fire and watch the front sight track. If you have to, shoot into the berm to eliminate any distraction caused by the target. If the sight bounces all over the place instead of tracking the same each time, you might want to consider making some subtle (maybe even radical changes) to your grip. If you are shooting splits in the teens and the sight tracks perfectly I would imagine you are good to go, but I would still keep an open mind and consider trying other things as time allows.

[cz75ipsc]

Thanks guys for the tips.

I've decided that I will try to change my grip, but I'm gonna do it next week. I'm shooting a match this weekend, and I usually don't want to change anything right before a match.

I'll let you know how it turns out after I get to try it out.

[bountyhunter]

I was stunned when I read a thread which said that you shouldn't touch the frame with the weak hand thumb.

I don't think putting either thumb on the frame is a good thing. I usually point mine about 30 degrees away from the frame to make sure it forces me to grip only front-rear with the right hand and left-right with the weak hand. It looks wierd having the thumbs out in the air but it makes me shoot better. If my thumb is on the frame, I tend to try to "grip" with it which puts an unbalanced force on the left side.