kmaultsby Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hello everyone I having an issue with my grip on my XD tactical and would like some feedback. I am right handed small hands short fingers. Shooting in IDPA matches lately. Sometimes I place my left thumb on top of the disassembly level and sometimes directly beside of it and sometimes below it. When I place it above the metal hurts my thumb and when I place it on the side of it my thumb looses contact with it. I am trying to control recoil using thumb extended. Would love any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcarpenter82 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Recoil control isn't controlled with just the thumbs indexed forward. Maybe a piece of tape on the thumb could help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 My weak hand thumb points towards the target, never touching the gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) My weak hand thumb points towards the target, never touching the gun As odd as it sounds, most of us do shoot better if our thumbs do not touch the gun. It seems "less secure" that way, but it forces a better grip using the fingers on the front-rear (strong hand) and left right (weak hand).The thing about thumbs is they invoke one of Newton's laws: for every force there has to be an equal opposing force provided for an object to remain at rest. If you press the left side of the frame at all with the thumbs, your strong hand has to be compensating on the other side which is actually unbalancing the grip. Edited January 14, 2013 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Stoeger Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Hello everyone I having an issue with my grip on my XD tactical and would like some feedback. I am right handed small hands short fingers. Shooting in IDPA matches lately. Sometimes I place my left thumb on top of the disassembly level and sometimes directly beside of it and sometimes below it. When I place it above the metal hurts my thumb and when I place it on the side of it my thumb looses contact with it. I am trying to control recoil using thumb extended. Would love any suggestions. I am not sure your thumb is doing a whole lot for you in terms of recoil control. Maybe just have it ride next to the gun (but not quite touching) for awhile and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmaultsby Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Thanks everyone the the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sig Shooter Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 One of my carry guns is the XDM 45 and I find keeping my wealk hand thumb pointing foward but not touching the pistol works well from an accuracy standpoint and the recoil is still very managable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kita Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I still have thumb scars from my XD for the same reason. You get a callous after a while. It'll get better, just get a tougher thumb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 My weak hand thumb points towards the target, never touching the gun +1 Thumbs should NEVER be on the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunsen Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 My weak hand thumb points towards the target, never touching the gun +1 Thumbs should NEVER be on the gun. +2 and mine ar align off the frame but hovering just on the outside of the disassembly lever. Try it with contact tape to make sure your off it. You can get the tape at a golf store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebwake Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I stubble with this on my XD also... When I am able to keep my stupid thumbs off the gun I shoot MUCH better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncxdm Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I have to agree with the others. The less my thumbs touch the gun the better. I may let them rest on my hand or on each other but not on the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I am reading Brian's book right now and he addresses the thumb contact issue very well toward the beginning of the book. Thumb pressure can steer the muzzle by creating a non-neutral grip. It's best to keep thumbs off the gun so that your grip allows the front sight to track naturally up and down out of the rear sights. This is something I am working on in my shooting as well. It's a habit I've developed and I'm learning my way away from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 My weak hand thumb points towards the target, never touching the gun +1 Thumbs should NEVER be on the gun. RO-ing at nationals it seemed to me like there were some VERY good shooters that have their thumbs touching. It seems like some people use their support hand almost like on a rifle, wrapping under, so the thumb is counteracting the support-hand-finger-pressure, which keeps the gun moving very straight up and down in recoil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 This is an awesome topic. I've had the same issue, and being a new pistol shooter was wondering if this was just a product of my choice of pistol or if I was actually doing something not quite right.. Secondly, I've been kinda trying to figure out why when I see my front sight lift, that it wasnt going up straight.. always went up to the right.. haha.. I think this answered both questions for me. Cant wait to get out and see what I see. Thanks folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroe3 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I have a friend who had the take-down lever on his XD beveled just a little to get rid of the sharp corner. You can't alter the profile of a production gun so don't get carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RammerJammer Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 The takedown lever is my index point for weak hand thumb and it has never really been an issue. I have tested accuracy with and without and dont see a difference. I guess I am aware enough of it that I don't push and just use it as an index point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanksBullets Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 I shoot an XDm 5.25 and am a lefty I just ride my thumb against the side, but I don't use it to control the recoil though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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