Thumbrests, indexing and southpaws

[Lior]

Dear Open division folks,

I'm fairly new to Open division shooting and mostly shoot IPSC Production. I'm left handed and eyed. This thread will be organized by questions followed by my comments and observations:

1. What is more important for controlling recoil on an Open gun - grip tape or a thumbrest?

I ask because I have a Bul M5 9x19 Open gun (shown in the photo below), and the first time I applied grip tape, it interfered with my ability to deactivate the grip safety, which has a very low profile, so I took the tape off. I expected the red dot to jump around a bit when firing, and was not disappointed, although sight recovery is very fast. Should grip safety deactivation be standard operating procedure for competition only 1911s? Should I make a bump on the bottom of the grip safety for more consistent activation, and how far away from the grip safety should any grip tape end?

2. Are thumbrests and thumb indexing mutually exclusive?

When I use a thumbrest on my Open gun, which is currently installed on the right side mount, above the front trigger guard and level with the bottom of the slide, my support thumb is above horizontal when pointing the gun. In Production division I am accustomed to pointing the thumb at the target and this does not longer work, unless I visualize differently. I still find dot acquisition to be time consuming, especially after large traverses if my strong wrist moves. Tips on rapid dot acquisition are also welcome.

3. Should left handed folks be using thumbrests in the first place? Especially for minor power factor?

Oftentimes, if I have to take my support hand off the gun during a stage and reestablish a two handed grip later, I find my thumb holding the thumbrest too close to the gun, resulting in a failure to eject as a spent case is retarded by my thumb and the slide goes on vacation until I realize what is going on.

4. Should I train Open if I compete Production?

I find that shooting is more fun and smoother using an Open gun, but then so does everyone else. Should I compete the same way as I train, or should I concentrate on using one gun? Nowadays I train about 100 rounds a week in a single session. There's more to the sport than sight pictures. I also carry my Production gun concealed on occasion.

Any responses and tips from people who have been there and done that already would be welcome. Thanks - Lior.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Lior