Support hand index finger on front of trigger guard - allowed?

[RickT]

This is more of a general question apply, I assume, to IDPA, SC, USPSA, etc. My wife is trying out this grip and seems to prefer it on her 9mm 1911. The IDPA rules call for finger outside the trigger guard, but I've gotten a caution for moving my trigger finger adjacent to the guard (unintentional). Anyone have experience in this area? Any IDPA or other sport rulings related to using the trigger guard for grip support?

[High Lord Gomer]

Many older shooters , especially those with arthritis, do not / cannot straighten their fingers and it is difficult for an RO/SO to tell from the side if the finger is truly outside the trigger guard when it is still curved rather than being held straight. In those instances I will suggest to them after the COF that they try to get their finger more obviously out of and away from the trigger guard.

One of the drafts / proposed IDPA rule changes year before last was:

The trigger finger must be outside the trigger guard and straight along the frame of the firearm during loading, unloading, drawing, holstering, while moving (unless engaging targets) or during malfunction clearance. The trigger finger may be used to activate a magazine release, cylinder release, slide lock, or to open the cylinder, but otherwise must be straight along the frame.

What actually made it into the revised rules in 2013 was:

1.2.5. Fingers must be outside the trigger guard during loading, unloading, drawing, re-holstering, while moving (unless engaging targets) or during remedial action.

Until I searched today for the exact wording, I have heard (and propagated) the misunderstanding that the "straight along the frame" made it into the revised rules.

While it is highly unlikely that you could wrap your support hand index finger around the front of the trigger guard and activate the trigger with it, I could see a support hand index finger curling under and into the trigger guard and possibly activating the trigger. Many people do place their support hand index finger on the front of the trigger guard and I have no problem with that. If it worked its way under the trigger guard and closer to the trigger then I would warn about that.

USPSA uses similar wording:

Failure to keep the finger outside the trigger guard during ...

[9x45]

There is no rule, in any of the disciplines, against hooking your weak hand index finger in front of the trigger guard, however it is a really bad technique for beginners because you don't have nearly as much control over the weapon compared to the standard wrap grip. Now if it comes inside the trigger guard, yea, that's a valid call. And don't assume the guy holding the clock is really a certified RO, or knows the rules that well.