motosapiens Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 (edited) A recent injury left me with non-functional DIP joint (last joint) on my strong hand pinkie. After several weeks of weak-hand-only practice, I'm getting close to being able to start shooting with both hands again, and wondering if anyone else has dealt with something like this and might have experience to share. I don't yet have full flexion in the middle joint either, but it's getting closer. I shoot mostly singlestack, and at the moment, when I grip the gun with my strong hand, my pinkie pokes out a little bit to the side. It seems like I can still get a good grip with my weak hand by focusing more on getting good contact between the meat of the palm of my weak hand and the grip, and almost leave a little pocket where my my strong-pinkie can fit under my weak-pinkie. The gun seems to behave pretty well, and if anything, I'm shooting more accurately than a few months ago because of the intent focus on sights and trigger control with my weak hand. Still, I'm wondering if it might not be wise to experiment with a larger grip like the sperman grip, or switch to a big fat limited gun that would be big enough around that my pinkie wouldn't really poke out on the left side of the grip. If you or anyone you know has had a similar situation, please share. Otherwise I'll add my observations over the next couple months as i fully (almost fully) recover. Edited November 30, 2015 by motosapiens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDA Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) that my winkie wouldn't really poke out ... Edited November 30, 2015 by TDA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 that my winkie wouldn't really poke out ... lol. i can't even blame auto-correct for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
match308 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Ive had to modify my grip for the bursitis in my right thumb. You just have to try different things until something works. Ive resorted to a steroid injection a day or two before a match and its great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 A recent injury left me with non-functional DIP joint (last joint) on my strong hand pinkie. After several weeks of weak-hand-only practice, I'm getting close to being able to start shooting with both hands again, and wondering if anyone else has dealt with something like this and might have experience to share. I don't yet have full flexion in the middle joint either, but it's getting closer. I shoot mostly singlestack, and at the moment, when I grip the gun with my strong hand, my pinkie pokes out a little bit to the side. It seems like I can still get a good grip with my weak hand by focusing more on getting good contact between the meat of the palm of my weak hand and the grip, and almost leave a little pocket where my my strong-pinkie can fit under my weak-pinkie. The gun seems to behave pretty well, and if anything, I'm shooting more accurately than a few months ago because of the intent focus on sights and trigger control with my weak hand. Still, I'm wondering if it might not be wise to experiment with a larger grip like the sperman grip, or switch to a big fat limited gun that would be big enough around that my pinkie wouldn't really poke out on the left side of the grip. If you or anyone you know has had a similar situation, please share. Otherwise I'll add my observations over the next couple months as i fully (almost fully) recover. I have duputryn's syndrome on both hands which means both pinkies are curled all the way into the palm. I have to grip using three fingers and thumb and it is possible to shoot that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 fwiw, i ordered dsperman 2011-sized grips for my 1911. I may get to try them out this weekend. for sure, a thicker grip seems to allow me to grip more normally and not worry about my pinkie getting in the way. I didn't notice before just how much of grip strength is associated with the pinkie finger. I'm definitely working the other fingers on my strong hand harder now, and also building up the muscle and coordination in the other flexor tendon (the one that doesn't go all the way to the end of the finger, and is still intact). It's been 4 weeks since surgery, and there's still a little swelling in the 2nd-to-last joint (PIP joint), but it seems like that is just about to start getting better too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 so I finally have to ask ... what does one do to end up requiring surgery on one's pinky .....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 so I finally have to ask ... what does one do to end up requiring surgery on one's pinky .....? Recklessly drinking tea will do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 so I finally have to ask ... what does one do to end up requiring surgery on one's pinky .....? cut the flexor tendon is what I did. tripped over a melee of my dogs and my cousin's dogs while holding a wine glass, and put my hand right into the glass. woulda cut my finger right off if there weren't a bone in the way. I got the dsperman 19-20 grips today (makes a 1911 the same size and shape as a 2011), and they appear to be just the ticket. I got them all fitted and griptaped after the match, and I'll start dryfiring with them tomorrow morning. I think with the fatter grips, the fused joint is going to be a total non-issue after another couple weeks of healing. Right now I'm the most optimistic I've been in 2 months. woot woot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 It was good to see Moto back at the range today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 It was good to see Moto back at the range today! it was great to be back out to see how much ground I lost on you and Kenny. I haven't been able to do any full-speed freestyle dryfire, or full speed reload practice until today, but the new grips appear to totally solve the issue, and I spent 30 mins today starting to get my speed going again. feels good. I still have to wear a short splint to protect that last joint when shooting or playing hockey, but the extra width of the grips keeps my pinkie out of the way of my weak hand, and the more square shape of them helps with that too, allowing me to really focus on getting the meaty part of my support hand palm into the grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyvet02 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Moto, I hope you are doing well and the healing is going as planned. 3 years ago I had a comminuted fracture of my distal 5th metacarpal (try to say that fast 5 times). It required a plate and 5 screws. Because of the plate I cannot fully close or extend my pinky. When I make a fist my 1st knuckle sticks out and I only have about 30 degrees of movement in the metacarpal joint. I am a C class shooter mostly because I don't practice and shoot matches once a month but 2 things really helped me. So take this for what you paid for it. 1) Physical therapy-At first I had almost no movement in that joint and I actually had to force movement into the joint. My Orthopedist was impressed that I got more movement out of it. It just took a lot of time and I had to keep at it. 2) Grip strength exercise-Due to my work I actually have more grip strength in my non-dominant hand. I just had to really start using it! Dominant hand excercise also made a big difference. I also found that the "grippiest" grips make a big difference in one hand shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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