Hooking finger in front of trigger guard

[Lastcat]

I do it. Been shooting for years and just started grabbing that trigger guard this year. Not sure why. I do notice my left hand fingers will interlace and lock on top of my right hand. I think that is the reason I am doing it now. Never know, might change back to standard grip. But so far it has worked for me.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Lastcat

[sigsauerfan]

some old school shooters in my area use this technique , that was a popular grip some times ago. tried it myself for awhile, but it never worked consistently for me. the front sight doesn't get back in line as straight as with the regular grip.also seems like i can't squeeze the gun as strongly with the old grip,and i'm a glock man haha!

Edited April 11, 2016 by sigsauerfan

[Gary Wells]

Why my damn off hand first finger goes where it shouldn't:

Then again, I'm 72, blind as a bat, & too old to learn the

proper "thumbs Forward" grip. I love the Hoag & wouldn't

change anything on it:

[Rangerdug]

He does, she does.... Who cares it doesn't make right. Their are plenty of examples of individual who have shot through horrible fundamentals. Good on all of them in practicing past their limitations. However, I wouldn't except that a known technique fallacy is the ultimate solution to your poor shooting.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 15, 2016 by Rangerdug

[Eliboudreaux]

I do that index finger hooked with still high thumb forward when i shoot my M&P,but when I use my 2011's/1911's I use the Bob vogel grip,

[ming]

Why my damn off hand first finger goes where it shouldn't:

Then again, I'm 72, blind as a bat, & too old to learn the

proper "thumbs Forward" grip. I love the Hoag & wouldn't

change anything on it:

that's a sweet looking pistol!

[Gary Wells]

Ming:

Many thanks, Sir. That was a very fortunate find.

I found that at a gun show back in about '02 or so.

The seller had a gun store almost next door to

Jim Hoag so I was able to verify original owner &

approximate Hoag build year. My favorite gun. I

see Jim every so often & always taKe the gun with me.

Great gentleman of the original combat shooters

back in the day.

[MinookaGunner]

I have not been shooting long and have noticed my support index finger is in front of the trigger guard. I haven't shot yet with it under but in respect to the early part of this video where the lower you hold the grip the more muzzle rise you get because there's a lower fulcrum. If I pull all four of my support hand fingers under the grip the lowest overall finger is my support hand little finger. Saying that the support hand does 60% of the holding power and then lowering it down the grip almost disproves the theory in itself. Also, when I have all 4 fingers under the grip my support thumb is now at an upward angle opposed to when my index finger is in front on the trigger guard my thumb points straight down the barrel against the take down lever. I use red dots. I have used pain staking hours and ammo using gun rests to make them right on target at 15 yards where closer or further I'm still hitting bullseyes. Thing is, we all have these guns for more than target shooting. I can bring the gun up and recognize the target immediately with the red dot with my support thumb pointing straight down the barrel. The targets don't shoot back. The targets here in Chicago do. Getting the first shot off quicker and where I'm pointing is more valuable to me than having better grouping than the guy in the stall next to me. If you don't shoot first, you don't shoot at all. Just my humble opinion.

Edited November 20, 2022 by MinookaGunner
Misspelling

[Yeti]

I hooked my support index finger on the trigger guard as a habit back in the day when shooting a BHP.   Still do it.  Modified slightly by handgun though.

Depending on the handgun I sometimes go a touch lower on the trigger guard instead of up high - like on G34/35.   It just happens, I don't even think about it.  

[Pmatte1]

I hook my support finger on trigger guard. And if I’m shooting with a *thumb rest [generic]* gun I feel I grip the majority of the gun with my off hand thumb and trigger finger on those two points. Works great for me. 

[Randyflycaster]

On 3/2/2016 at 8:06 AM, MemphisMechanic said:

Most instructors will tell you not to use it - I do so when teaching someone new.

That said, Eric Grauffel, Jerry Miculek, Angus Hobdell, and a few other very skilled shooters have won hundreds and hundreds of matches with this grip. So it certainly is possible to hit very well with it, regardless of what the Gun Forum Experts typically preach on other websites.

I heard Jerry say he does it only when shooting small handguns. I've watched many videos of him shooting his competition guns and I never saw him put his finger on the front of the guard.

Randy

Edited December 22, 2022 by Randyflycaster

[Daslinger]

I have been playing with a blue gun P320….while I sit on the couch watching tv and transitioning between cardboard targets and post it notes on the wall. I just went to the range today. And for only doing it for a few days, I think I may transition a little bit consistently, and without overshooting the target with the irons or red dot.

 

I don’t think the advantage, if there is an advantage, is necessarily in recoil control, but rather transition accuracy and speed, and maybe helping stay on target. It’s like the support hand index finger is steering the gun to the target.

[Yeti]

To revisit this thread, my thoughts are that there is no right or wrong for this.  Try it out and see.  Do whatever works for you and your mitts on the pistol that you happen to be shooting.  Just do it in a controlled, repeatable way.  Be consistent.

[Farmer]

I started doing it unconsciously out of the blue. Felt ok at first but it makes me pull shots to the left. 

[jimbullet]

On 1/12/2023 at 8:49 PM, Farmer said:

I started doing it unconsciously out of the blue. Felt ok at first but it makes me pull shots to the left. 

I think this technique needs to be a consistent push pull

[Runswithwood1]

I would think hooking it would cause sideways movement, I basically karate chop my support hand into the undercut of the trigger guard when I establish my grip

[jimbullet]

On 6/1/2023 at 10:06 AM, Runswithwood1 said:

I would think hooking it would cause sideways movement, I basically karate chop my support hand into the undercut of the trigger guard when I establish my grip

the reason you are having shots to the side is because you are not pulling consistently to the rear with the support hand. 

[pjb45]

Tell Eric G.

Ask his opinion.  He does not seem to have a problem.

[broadside72]

On 5/31/2023 at 3:06 PM, Runswithwood1 said:

I would think hooking it would cause sideways movement, I basically karate chop my support hand into the undercut of the trigger guard when I establish my grip

not if you are countering the finger pull with push from the thumb

 

I have always shot with the finger hooked but I have giant hands that make guns look tiny. This is a P10F and you can see my support hand index finger wrapped all the way around the trigger guard. Since my hands are so big if I put four fingers under the trigger guard then my pinky has no place to live and is useless in making grip. I shoot the same with my P10C, full size 1911s, SP01 and S2. 
 

 

[nitrohuck]

On 3/25/2016 at 8:43 PM, Nimitz said:

Ben Stoeger does ...

 

He does not. He has the orthodox grip, I just got done with a two day class of his about three weeks ago. Watch his videos and you will see all support fingers are under the trigger guard, typical support hand grip. 

 

I started with my finger on the trigger guard. It was because of feedback I got on this very forum that I switched to the normal grip, and it did better my results. The second you begin to build tension on that one finger, you're gonna pull left/low. Granted this was almost a decade ago, I could try to switch back, but I don't think it's going to be a game changer for me performance-wise. 

 

Since Grauffel does it, it works, but this is assuming you have the insane level of tension awareness he does. I'm going to wager anyone reading this likely does not, otherwise we'd be talking about you instead of Eric G.

 

This is really only a test that could be properly executed if you feel you are very maxed out on your shooting fundamentals, and put many thousands of rounds downrange using both techniques. 

[IVC]

1 hour ago, broadside72 said:

I have always shot with the finger hooked but I have giant hands that make guns look tiny. 
 

And this is why "the modern technique" defines principles and uses standardized metrics to measure performance, rather than trying to create "an image" or "the look" the way it was common in the past. Everyone is different and will have to fine-tune many details of individualized technique, from grip to gear position on the belt to mechanics of the draw and the reload. 

 

In fact, virtually all sports and activities these days have moved to this performance-based approach to training and defining the technique through effect on performance rather than the orthodoxy. 

[broadside72]

1 hour ago, IVC said:

And this is why "the modern technique" defines principles and uses standardized metrics to measure performance, rather than trying to create "an image" or "the look" the way it was common in the past. Everyone is different and will have to fine-tune many details of individualized technique, from grip to gear position on the belt to mechanics of the draw and the reload. 

 

In fact, virtually all sports and activities these days have moved to this performance-based approach to training and defining the technique through effect on performance rather than the orthodoxy. 

 

Yep, do what works for you and gets you the results you want. But sometimes physical limitations need to be addressed and then you do the best with what you got

[GunBugBit]

I’ve tried and I think I could make it work but the way I stabilize and control the gun becomes different and I don’t see a compelling reason to retrain myself to make it work well.

[Maximis228]

I put my weakhand index finger on the front of the trigger guard on all guns. I mostly shoot 2011s with steel grips and nitrofins. 

 

Not only does Jerry do it.. but Frenchy the frog Eric Grauffel also does it. And hes arguably the best shooter in the world, by far. 

[shred]

I think if you take a class from Eric he says not to do that.  He just did it because that's what all the cool-kids did back in the day when he started.