Malfunction Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 I am a Glock shooter trying to adapt to shooting a 1911, with my past history not riding the safety feels more comfortable, however this may not be the most effective. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standles Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Ride the safety. This does two things. As you bring your grip into alignment your thumb is already positioned to disengage the safety. Also by riding the safety you have an anchor point for your thumb and it ensures that the safety will not be accidentally re-engaged during fire. Trust me I know. I had a bad habit (and improper grip) that left my thumb under the safety more often than not. After adjusting my grip (per instruction from Matt Burkett) I have not had that problem and have better control of the recoil. Also if you can get one that is slightly angled away from the gun you can help avoid the thumb riding the slide and causing a jam that way. Once you get used to it it becomes automatic. Kinda like driving a standard for eyars then switching to an automatic tranny. Get in a hairy situation and you will immediately put you left foot where the clutch would be and start airgrabbing for the shifter. It's kinda fun to watch.. Later.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 When I go from Glock to a 1911, my thumb goes on top on the safety in a natural manner. The thumbs towrd the target grip makes this natural. If your's doesn't...practice until it does. Do it enough in dry-fire and it will be second nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cking Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Get a big wide safety with a slide shield and really use that thumb. It is the only finger with its muscles in the hand. It can really help control recoil. If you have small hands somebody makes a lowered version that will help you get your thumb up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 Absolutely ride the safety. You will never have a decent 1911 draw time without it. I shoot a 1911, CZs and Glocks; my grip does not change much for any of them even though there is not safety to ride on the glock. Regards, C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin40 Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 I just changed to riding the safety about a month ago. It was a very easy to get used it it and helped with my overall grip. Like the others said if your grips right it should be easy to do. Flyin40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 I ride it and have broke a few Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted April 25, 2005 Share Posted April 25, 2005 It is the only finger with its muscles in the hand. Sorry dude, you're spreading bad info there, couldn't be more wrong. All the fingers and the thumb have extrinsic muscles with muscle bellies in the forearm. The one to the thumb is the flexor pollicis longus, two each to the lesser fingers (the flexor digitorum profundis and superficialis). In addition all of the lesser fingers have intrinsic muscles which include the palmar and dorsal interossei and the lumbricals. On top of that the thumb and little fingers have extra muscles that combine to form the thenar and hypothenar eminences (which is one of the reasons loss of the little finger diminishes grip strength tremendously). Get ahold of one of Frank Netter's anatomy atlases for pictures of the above. Didn't even touch the extensor tendons, tune in next week for Shooting Anatomy 201! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 Switching to the modern grip and riding the safety has helped me improve more than anything so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 I too ride the safety. I prefer a narrow safety and I certainly don't push down to control recoil. My thumb is just along for the ride. Ya know what's really scary? I'll bet John didn't even have to look that stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakal Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 John Dunn is my new hero I shot with a low thumb grip on my P14, back when I thought that "tactical" was cool. After a local guy tricked me into trying the high-thumb safety-riding trick (by giving me a STI with a super-wide safety that I couldn't get my fat thumb around in an expedient fashion), I learned two things. One: The Grip (high thumb and all) rocks; faster splits, better control. Jumped my match percentage immediately. Two: STI rules. Paras are OK, but... Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierruiggi Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 Something "weird" occured to me in the last coupe of weeks. After a training session focused on recoil guidance/management/control (to allow me to track and return the sights to target more consistantly), I found out that it helped me to ride the (small) safety on my gun to LOWER my weak hand. I always read to grip the gun as high as possible with both hands, but in my case I was gripping so high with my weak hand that I was not applying strength correctly. I was not "anchoring" to the gun. Notice that I use the expression "ro anchor" to denote a grip that although very firm, does not require tension to be achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 Okay, let me make sure I understand something here (after all these years ). When you "ride the safety" do you actually put downward pressure on the blade of the safety, using your thumb? Or are you just resting your thumb there on a convenient perch? I have narrow profile "tactical safeties" on my Limited guns, and don't have enough of a ledge there to push down on, though I never really thought of needing to manage recoil by mashing down with my thumb. Mebbe now I understand the complaints I keep hearing about people breaking their thumb safties. Kevin C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liota Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 Okay, let me make sure I understand something here (after all these years ). When you "ride the safety" do you actually put downward pressure on the blade of the safety, using your thumb? Or are you just resting your thumb there on a convenient perch? I have narrow profile "tactical safeties" on my Limited guns, and don't have enough of a ledge there to push down on, though I never really thought of needing to manage recoil by mashing down with my thumb. Mebbe now I understand the complaints I keep hearing about people breaking their thumb safties. Kevin C. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kevin, Yes, you put downward pressure on the safety, but not excessive. The same "relaxed, but firm" still applies. Your thumb will exert a certain amount of force by just being there. The rest is up to you. It does help. You might consider putting a wider safety on your limited guns. You can contour the safety to what is comfortable to you. My right side safety is pretty severely contoured to allow freedom of movement on that side and keep my hands blood free during shooting. I tended to grip high and rub the side of my index finger near the knuckle on the safety. After awhile...ouch! On the left side, we just knocked off any sharp edges. Works great! Just be careful not to ride the slide when you ride the safety. From personal experience, it causes malfunctions. Liota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBF Posted April 27, 2005 Share Posted April 27, 2005 DANG ! I just spent the better part of two years getting my thumbs off the gun. So , like you all actually put pressure on the safety ? My thumb just kinda sits above it. Help on the finer points would be appreciated. Travis F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 I don't look to put pressure on the safety (when I shoot a gun that has one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gun Geek Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 DANG !I just spent the better part of two years getting my thumbs off the gun. So , like you all actually put pressure on the safety ? My thumb just kinda sits above it. Help on the finer points would be appreciated. Travis F. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As the lady said" "relaxed but firm". I notice that it helps me get the gun back down after recoil. I miss it on a Glock. I know someone makes a little ear thingy just for resting you thumb on a Glock, but it is not legal (or puts you into an "open") class in most pistol sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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