ksteele1 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Good day, been shooting for awhile but just picked up my first 1911. Have read conflicting advice on grip with some advocating keeping thumb on top of safety for greater control, others saying the opposite. Thoughts and opinions welcome. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapribek Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 If you ride the safety, there is no chance of you accidentally putting it on while shooting your pistol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) My thumb is always On TOP BTW, welcome aboard ... Edited November 6, 2016 by Hi-Power Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armydad Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Welcome, and to parrot the above - always on top of safety! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastluck13 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 On top. Always on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwayne Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 On top always---helps with recoil control also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uewpew Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 And another vote for "on top" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 over the safety dude. if it's under it's taking up space where your support hand should be. I see this a lot with new shooters you have their strong hand thumb low and it's causing their weakhand to be low on the grip or not touching the gun up high (or both). you want your grip as high as possible and as much support hand on the gun as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waktasz Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Stop being friends with whoever said under the safety. Immediately. It's for your own good...who knows what other terrible advice they have yet to give you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 8 hours ago, waktasz said: Stop being friends with whoever said under the safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Top (picture): "Both thumbs are pointed at the target, but neither touches the gun. Doing so can steer the muzzle." Practical shooting - beyond fundamentals - page 43 - by Brian Enos Not sure if he stayed with that thinking as time went by but I think the short section on grip is worth the price of the book. That is what I used to develop a grip that feels good to me, my thumb is beside the safety closer to above it than below it depending on the gun. I do not think there is 1 best way that works for every hand size and every gun. Some folks are comfortable riding the safety, I'm comfortable with thumbs just pointing down range and not really touching the gun, for me the extended safeties are why dremels and touch up blue were invented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLDave Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 12 hours ago, waktasz said: Stop being friends with whoever said under the safety. Immediately. It's for your own good...who knows what other terrible advice they have yet to give you This! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Enos The Great One Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 1 hour ago, IHAVEGAS said: Top (picture): "Both thumbs are pointed at the target, but neither touches the gun. Doing so can steer the muzzle." Practical shooting - beyond fundamentals - page 43 - by Brian Enos Not sure if he stayed with that thinking as time went by but I think the short section on grip is worth the price of the book. That is what I used to develop a grip that feels good to me, my thumb is beside the safety closer to above it than below it depending on the gun. I do not think there is 1 best way that works for every hand size and every gun. Some folks are comfortable riding the safety, I'm comfortable with thumbs just pointing down range and not really touching the gun, for me the extended safeties are why dremels and touch up blue were invented. Posted without permission from page 43: "When the safety lever is depressed, the shooting-hand thumb can stay atop the lever. A lot of top shooters do this to gain a little leverage to help hold the muzzle down. I can't use that technique because the heel of my support hand is placed up high enough on the gun that my thumb presses on that instead of the safety. My thumbs just fit together naturally with the grip I use, and neither thumb touches the gun. So I don't really feel like there's any benefit to pressing on the safety; I'd rather let the pistol recoil freely. But I don't really want to recommend that you not try that. I do recommend, however, that you don't press down really hard on the lever. Anytime you introduce more pressure than is needed to just hold the gun, there's the chance that different shooting circumstances may cause you to use inconsistent pressure. If you do rest your thumb on the lever, look for wear marks on the slide and install a thumb shield on your gun if you see them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) 34 minutes ago, ChuckS said: Posted without permission from page 43: Hope I was not a bad boy by posting the original quote. Not sure about what is considered according to Hoyle and what is not. The pictures were put there on the wondernet so I figure they were public domain. Edited November 7, 2016 by IHAVEGAS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 42 minutes ago, IHAVEGAS said: Hope I was not a bad boy by posting the original quote. Not sure about what is considered according to Hoyle and what is not. The pictures were put there on the wondernet so I figure they were public domain. I forgot to add the part "If you want to see more, go here http://brianenos.com/shop/shoppractical-shooting-beyond-fundamentals/ ." (I hope it's OK) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzobishop040 Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Always on top of saftySent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerenew Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 On Sunday, November 06, 2016 at 10:58 AM, dapribek said: If you ride the safety, there is no chance of you accidentally putting it on while shooting your pistol. This is why I am an over the top guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrumme Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Ride that safety. The only time your strong hand thumb should be under it is when you're flipping the safety on during load & make ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDA Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 On 11/7/2016 at 9:57 AM, IHAVEGAS said: Enos The Great One I wish my hands were that small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzobishop040 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Always on top.Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Tim Herron (spelling?) just posted a video on Instagram and he was thumb under... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 FWIW, thumb on top of the safety. It feels pretty natural. Experiment and see what works best for you, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGinIdaho Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 On top, gets my hand higher on the gun and opens up the supports side a little so my support hand gets a little more contact with the grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 7 minutes ago, Yeti said: Experiment and see what works best for you, 6'1" thin frame, CZ 75 , thumb on top opens up the thumb-forefinger web which reduces pressure high up on the grip and hurts recoil control, and feels weird. Your mileage will vary . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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