Red_Dot Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 I’ve been playing around with hand position, grip pressure and elbow angle/lock. ive seen a lot of people suggest a straight locked elbow is preferred but it feels very unnatural and then my arms feel very unbalanced in terms of force applied to the firearm and dry fire transitions feel strange. my upper arms and elbows are essentially parallel with the ground, so my elbows are up and strong giving good clamping pressure through my chest. But when I really force the elbow lock, my arms end up being slightly different lengths due to my support hand being everso slightly further forward than my strong hand. i do think it allows me to really rotate and lock out my support hand wrist better though. id like to hear thoughts from others who have consciously tried and decided on a specific arm angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doublehelix Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 I prefer a more straight arm approach, but a slight elbow bend is FINE! Most of the top level shooters have some form of elbow bend, either down or out. Not much, but slight. I think you need to be comfortable, and I have always heard that you should never lock out your elbows or shoulders, although I prefer a pretty straight arm, I am not sure if I am actually *locking* my elbows. You are good as long as you can control the recoil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George16 Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 I never lock my elbows. I shoot with my elbows a little bit bent to allow the recoil to go to my shoulders which will absorb it better compared to the elbows. If you look at the top shooters, majority if not all of them have a slight bend on their elbows. They also cam their wrists to control the recoil much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HickLife Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 What ever is comfortable first of all, but I prefer slight bend. Your arms act sort of like a shock and will absorb the recoil allowing you to stay on target better with each shot. If you lock out that recoil will go all the way down to the small or your back (I have back issues also so the less shock down there the better) and could potentially cause your whole upper body to move with recoil. Sounds like you have a grip like mine, torque in with your arms on the grip and you don’t have to squeeze as hard with your hands to fight the recoil as well. Your biceps and forearms and pecs take over to help provide stabilitySent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Red_Dot said: I’ve been playing around with hand position, grip pressure and elbow angle/lock. ive seen a lot of people suggest a straight locked elbow is preferred but it feels very unnatural and then my arms feel very unbalanced in terms of force applied to the firearm and dry fire transitions feel strange. my upper arms and elbows are essentially parallel with the ground, so my elbows are up and strong giving good clamping pressure through my chest. But when I really force the elbow lock, my arms end up being slightly different lengths due to my support hand being everso slightly further forward than my strong hand. i do think it allows me to really rotate and lock out my support hand wrist better though. id like to hear thoughts from others who have consciously tried and decided on a specific arm angle. Don't lock your joints. Locked joints are not good for taking any type of impact energy. I usually recommend a mostly straight arm position. A slight bend is no big deal, too much of a bend sucks and locking the elbow in absolute end range of extension also sucks. Forcing your elbows up puts your shoulder into a compromised position (which is internal rotation in flexion). A more biomechanically efficient position is created by externally rotating the shoulder through all ranges of flexion. I've spoken about this at length in lots of other threads around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Stand up straight and relaxed with your arms hanging normally at your side. Bend over so your torso is parallel with the ground and allow your arms to hang down naturally so they are perpendicular to the ground. Now move both hands together into a grip position - without moving your arms or grip - stand up into your shooting position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Dot Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 5 hours ago, benos said: Stand up straight and relaxed with your arms hanging normally at your side. Bend over so your torso is parallel with the ground and allow your arms to hang down naturally so they are perpendicular to the ground. Now move both hands together into a grip position - without moving your arms or grip - stand up into your shooting position. Followed this and it feels perfectly natural. Thanks for the method! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkamps Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I don't lock out my arms, with any sport its not conductive to how you move, absorb energy, or release energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedevil008 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Find a top shooter with locked out arms... No, Chris Costa is not a top a shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrhawk Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 5/14/2018 at 4:23 PM, benos said: Stand up straight and relaxed with your arms hanging normally at your side. Bend over so your torso is parallel with the ground and allow your arms to hang down naturally so they are perpendicular to the ground. Now move both hands together into a grip position - without moving your arms or grip - stand up into your shooting position. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quliming Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Do not lock your elbow. Grip the gun with your hands, there shouldn't be much if any tension on your upper arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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