Weak hand position?

[Broncman]

Do you use a outstretched locked elbow weak hand grip or is it pulled in some?

 

Which gives you more control and faster transitions?

 

Going to play with my foregrip handstop position  a little. I almost feel like a fully locked elbow may be slower in transitions.

[phoenixsomd]

So far I'm in the slightly-bent elbow camp.  I've compared and I'm slightly faster this way.  Moving positions and shifting the butt off and on my shoulder feels more natural.

[Startingover]

Mine is bent, trying to remember to pull in towards me.

I run a 13.5" handguard and I hook my index finger over the end, so it's not far enough away to get my arm straight.

 

[MoRivera]

Pulled in some, gives me more range for movement.  Use a 12.5" hand guard with a Magpul M-lok angled fore grip a few slots back.

[Bwillis]

I don’t think there is a one size fits all. Imo it has to do with your lop, for example I use my stock 1 click from the receiver. My weak hand elbow is slightly bent. I wrap pinky to middle finger under handguard pointer finger inline with barrel at end of handguard, thumb wrapped over the top. I have a friend that’s opposite he uses his stock 6 clicks from receiver hand is 1/2 to 3/4 way down the handguard. I tried a foregrip didn’t like it. 

[ericskennard]

Yup, slightly bent and pulling with the weak hand so the butt pushes into the shoulder.

[BiggMike]

Slightly bent and pulling into my shoulder.

[GorillaTactical]

In my experience, best recoil control on long guns / best way to secure repeatable and predictable dot movement comes from eliminating as much slop as possible between the stock and shoulder - I achieve this by applying reward pressure to the gun with my support hand, and forward pressure from my shoulder. 

 

If you think about it like tug of war, where you're pulling on a rope...at what point do you believe you have the greatest ability to maximize your "pull strength"?  Is it with the elbow locked, slightly bent, significantly bent?  Is it with the elbow below the rope, above the rope, in line with the rope?  

 

For me, it's approx. in line, with a slight bend...hopefully these photos will help illustrate.  Picture #3 is of a hard lean out of position, so you can see over the top of the shoulder a bit better.

Edited February 24, 2019 by GorillaTactical

[Flatland Shooter]

I've shortened up my PCC buttstock to the first or second notch so I can bring gun closer to my centerline and away from the shoulder. This allows me to keep both shoulders square to the targets and my head up.   Seems to really help with dot movement.

 

The hard part is, after over 55 years of shooting rifles and shotguns, remembering to bring the gun all the way in at the buzzer.  

 

On the handguard I keep my weak hand about 6" forward of the magwell with my elbow bent. My thumb rests on the left side of the handguard pointing at the target.  Feels more natural to me and also ensures my thumb does not block the laser.

Edited February 24, 2019 by Flatland Shooter

[2scoops]

And twist anti clockwise with weak hand on guard, together with clockwise on the strong hand. 

[RaylanGivens]

I notice most people point either their pointer finger or thumb down the barrel toward the target... 

 

I grip the handguard with my left hand like a hammer...  Four fingers go under the handguard (Taccom CF Tube) and my thumb goes over the top...

 

I've tried pointing my finger down the barrel, but it seems awkward to me...  Am I missing something?  Should I force myself to shoot with my finger pointing down the barrel?

 

[egd5]

I remember watching a video from Jerry Micelek about shooting. His basic point was keep it simple and natural. If you have to train yourself to get in some unnatural position it's probably not the best thing.

[dmshozer1]

40 minutes ago, RaylanGivens said:

I notice most people point either their pointer finger or thumb down the barrel toward the target... 

 

I grip the handguard with my left hand like a hammer...  Four fingers go under the handguard (Taccom CF Tube) and my thumb goes over the top...

 

I've tried pointing my finger down the barrel, but it seems awkward to me...  Am I missing something?  Should I force myself to shoot with my finger pointing down the barrel?

 

Don,t be a follower,

If it feels good to you, do it.

If you really think pointing your finger is going to help, try it.

Different personal body types, short arms, long arms fat, skinny will determine what works for you.

 

[dmshozer1]

2 minutes ago, egd5 said:

I remember watching a video from Jerry Micelek about shooting. His basic point was keep it simple and natural. If you have to train yourself to get in some unnatural position it's probably not the best thing.

Amen!

[Broncman]

9 minutes ago, egd5 said:

I remember watching a video from Jerry Micelek about shooting. His basic point was keep it simple and natural. If you have to train yourself to get in some unnatural position it's probably not the best thing.

Probably best advice yet!

[XD Niner]

I've timed myself on identical transition drills with my elbow locked and with my elbow pulled in and bent.  I used three targets at 15 yards with three yards between the targets for the drills. In one version, I shot two per target (6 shots total) reversing directions every run.  In the second, I shot one per target repeating twice starting with the first target for a total of nine shots per run.  Again, I switched directions every other run.  I ran each drill eight times, four using a locked elbow and four using a bent elbow..

 

I was consistently faster and more accurate with my elbow bent.  Like many above, I use the support hand to pull the butt tight against my shoulder.  This gives me much better muzzle control both in recoil and in changing aiming points to a new target.  A bent elbow facilitates this. I also found the locked elbow technique to be more tiring. 

[GorillaTactical]

2 hours ago, RaylanGivens said:

I notice most people point either their pointer finger or thumb down the barrel toward the target... 

 

I grip the handguard with my left hand like a hammer...  Four fingers go under the handguard (Taccom CF Tube) and my thumb goes over the top...

 

I've tried pointing my finger down the barrel, but it seems awkward to me...  Am I missing something?  Should I force myself to shoot with my finger pointing down the barrel?

 

People talk about pointing the finger to "point at the target"...honestly, I've not found that to be the case, although admittedly it is why I first tried it.  By pointing the finger, you're rotating your wrist back slightly from the "hammer grip" that you've described.  For me, I find there is less tension being applied to my wrist by pointing, which I prefer.  That "hammer" wrist alignment is similar to how I shoot pistols, but when I extend out on a long gun, I've found no advantage to torquing on my wrist.  

Edited February 25, 2019 by GorillaTactical

[NoKimberDave]

14 hours ago, 2scoops said:

And twist anti clockwise with weak hand on guard, together with clockwise on the strong hand. 

 

I'm going to try this! It's opposite of what I do with a pistol. But just air gunning it make it feel like it engages left shoulder.

 

 

 

[Silver_Surfer]

No, I grip all my AR's the same. Most of them has a vertical grip