Rifle grip change on faster stages?

[bigdawgbeav]

A couple weeks ago I was shooting the PA State SC Championship and found myself unconsciously bringing my support hand closer to the receiver on the faster stages. I can't recall ever doing this in the past. Anyone else experience this?

 

I'm assuming that it's my brain making the adjustment so that there isn't this elephant trunk just hanging out there slowing things down.

[DM61]

I do that on smoke & hope. Might try it on a few others 

[zzt]

I tried that several times.  Faster, but less accurate.  I'm only an A, so it might just be skill level that is the problem.  All my long guns sport 16" barrels.  I place my left hand halfway down.

[Squirrel45]

Definitely agree faster but I loose control. It's like using a Mod grip feels fast put I can't control it. I end up using a long reach grip just like on a PCC. Definitely a personal preference. 

[Squirrel45]

I played with this today for a bit on roundabout. When I moved my support arm back I dropped about .1 to .15 of a second. The only issue I had was with the hand being about half way back on the grip I lost the habit of holding it tight to the shoulder. I think I'll try this w another stage. 

[bigdawgbeav]

On 5/31/2023 at 9:11 PM, Squirrel45 said:

I played with this today for a bit on roundabout. When I moved my support arm back I dropped about .1 to .15 of a second. The only issue I had was with the hand being about half way back on the grip I lost the habit of holding it tight to the shoulder. I think I'll try this w another stage. 

i found the same with S&H. thats where I first noticed it with the large swings

[zzt]

2 hours ago, bigdawgbeav said:

i found the same with S&H. thats where I first noticed it with the large swings

 

Okay.  I'll try it again on S&H now that I'm not using the Wiland barrel anymore.

[Squirrel45]

Latest trial error. I tried this weekend th 5 to go works well with the grip back. I then tried this with speed option and this didn't work for me. I was to inconsistent. Yes faster on plate 4 but everything else was more shaky. I think I'll stick to a longer grip on the far stages. But don't take my word for it I'm nothing special. 

[PeterParfinik]

When I was shooting a fixed length stock I had the fore end littered with painters tape marking my forward hand position for each stage.  The dynamics of the whole gun can drastically change depending on how far forward or rearward your hand placement. The same way an adjustable stock on an AR style gun can alter the feel and swing. When I  started shooting an AXIOM stock I also tried the butt stock adjustment on each stage. My conclusion was to adjust the length of pull and find a front hand placement where the gun was balanced in my hands. At that point it never felt like an elephant trunk hanging out there.

 

This also goes for the weight of the gun. I currently am shooting a JP-5 and JP-22 set up as identical as possible 5-1/2 lbs and 5 lbs. The weight does not matter because the guns are very well balanced.

 

Just like one pro hooks their finger on the front of a pistol guard and another doesn’t , give it a good try and if it works for you then stick with it or change it up again, always looking for that small edge that works for you. Good luck with this technique and let us know if it helps you out.