How Do I Stop Doing This?

[DezHall]

Hey guys I am just curious how I stop doing this. For some reason when I am shooting in a match I always end up with my finger here. I have been working on drawing and dry firing a lot and I don't do this at all then. It only seems to happen when I am shooting matches.

Is this going to cause any real issues? Do I really need to fix this problem?

Edited December 20, 2006 by DezHall

[Flexmoney]

Just decide.

I see Matt is posting...so I won't have to type any more.

(I was going to reference his post of picturing things in your mind.)

[Matt Cheely]

I believe that you should get your finger off the trigger guard. The part about only doing it at matches would indicate that you haven't really fixed the problem with dryfire. You need to change in your head that your finger isn't going to go there again. If you pick up the gun and you have to tell yourself to put your finger in the "right" place, keep on mentally showing yourself that proper grip till it just happens.

Thanks Flex

Edited December 20, 2006 by Matt Cheely

[DezHall]

I believe that you should get your finger off the trigger guard. The part about only doing it at matches would indicate that you haven't really fixed the problem with dryfire. You need to change in your head that your finger isn't going to go there again. If you pick up the gun and you have to tell yourself to put your finger in the "right" place, keep on mentally showing yourself that proper grip till it just happens.

Thanks Flex

Thanks guys for the replies. I guess I will just have to keep working on it. I thought maybe someone would tell me its not a big deal. Oh well looks like more practice for me.

[HSMITH]

I shot that way for the first 6 or 8 months of competing, and did fine for my experience and skill level. Read Brians book, read hours and hours on here, and decided to change to all fingers on grip/unitized grip. It IS a better way. Recoil recovery is faster, but the HUGE thing is your left index finger isn't able to 'steer' as you are shooting. Definately change it IMO, but if you absolutely can't stop I have seen some VERY good shooters with a finger on the trigger guard so it isn't the end of the world.

Matt is right, you need to program the grip to where it is natural. Took me a few weeks, but it was worth it.

[Catfish]

when you dryfire, you should be burning the "right" way into your subconscious. To me, that meant/means going slow in dry fire, kinda like Tai Chi. Work on perfect form and go for speed later.

Noticing is the first step in correcting.

[Flatland Shooter]

Weak hand trigger finger on the front of the trigger guard is "old school". Lots of shooters years ago did it (and often won matches) using that extra finger to hold down the gun.

But back then I felt it helped me pull shots to the left.

But this begs the question, why do so many gunsmiths still checker the front of the trigger guard on their custom guns?

Bill

[BSeevers]

This guy does it all wrong too.

Now I do recommend that you don't put your finger there. I think he says the same thing.

[Flatland Shooter]

This guy does it all wrong too.

Yeah, doen't it piss you off to get beat by a guy with poor fundamentals?

[outerlimits]

the burner did this throughout his career as well. i tried it in the early years but seemed to slow down my draw and gave it up.

[Miranda]

I am new to shootin' and I also hook the trigger guard.

I use the left index finger to help push the grip into my right hand.

It feels comfortable?

I suspect it can cause problems however.

the only trick to stop doing it...

Try hard to notice what happens that causes you to hook the guard.

for me It seems to be as part of firing rapidly.

the faster I aim and pull trigger

the more likely I am to reach out to the trigger guard.

so for me I think the root cause is that I want to feel

like I have good control of the pistol.

This means my answer is firmer grip with my right hand.

( I don't like this answer....I'll explain later)

I stop reaching out to hook guard when I have a firm grip.

the reason I don't like it is that my firmer right hand grip

at speed is less accurate....

I found I was chuckling at myself at the realization

that I really wanted my left hand to hold the pistol

and my right hand index finger to smoothly pull trigger ...

hard to to well....

so pay close attention to you when you are shooting

and try to see why you hook the trigger guard.

v miranda

[grandbagger]

lets see what angus says about this.......

[Vlad]

This is one of those issues where there is a right answer for A LOT of people, but not for everyone. The "right" grip works great for a large majority of people, yet there are some top shooters who do it the "wrong" way and it works for them.

There is a set of things that work best for most people. Do they ALL work best for everyone? No, but that doesn't mean that trying those things and seeing if they work for you too shouldn't be the first step. Maybe someone will win the nationals with their mags pointing the "wrong" way in the mag pouches. That doesn't mean that all new shooters should turn their mags around, the "right" way still works best for most folks.

Did I just muddy the waters?

[Ed K]

Cut a small piece of grip/skateboard tape. Stick it on the receiver where you think your finger should be. Practice, practice, practice from the draw. Eventually your finger will naturally end up there.

[Angus Hobdell]

ME too have for years I know everyone tells me its wrong......

I even teach the grip the "correct" way but I have been doing this so many darn years ....

Started with small frame guns where you nowhere for the pinky, hey BTW anyone think that Eric coming on the scene some years after me in Europe may have copied mine or Jerry's grip, but we must be wrong and I always say if it feels good...... Git er done

Edited December 21, 2006 by Angus Hobdell

[JFD]

I do it, but don't apply pressure to the trigger guard. If I apply pressure, then it can become a problem. Took about 10 years to quit applying pressure.

I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else, but it works very well for me.

[DJPoLo]

I was hooking my finger around the trigger guard when I first started as well.

The first time I took a video camera out to the practice range and reviewed the tape I was shocked to see that I was regripping the gun after every shot.

Then I came home and did tons of dryfire practice and video taped a lot of it (to critique my technique) to try to eliminate my old grip habit.

Once back on the range for live fire the video footage revealed that with my new gripping technique (with left index finger under the trigger guard) there was no more regripping after every shot and my shooting speed increased tremendously.

-Chet

[Middle Man]

Git er done

Pardon the drift but, I think Angus has now officially passed his American slang test...

Edited December 21, 2006 by Middle Man

[Keith]

Git er done

Pardon the drift but, I think Angus has now officially passed his American slang test...

It doesn't sound right in my head, though.

[DezHall]

Thanks again for all the advice guys. I dont think I am putting any pressure on the trigger guard with that finger but I guess it will be best to try and get rid of the bad habit before it is too late.

I will see if someone can video tape or take some pics this next match and see what other bad habits I am doing while I shoot. Will be kind of interesting to see.

The last match I shot I had a round where I was stepping forward with my right foot ahead of my left foot. I have never done this before or since. Its interesting to notice what is causing the issues you dont have when dry firing.

[Crusher]

Pardon the drift but, I think Angus has now officially passed his American slang test..

Not yet but he is CLOSE

"Git er Dun" is the phonetical, he allmost had it though. Now in the NE it would be "Complete the project" either is acceptable for the "Slang Lang".

As far as the Finger, if it feels comfortable and does not slow you down (timer need to test) or effect accuracy have at it.

[Loves2Shoot]

the burner did this throughout his career as well. i tried it in the early years but seemed to slow down my draw and gave it up.

Like Angus and Eric, he taught not doing it that way. As long as you are not moving the gun around shouldn't be a problem. If you want to stop it, put some grip tape up there so you can feel when you do it.

[benos]

I speed-read this thread - but didn't notice if anyone mentioned that - regardless of whether it's good or bad to shoot with your finger on the trigger guard - what isn't good is to do something differently in a match from what you do in practice.

be

[Revopop]

I did this with my Glock 35 for a year and it worked well for me. Then I got a Wilson KZ and it didn't work. After seeing a Todd Jarrett video online where he talked about grip, I realized the reason why it worked with the Glock is because I wasn't using a proper support grip when I didn't hook the trigger guard. It wasn't too difficult to unlearn for me, just because everything else I was doing was right. It did require a fair amount of slow, repetitive, boring dryfire, though. Now if I could just train myself to place my trigger finger in the right spot...

[Steve Moneypenny]

Brian nailed what i was going to add.

first i sometiems do this when i'm in an extreme hurry for some reason it gets stuck there. i feel that i don't get as full of a grip on my gun when my hand is that far forward.

it can also exert pressure on the gun and "steer" it in places you don't want it. Can angus, eric and others do this yes, they have practiced it forever, it's what's natural to them now... would i reccomend it for someone new.. like angus said.. no , as instructors we teach and recomend what works best over a broad spectrum until we get into highly specialized training.

also work on camming yoru weak wrist just a little more pushing the gun out. it should help the gun return faster and flip less.

My apologies.. the solution you asked for.

Dry fire with major concentration on grip. then dry fire other things not really thinking about the grip.... shoot more ammo making sure you do it right. ... it might require sacraficing a match but force yourself to do it.. imagine your self doing it right. and don't accept anything less than what you expect.