Crossfire Ep 4 Firing Hand Grip

[Lowlight]

Mission of the Firing Hand, first to press the trigger straight to rear without disturbing the lay of the sights, second is to support the firing process.



Next Episode, Looking at the firing hand placement and your trigger shoe interface

 

[DocRDS]

I fought all my life with rifle "fit" Monkey boy arms mean my LOP is ridiculous but it affects a whole host of things like scope placement and grip. Its nice to see some outside the box thinking on the trigger press as well.

A lot of people think you can't use your "non" trigger fingers as well, but they can be trained up. Its kinda silly but watch a master piano player--all five of there fingers have equal and supreme dexteriy because of the hours spent training those muscles for precise movements. If you place your hand flat, most people cannot raise fingers 2,3,4 as far up as the index (especially the ring finger). Watch anyone who works with their hands in a fine dexterity job. They can use ALL 4 fingers independently.

 

[MCHOG]

Great info. Great presentation.
Much better audio with Chris mic'd up.

 

[jsimonh]

I liked this one. At 6'7" most of the info doesn't "fit" me when it comes to rifle fitment. Nice to hear a different perspective. I like the LOP to the grip idea, what's the rule of thumb for that measurement?

 

[BLKWLFK9]

I've been playing with my grip a little bit. I feel like I get a more 90 Deg angle and possibly a more consistent pull if I basically run my index and middle finger parallel with each other in that 90deg angel and pinch the bottom of the trigger guard between the 2 fingers. Idk if that description paints a clear picture or not but it feels good. The only concern I have is I then only have 2 fingers on the grip to pull the rifle into my shoulder/clavicle. I'll keep playing with it and see how consistent it is.

 

[MCHOG]

I've been playing with my grip a little bit. I feel like I get a more 90 Deg angle and possibly a more consistent pull if I basically run my index and middle finger parallel with each other in that 90deg angel and pinch the bottom of the trigger guard between the 2 fingers. Idk if that description paints a clear picture or not but it feels good. The only concern I have is I then only have 2 fingers on the grip to pull the rifle into my shoulder/clavicle. I'll keep playing with it and see how consistent it is.

That's a really interesting idea. It does seem like (especially with a light trigger), the ability to pinch the trigger guard and slide along it might provide some control that a "free floating" finger might not have. Probably best with a flat trigger shoe.

 

[BLKWLFK9]

That's a really interesting idea. It does seem like (especially with a light trigger), the ability to pinch the trigger guard and slide along it might provide some control that a "free floating" finger might not have. Probably best with a flat trigger shoe.

Yup. I shoot a flat trigger shoe and by doing it this way, I feel like it isolates my trigger finger and provides more control. Like I said, I'm going to play with it prone shooting groups and positional to figure out if I have adequate control of the rifle.

 

[Baron23]

@lowlight - thanks Frank...I really enjoyed this one and as I posted in the other thread, I really like these bite sized length and single topic vids and hope you and Chris will continue to produce them.

Wow, grip and placement on the trigger shoe has been a long standing issue for me with the JAE chassis I shoot (but I'm also looking at getting a Vision for a number of reasons, but ability to change grip config is a principal one).

I too have small hands (hey, we aren't small...we are just efficient). Wrt to the JAE, I worked with Tyler Kemp to produce a 3D printed modified grip that is far more vertical than the OG one and has the grip front strap closer to the trigger shoe. Its better...not sure its optimal but its much better.

I don't know what's going on with handgun grips, as you mentioned. But, I have seen an evolution in competition shotgun stock fitting and in particular with the grips which have generally gone from really slanted back, traditional hunting stock type, grips to ones that are far more vertical and closer. Of course, in shotgunning the trigger control is far less important that in rifle.

And I found it very interesting that you mentioned finding an "index" for your hand placement as I have spent a good bit of time (and confusion) trying different hand positions and looking at the impact on my trigger finger and keeping it parallel to the rifle for a straight back press, and looking for a reference (index) so that I can get back into the exact same position after running the bolt. I'm still working on it and I'm looking forward to some professional eyes on my fundamentals in PA in Sep.

Now, what Chris showed with the AI and middle finger prob wouldn't work for me (or perhaps you) because of hand size. Chris looks like he could palm a basketball! haha

Final note, when teaching skeet, if a student had a consistent issue with a particular target (like H2 for a right-hander) and was making the very same error each and every time, we often would have them use their middle (bird) finger on the trigger. This makes the shooter a bit uncomfortable so their focus on the target is sharper and it seems to work to get around bad muscle memory of the erroneous move. Unfortunately, often as soon as the student becomes comfortable shooting with their middle finger, the errors come back.

Cheers

 

[Feniks Technologies]

I've been playing with my grip a little bit. I feel like I get a more 90 Deg angle and possibly a more consistent pull if I basically run my index and middle finger parallel with each other in that 90deg angel and pinch the bottom of the trigger guard between the 2 fingers. Idk if that description paints a clear picture or not but it feels good. The only concern I have is I then only have 2 fingers on the grip to pull the rifle into my shoulder/clavicle. I'll keep playing with it and see how consistent it is.

If I’m picturing it correctly, pretty common. Works for a lot of guys. Especially if not a heavy recoiling rifle where you want to be applying rearward pressure.

 

[BLKWLFK9]

Yup. Basically. Vibbert does it too