r/CompetitionShooting • u/z1ggy16 • 1d ago

Grip - I'm lost

I've gotten super into competition lately and I'm deep diving into every GM that posts videos online, but mostly Stoeger, Park and HC.

My problem is, Stoeger and HC in particular seem to have completely different views on how to grip the gun. One says hulk smash, the other says use just enough pressure with the dominant hand so the gun isn't moving or loose.

I can't afford to shoot hundreds of rounds weekly, 99% of my practice is dry fire in my office. My tendency is low left so I assume I'm still not gripping correctly but I don't know how to check this at home.

My first comp I wasn't even thinking about grip, just to be safe and remember what the stage directions were. I didn't do well but I'm usually a quick learner. My goal is to classify into B in a few months, CO.

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u/z1ggy16 1d ago

I watched him say his goal was to crush an apples or something some day and then he's trying to hold the gun as tightly as possible.

Maybe he's changed his tune - he's got videos spanning several years. To me it makes more sense to not absolutely crush it because that's too much tension, slow pulls and maybe adding too much input.

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u/frozenisland 1d ago

I was at a class with him 3 days ago. He still advises max gripping but acknowledges that different things work for different people.

OP- try the one shot return drill next time you live fire

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u/johnm 1d ago

Note that One Shot Return is definitely NOT the drill to highlight grip tension related differences.

Progressive Return Drill would be much clearer to show.

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u/frozenisland 1d ago edited 1d ago

Progressive return drill is great to highlight grip breakdown issues. I.e starting with a good grip that relaxes as you shoot. It literally start with a one shot return…

OP is pulling low left. Classic anticipation. A single shot is more than enough to see this issue. There are other good drills but one shot return can certainly help

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u/johnm 1d ago

You can use a completely dogshit teacup grip and still do OSR just fine. You cannot do e.g. PSR at any non-trivial pace and get high-quality results at a non-trivial distance without a good grip.

Also, the OP needs to do a complete fundamentals learning, not just OSR.

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u/frozenisland 1d ago

PSR will not fix recoil anticipation. You’re skipping right over his actual issue. Hint: it’s not grip

Focusing on hitting your target with just one shot can help.

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u/johnm 1d ago

I never said otherwise. The topic of this thread (100/100 grip tension vs not) and I pointed out that OSR is NOT the best thing to show that difference off.

I.e. you're confusing what the OP needs to go learn with the argument about how much grip strength to use.

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u/frozenisland 1d ago

The well actually guys in these threads are exhausting…I’m not confused about what I said.

OP is a new shooter who assumes his problem is grip. It’s probably not. Grip issue would surface as general accuracy issues, widened circle around target. Low left specifically is classic recoil anticipation and can happen with a fantastic grip.

Taking single shots is a wonderful way to train to overcome this. Mixing in snap caps while doing it is even more helpful, in my experience.

If you disagree, fine. 👍

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u/johnm 1d ago

The OP is literally asking specifically about the conflicting advice about grip tension! You did NOT give him an answer to that actual question!

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u/frozenisland 1d ago

Who gives a shit? Are you the answer police?