Interesting thoughts on grip practice vs match

l know this and how to do it right but it's interesting how an error can blind you. 

Practice, and some very local competitions,  where I'm not stressed to get up early and drive 3 hours etc...goes just fine, no flips, jerks, or errors. Good scores, A good shoot and I've won those matches.

Fast forward to competitios elsewhere... stress, expectations, not enough match opportunities, experimentation with different guns and ammo combinations ( that don't all work well)... shooting well is easy, poor shooting is hard work.

..l discovered I end up gripping tighter especially as the match goes on. Results in bigger groups AND stress on my arm hints of tendonitis.

Last match in NJ, raining, shooting wasn't going terribly well. First match of the year, with different guns and ammo. Nothing spectacular, up and down but below average on average. Into the end of 45 woke up and eased off grip, not loose, but away from the unrealized "Too tight with flips" mode. First RF string 5x, second not so good as distracted by noisy gator rolling around behind the firing line during commands. 3&4th superb 98 many x.

Re-did comparisons next day at home, day and night difference.. targets with.a few white shots vs shooting cleans.

I Just have to recognize when it's happening and correct it, and it doesn't hurt my arm so much either. Thanks Lateif for pointing it out!

Bruce, make your grip part of your shooting process. It should be!

Whether at a match or training, you should execute your shot process identically. 

For slow fire; grip, shoot shot, relax grip. Repeat 9x
For timed fire; grip, shoot 5 shots, relax grip. Repeat.
For rapid fire; grip, shoot 5 shots, relax grip. Repeat.

In a nutshell you are replicating exactly the same thing all the time. No difference between SF, TF and RF. Match and training are always identical. Your subconscious mind would not know the difference. That's why execution of shot plan is so important, it doesn't matter where you are shooting.

Relaxing should also be the brain. You cannot shoot great scores if you wear yourself out thinking. Learn to relax between shots and strings of fire. You will maintain better physical and mental endurance and experience less mental fatigue as well as gripping.

Put this in your book

Jon

This brings up (for me!) issue with over-gripping.  I noticed that with anatomic grips (i.e. Custom Rink's) on 22/32 Pardinis I do not need to grip as strong as I do on 1911.  If I grip Pardinis harder then necessary, I experience trigger finger "freezing"!  2 1/2 #s trigger becomes unbreakable.  Abort / TOTO!  Am I correct?

AP

Proper grip pressure is proper grip pressure. Yeah I know this sounds simple, but in dry practice and live fire training we should be learning how firmly to grip the pistol regardless of the grip; euro or slab. Euros are more fingertip pressure sensitive than slabs. Ultimately we need to learn how to separate the trigger finger from the gripping fingers. Only through repetitive practice can we learn this. This is why I say dry firing teaches us and live fire confirms what we learned. It's important that what we train in dry firing we do exactly the same thing at the range during live fire. You have to see if it's working or not. Change takes 4-6 months, it doesn't happen over night. That's why a training plan helps. 
Trigger pull is number one and grip is a close second.
Jon

AP. You also need to consider that a "custom" Rink, as it comes from the factory is not a perfect match for your, or anyone else's, hand. If you cannot take a firm grip without your trigger finger "freezing" then, IMHO, your Rink grip is nowhere close to fitting you properly. Lots of Dremel work, putty, grip tape, etc., usually required. You know that, remember Keith S puttying up his grip at Canton last year whilst waiting to go to the line!

Even lucky folks who have visited Rink, or Morini, or the "old man" at Pardini, continue to fine tune their (custom custom) grips as time goes by.

JE will no doubt expand on this issue - I am just "throwing my opinion into the ring".

Bruce, thank you for starting this post. 
I like what Jon just mentioned about relaxing between shots on slow fire or between strings of TF or RF, made me think. No wonder I'm gripping the piss out of the gun before I get to the NMC, and my trigger finger doesn't behave as it should. BTW Bruce great book.
 Thanks, Stan

RoyDean wrote:AP. You also need to consider that a "custom" Rink, as it comes from the factory is not a perfect match for your, or anyone else's, hand. If you cannot take a firm grip without your trigger finger "freezing" then, IMHO, your Rink grip is nowhere close to fitting you properly. Lots of Dremel work, putty, grip tape, etc., usually required. You know that, remember Keith S puttying up his grip at Canton last year whilst waiting to go to the line!

Even lucky folks who have visited Rink, or Morini, or the "old man" at Pardini, continue to fine tune their (custom custom) grips as time goes by.

JE will no doubt expand on this issue - I am just "throwing my opinion into the ring".

Roy,
My Rink's are fully Custom specific to my hand.  After a bit of Dremel work and addition of putty in few places, I sent modified grip to Mr. Rink as a mold / model.  Several grips made based on that model fit me quite well.  I can't say it is perfect, as Rink would not modify some spots (i.e. gap between grip and palm shelf where pinky goes).  However it is way better than Rink's regular factory production.  Unfortunately I doubt I'll have opportunity to visit Mr. Rink in person any time soon.

"Freezing" is totally on me.  Firm grip with all gripping fingers is fine.  However when I practice gripping with just middle finger, that's when it starts.

AP

Knowing is one thing, Doing is another.

I know what I know it but don't always do it. Not enough training or match entry is my guess.

Clearly, I'm not in training, nor dry firing enough however l think it's also a duration issue. DF for a few minutes is not same as extended live fire match shooting. Rrepeating over more than one day firms it all up, but a weekend 2700 shoot for me is 1x/month;, not enough. I think that's why I did well at the USAS Nationals since you have a training day then two match days in succession. Similar thing at Perry, you're shooting every day, all week. Tension and anxiety leads to overgripping and finger lock up that releases with a twitch.

The ortho grips do not allow the hard grip l put on with slabs and hardball shooting...I'll have to try them again or just remember not to grip so tight.

It happens that I have been investigating this issue quite seriously for myself just recently. I have an ongoing dialogue about it, I've even started to seriously dry-fire!

I guess that we are all just a little different, both physically and mentally!

Currently I don't think that I am gripping my Rink Pardini grips hard enough. I use agressive grip tape under the pad of my thumb and where the heel of my hand contacts the palm shelf (especially important for me with ISSF style grips).

I need all of my fingers and thumb (except trigger finger of course) to be in good firm contact. My thumb pressure kinda balances my pinkie pressure. I now find it easier to achieve a good grip with a 1911 Sharkskin aggressive style and form. I am about to commence deeper Dremel work on the Rink grips in order to give my pinkie a better "home". I now think that the volume of the Rink "girth" is too much for my short fingered hands, I will be experimenting with that soon.

I don't suffer from trigger finger "freezing", but I have plenty of other idiosyncrasies and faults!

But, of course, what works best for me only applies strictly to me!

bruce martindale wrote:l know this and how to do it right but it's interesting how an error can blind you. 
.........I Just have to recognize when it's happening and correct it, and it doesn't hurt my arm so much either. Thanks Lateif for pointing it out!

Maybe when its happening, you need to not correct it, but adapt to it.

I have found that my grip has a tendency to relax as I continue to practice or train, particularly slow fire.  When it’s relaxed I find my wobble never Seems to settle and the groups open.  So, during slow fire training, I grip with my firm grip until I fire the first round then when resting I relax the tension a little as I rest the pistol on my block.  Just before I raise the pistol I bring back the tension before I raise the pistol.  I find a firmer grip reduces my wobble and the minimum wobble lasts longer.  During Timed or Rapid there’s no relaxation.  As for the amount of tension, it’s about the same as what I would do to a hammer when driving a framing nail.  (not that I did that a lot)

Just 50 yd practice with easier grip, no flips or jerks, smooth trigger control, shots on call. Grip it tight, TOTO, then ease off. Lift with eyes closed, settle in then open your eyes. Watch wobble settle in as you build trigger. Bingo, process is ruined by the gun going off. Follow through, Recover, then lower

Free Pistol target used at 50 yards. Thanks