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Book Title:
Women's Guide to Buying Your First Handgun
Series:
Firearm/Pistol For Life Series
Author: Ruperto
Elpusan Jr.
Be sure to look for
ISBN #0-9772088-3-4 at Amazon, Powells and other fine
online retail bookstores. |
Chapter
Four: What
To Look For In Handguns, Part 3
2.
Grip Size
Grip
control is one of the basic fundamentals in shooting a handgun
and marksmanship. This
is very important and will make a difference in hitting your
targets or not.
This
is so important that we highlight the following point:
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Insight:
Grip control is very important and will make a
difference in hitting your targets or not.
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First,
let’s explore the proper way to grip a pistol with your strong
hand. The steps for
positioning the strong hand are itemized below.
Treatment of the weak hand is not included (which should
wrap around your strong hand to form a solid vice), nor the
position of your elbows and other aspects of the grip.
We focus on the strong hand only because this is the only
aspect relevant to our discussion on grip size.
1.
With your strong hand, make an “L” with your thumb
and fingers. The
thumb should be the base (horizontal) of that “L”.
2.
Put the backstrap of the gun’s grip (the back of the
grip) on the base of the “L” in #1 above.
Position the backstrap against the apex of the web of
your hand between the thumb and forefinger.
3.
Move your hand as high up on the curve of the gun’s
backstrap, without getting in the way of the hammer or slide
(depending on your gun).
4.
Your forefinger should rest naturally along the frame
above the trigger and the other three fingers should wrap around
the frontstrap of the grip.
5.
Your strong hand thumb should rest along the top of the
grip. Do not place
along the slide if it’s a semi-automatic (as it will interfere
with the slide’s operation).
Do not place too close to the magazine release (as it may
unintentionally dump the magazine during operation)
Now,
put your finger on the trigger.
(We’re assuming you’re practicing gun safety rules
--- gun is unloaded, muzzle pointing in a safe direction, etc.)
Can
your (strong hand) forefinger even reach the trigger without
repositioning your hand? If
not, this grip size is not going to work for you, and you should
move on to the next gun model.
Can
the pad of your forefinger rest on the trigger, with the top two
joints bent, and the second joint (middle knuckle on the
forefinger) forming at least a 45 degree angle with the base of
the forefinger? Try
this without adjusting the rest of your hand.
Your wrist should not twist or move in order to get the
finger on the trigger properly.
If
the answer to the above paragraph is no, then you will probably
have to move on to the next gun model.
There
might be exceptions if the above can be done marginally but not
completely. If push
came to shove and you had to use that gun in an emergency, you
can always adjust your grip.
Or if there is no smaller gun after months of shopping,
or maybe your hands are simply on the extremely small end, you
might also be able to live with that gun if you can purchase
after-market grips that are thinner.
Some popular models have many grip alternatives available
in the marketplace.
In
most cases, if the grip doesn’t feel comfortable after
following the instructions above, you should just move on to the
next gun model for consideration.
3.
Overall Gun Size
Normally,
if the overall size of the gun is too large for you, chances are
that the grip size will be too large also.
We focus on grip size first in our discussion because
that is the component of gun size that is most important.
Now we consider the rest of the gun.
The
gun can weigh too much for you.
It may be too heavy.
A
gun that is too heavy for you is difficult to grip. You may be able to hold it in the shooting position for one
round but the weight may hold you back with followup shots. If this is the case, just move on to the next gun model.
When
you’re at the gunstore, take the prospective gun in the
standing shooting position and hold that position for at least
20 seconds. Can you
do this? If not, don’t buy this gun.
The
gun weighs a lot because of larger parts and heavier materials.
There are good reasons for making larger guns but
they’re not appropriate for you if they’re too heavy.
4.
Recoil and Related
This
is one of the considerations you need to evaluate at the range
with a rental or borrowed gun, as you can’t do it at the
gunstore.
Recoil
is the backward momentum of the gun that results when firing.
It is what causes the gun to jump backward when you pull
the trigger and the bullet exits the muzzle. Recoil will be absorbed by the gun --- and you!
--- your hand, your wrist, your arms, your shoulder and
your body.
The
basic question is: Are
you able to control the recoil of the gun after a small amount
of training?
Some
amount of training is required.
Many newbies can’t handle recoil, especially with
larger caliber guns, without any time of guidance.
Recoil
management is not just about the capability and readiness of
your hand, wrist, elbow and other parts of your body to absorb
and control the recoil of each shot.
Recoil management is also how your other senses react to
recoil. Maybe the
gun is too loud for you (solution: use earplugs in addition to your ear muffs, get better ear
muffs)? Maybe your
eyes close? Maybe
your body flinches from all this?
Perhaps
some amount of training can mitigate recoil problems. Maybe better ear protection can help.
Maybe
you need to consider a lower caliber.
Or
maybe it’s just the gun.
If so, the solution is to move on to the next gun model.
5.
Caliber
The
caliber of the gun you select is important.
First and foremost, is the question about your goal in
owning and using a gun.
If
your goal is competition, the association you participate in
will determine the appropriate caliber.
There are competitions for .22 caliber, .45 caliber, and
any centerfire caliber over .32 caliber.
If
you are a recreational shooter, it will depend entirely on you.
If you are a plinker, if you want to plink light, you go
with a 17 or 22 caliber or if you want to go heavy, you go with
at least a 9mm or .38 special.
If
you are hunting, consult with a firearms instructor. For small game, a .22 caliber will do and for larger game,
you might have to go with a .44 Magnum, if you want to stay with
a handgun instead of a rifle.
If
it’s self-defense you are after, here is a rule of thumb:
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Rule:
For self-defense, you need to have at minimum 9mm
or .38 special.
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Another
rule is as follows:
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Rule:
Select as high a caliber as you can handle the
recoil, keeping the prior minimum calibers in mind.
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Most
women would tend to stay with 9mm or .38 special, which is
acceptable for self-defense purposes.
Continued
on Part 4
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