Shooting with small handguns
- Thread starter Annihilator
- Start date
Annihilator
Emissary
Me, too.
Mr. Untactical
Master Class
Not sucking up or anything
Shooting Well With Small Handguns - The Shooter's Log
Shooting well is important. Learn how to accurately and effectively fire a small handgun or pocket pistol with this article.blog.cheaperthandirt.com
but my CCW is a Springfield XD Mod.2 9mm sub-compact. It's small enough to conceal, even under a loose t-shirt, but carries 13+1 in the flush-mount mag. I think it's the best of both worlds when it comes to concealability and shootability. I've shot Shields, P365, and other small/micro compacts and just cannot get comfortable enough with them to the point I'd look forward to practicing with them regularly. On the other hand, my XD is a dream to shoot and the double-stack grip helps me keep a solid hold, even during rapid follow-up shots.I guess it just proves the old adage that firearms are personal and everyone has different fit and comfort levels.
^ For those of you who are having trouble with not having your middle finger, ring-finger, and pinky all around the grip frame, I wonder if you'll have breakthrough giving this a try:
The late Louis Awerbuck taught that strong-hand control of a handgun came from chiefly the strong-hand's middle finger, as well as counter-pressure along the rear of the grip frame via the proximal joint of the thumb (this latter is akin to the "twist to lock" method favored by Robert Vogel).
Awerbuck maintained that the dominant pinky on the grip is not only useless, but can potentially lead to reduced accuracy should the shooter “milk” the grip via sympathetic activation.
To Awerbuck, having the ring finger on the grip is an added bonus, but was not a necessity.
Not saying that this is right or wrong - nor even suggesting that I use this exact technique. However, it's worth adding to the knowledge base, particularly with knowledge of who this advice came from.
^ Yup, a lot of it comes down to practice - and whether the shooter deems "the juice to be worth the squeeze."
Much like @benstt and many of the others above, I also suffer from a subjective aversion to the lack of full purchase for my dominant pinky on the grip frame.
I know it's subjective because shot on the timer, to a scorable metric, there honestly isn't a difference....
But it does affect my confidence: so what do I do? I put an aftermarket "pinky extension" on the base of the truncated magazine. Luckily, this accessory paired with how I carry the gun doesn't raise my concealment profile: the gun doesn't print any more (or less, sadly) than it otherwise would without the extension at the base of the magazine.
Much like @benstt and many of the others above, I also suffer from a subjective aversion to the lack of full purchase for my dominant pinky on the grip frame.
I know it's subjective because shot on the timer, to a scorable metric, there honestly isn't a difference....
But it does affect my confidence: so what do I do? I put an aftermarket "pinky extension" on the base of the truncated magazine. Luckily, this accessory paired with how I carry the gun doesn't raise my concealment profile: the gun doesn't print any more (or less, sadly) than it otherwise would without the extension at the base of the magazine.
My biggest peeve when carrying is printing. That why my LC9's has been my #1 go to for a few years now. I only carry appendix when carrying concealed.^ Yup, a lot of it comes down to practice - and whether the shooter deems "the juice to be worth the squeeze."
Much like @benstt and many of the others above, I also suffer from a subjective aversion to the lack of full purchase for my dominant pinky on the grip frame.
I know it's subjective because shot on the timer, to a scorable metric, there honestly isn't a difference....
But it does affect my confidence: so what do I do? I put an aftermarket "pinky extension" on the base of the truncated magazine. Luckily, this accessory paired with how I carry the gun doesn't raise my concealment profile: the gun doesn't print any more (or less, sadly) than it otherwise would without the extension at the base of the magazine.
Me too. After a recent purchase I might have found my perfect carry gun. My Walther PPS M2 with the 7 round pinky extension allows me to get an excellent purchase when making my draw. Easy to get a nice 2 hand grip. Easy to get on target and accurate. The good lord (and wife) knows I have spent a lot of money looking for what I consider a perfect fit and carry. Next few months will be the putting this to the test. TSiWRX very nice breakdowns
^ For those of you who are having trouble with not having your middle finger, ring-finger, and pinky all around the grip frame, I wonder if you'll have breakthrough giving this a try:
The late Louis Awerbuck taught that strong-hand control of a handgun came from chiefly the strong-hand's middle finger, as well as counter-pressure along the rear of the grip frame via the proximal joint of the thumb (this latter is akin to the "twist to lock" method favored by Robert Vogel).
Awerbuck maintained that the dominant pinky on the grip is not only useless, but can potentially lead to reduced accuracy should the shooter “milk” the grip via sympathetic activation.
To Awerbuck, having the ring finger on the grip is an added bonus, but was not a necessity.
Not saying that this is right or wrong - nor even suggesting that I use this exact technique. However, it's worth adding to the knowledge base, particularly with knowledge of who this advice came from.
I have pinky extensions for all of my magazines for my XDs, so I’m good.
I like what Awerbuck advised and will try it to see if it works for me.
BangBang
Professional
As @TSiWRX stated, keeping the sights on target is key. Believe it or not I shoot my G26 very accurate. In my experience, especially with the 1st gen LC9 was the long heavy trigger press which in turn, on a smaller gun, at distance and I’m aware it’s not a target gun, but that is what, for me would “throw” my sights off. The LC9s Pro. Much better due to the better trigger.
When you aren’t fighting a long heavy trigger you are less likely to move or disturb your sight picture, again from my experience.
When you aren’t fighting a long heavy trigger you are less likely to move or disturb your sight picture, again from my experience.
J-doo
Operator
I’ve been carrying my Shield .45 quite a lot lately. It is surprisingly easy to shoot for such a small .45. I take at least on subcompact to the range with me every week. I’m getting fairly proficient with all of them. It definitely makes me a lot better shot with my larger pistols.
^ That's a very good point - we all have our individual needs where it comes to our depth of concealment and "carry profile."
For some of us, there are legal considerations to "printing."
For others, there are social consequences that can well be even more dire/disastrous.
I really think that the biggest hurdle to legal concealed-carry facing newcomers is just how much of the equation is subjective and unique-person based. It honestly really demands a bit of earnest homework, and the years of experience built upon by truly daily-carrying and training is hard to substitute for, or even fully translate/transmit to another.
Peglegjoe
Professional
I curl my pinky under the baseplate on my XDs (size XL gloves), and hold it in place with my support hand. I keep my support hand underneath the baseplate as opposed to on the left side of the grip, it's just the way I was taught and it keeps me accurate, stable, and relatively quick to get back on target. I grip the gun with my strong hand, then the baseplate/pinky go smack in the palm of my support hand with thumb up the weak side of the pistol, and fingers up on top of my strong-hand fingers. Right, wrong, I don't know...but it works for me and keeps me consistent so I'm not going to poke the bear with a stick and try to change things now.
I carry with the flush-fit (7-round) mag in my XDs 9mm, and I actually shoot marginally better with that than I do with my spare 8-rd mag because of the pinky being under the baseplate instead of on the grip. I guess that's just a matter of practice.
I carry with the flush-fit (7-round) mag in my XDs 9mm, and I actually shoot marginally better with that than I do with my spare 8-rd mag because of the pinky being under the baseplate instead of on the grip. I guess that's just a matter of practice.