Holding a revolver when shooting

When shooting a RSBH Hunter ,44 mag, should it be held tightly with a firm grip or with a not so firm grip to roll in the hand with the recoil

Depends on who you ask! I shoot all my single actions with my little finger under the grip frame. I don't like them to roll. Others will have other opinions.

You hold it the way you shoot the best.


Concentrate on sight picture and trigger squeeze. Form will come from that.


Bob Wright

Firm grip, always. Grip consistancy is paramount in shooting a wheelgun and a firm grip is that. Not white knuckle, but a good hold. Imagine you are shaking your future father-in-law's hand for the first time.

You should also grip the gun as high as possible on the grips without interfering with the hammer. Many people grip much too low, which aggravates the problem due to the geometry of revolvers.

"Learn" from the Master...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEHNZFTfSD8&index=5&list=PLkWiFQrCP_lu3c9jsyL-rHFfxSPumzW7I

Bob Wright said:

You hold it the way you shoot the best.


Concentrate on sight picture and trigger squeeze. Form will come from that.


Bob Wright

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That's it in a nutshell, you can try different techniques used by others but what works best for you is what works best for you.

That's it in a nutshell

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Yep....

After 50+ years of shooting I'm still learning. A few years back I was shooting a friend's FA .454 offhand and shooting well with it too. I thought. After a cylinder full he advised me to grip tighter with my support hand than with my shooting hand. He had gotten this advice at a shooting school. I tried it on the next go round, and my 2"+ group shrank to 1 1/2". I've been following this advice since and have been shooting better as a result.

Best Regards,
ADP3

Let the good times roll!

glockman99 said:

"Learn" from the Master...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEHNZFTfSD8&index=5&list=PLkWiFQrCP_lu3c9jsyL-rHFfxSPumzW7I

Click to expand...

While I agree that Jerry Miculek is indeed the master and among the finest competitive shooters, there is a big difference shooting a lightly recoiling double-action revolver for speed than a single-action that produces prodigious recoil. The isosceles position is not your friend when shooting big kickers. The Weaver stance is much better suited to the task. As far as support hand positioning is concerned, the shooter needs to find what works best for him/her. JMHO.

With my Bisley and Redhawk a firm two handed grip is essential and I make sure to bend my elbows a little to absorbed the recoil with my arms. If you hold with stiff elbows your wrists will get whipped back and the muzzle will end up pointing backwards at you.

Don't do this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78spknk

Do what works best for you, period, end of story. Trying to get my hand up as high as possible on the grip is very uncomfortable to me and results in dismal accuracy. I shoot all my revolvers with my pinky under the grip, big and small. That is comfortable for me and results in much better accuracy, especially double action.

Jerry is great at what he does but he isn't going to teach you how to shoot a single action.

Grip should be firm but not a death grip. The sixgun also should not be sliding through your hand. I never understood this stuff about "rolling". Single actions by design have more muzzle rise in recoil but you should not have to readjust your grip after every shot.

Rolling isn't sliding. Letting your revolver roll has nothing to do with the grip slipping in your hand.

With nothing in your hand, make a tight fist - not shaking, but nearly so. Slightly relax ONLY your pinky, keeping your other fingers tight. Retension it for a full tight fist, then slightly relax ONLY your pinky again. You'll notice the contact points of your pinky are not changing against the palm of your hand, but your knuckle/pinky is moving slightly in and out.

That's effectively the sensation I feel shooting single action revolvers - the grip does NOT slip in my hand, but I do let the muzzle roll a bit.

When I'm shooting for speed, as in CAS/SASS, I don't use this technique.

Sticking your pinky under the grip and using a lower grip gives the same result for the revolver. You're effectively reducing your grip resistance to muzzle rise, but "locking" the position in your hand with your pinky under the grip - this ensures the revolver can roll, but also ensures your hand rolls with it.

The rolling grip doesn't apply for Bisley or DA revolvers - really only works effectively with plow handle grips.

barber said:

When shooting a RSBH Hunter ,44 mag, should it be held tightly with a firm grip or with a not so firm grip to roll in the hand with the recoil

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Don't hold quite tight enough and it will roll right out of your hand, I've seen it happen.

That's why you shoot it ... and then adjust your grip accordingly and find 'your' shooting 'grip' over time. Experience ... is ... a great teacher .

barber said:

When shooting a RSBH Hunter ,44 mag, should it be held tightly with a firm grip or with a not so firm grip to roll in the hand with the recoil

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***

barber.... let us start with how not to hold your Super Blackhawk. Do not choke the grip. To exert more pressure than your muscles are conditioned for invites tremor. Muscle tremor kills squeeze. Even if one were able to independently float his or her trigger finger, tremor widens one's CONE of DISPERSION.

It is difficult to exaggerate the advantage of learning handgun fundamentals on a pistol or revolver chambered in .22 Long Rifle. If a .22 is not available, DRY FIRE the .44 until the cows come home. Dry fire won't hurt the Ruger. Dry fire conditions the muscles which hold and squeeze. From dry fire and/or .22 progress to .44 Special or light .44 Mag loads. Practice from two positions, sandbag and offhand (standing). To shoot from a rest helps to refine squeeze & follow through. There is no shortcut to follow through; to follow through, one must squeeze.

One fundamental difference separates shooting from a rest and offhand. In offhand the gun never stops moving. Trigger squeeze and follow through are exactly the same.

For the Super Blackhawk with factory stocks, I use a HEEL INDEX grip. The bottom edge of my palm contacts the grip to index palm against the edge of the butt. There is an air gap between middle finger and trigger guard. To hold the .44 Mag single action high accelerates roll on recoil, which invites VERTICAL DISPERSION, while slamming trigger guard into middle finger. Pachmayr and similar grips which fill in behind trigger guard spare the middle finger.

A deerskin or other soft glove helps absorb recoil. A death grip does not stop magnum recoil. Rounds which develop more recoil than the .44 Magnum require stronger grip pressure----very strong for the big boomers. In handgun marksmanship, just as in hand loading, it is better to work up than down. For marksmanship with the .44, a toned, relaxed grip delivers.
David Bradshaw

The other factor not yet mentioned is the need for consistancy of grip firmness. In a SA with a degree of recoil it makes a surprising difference in POI.

I've given up on verbally ( or written) descriptions of grip firmness. Its all subjective, and everyone's hand strength varies so much. If we were in person, I could judge your grip or demonstrate mine.

I had hoped David would show up & offer his excellent advice. His info should be copied & saved & shared with many.