No wonder I love 1911's so much

[Deleted member 79987]

I think I've finally figured out why I don't like shooting Glocks, Springfields, certain Sigs -- and why I love 1911 style pistols so much.

I think it's because I have big hands and really long thumbs & fingers. For as long as I can remember, almost any striker-fired handgun I pick up is frustrating to shoot -- especially during competitions -- because my thumb usually sits near the slide release.

Invariably my thumb will accidentally prevent the slide from locking back after the last round is fired. Frustrating to say the least. It's just not natural for my long thumbs to wrap around the other hand, or to do any other sort of contortion, in order to prevent it from happening.

1911 style handguns, on the other hand, are ones I've always shot pretty well. Besides the excellent grip angle, my thumbs naturally ride the safety switch and don't touch the slide release.

This is a video screenshot of Max Michel, captain of the Sig Sauer shooting team, holding his striker-fired P320 X5 Legion:

You can see the tip of his right thumb is barely covering the slide release button. His left thumb just covers the slide take down lever.

Now here's a shot of my grip on the very same pistol, and you can see where my thumbs sit. My right one is directly over the slide release lever.

On the other hand, here's another pic of my grip on a 1911 style pistol. The slide release is between my two thumbs:

On this gun my right thumb doesn't come close to touching the slide release lever, unless I intentionally want it to. Jeez! Call me stupid. You'd think I would have figured this out a long time ago. I think I'll be sailing some guns soon.

Does this happen to anyone else?

 

[pipewrench]

I dunno man. I have small hands and the 1911 might as well be the only centerfire pistol on earth for me.

 

[jeep78]

Gotta love those gluck grips, though:

 

[GeauxLSU]

Well, the 1911 was made for men, so there's that.

 

[Justin87]

Well, the 1911 was made for men, so there's that.

Ok boomer

 

[Marietta tony]

Ok boomer

**** here we go again.

 

[BLIP]

Have you ever shot a tokarev?

 

[Justin87]

I admittedly have shot a 1911 mabye twice in my life. That P320 X5 Legion though, I've shot probably 100 rounds through and I'm way more accurate with it than any other pistol I've ever shot.

 

[cmshoot]

Shift your right thumb. Instead of resting it on the gun, rest it on the back of the base of the left thumb. That’s what I do, due to my long fingers. Doesn’t effect my grip, but gets my thumb away from the slide release.

Grip with your right hand, but stick the thumb up and out of the way, not touching the frame. Sock the left hand up in the gap, high and tight. Rest the right thumb on the base of the left thumb. This will leave a “pocket” where the slide release is at, with nothing touching it.

As an added bonus, this will get the left hand a bit higher up on the gun for added recoil control and recovery.

This is the grip that I teach my students, as well.

 

[Deleted member 79987]

Have you ever shot a tokarev?

Nope, but I've always wanted to try out the 'ole 7.62x25 cartridge on a TT-33. Can you attach a light and a red dot to it?