Shooting a pistol is a lot more difficult than most people think…
It’s easy to shoot accurately, as long as your sights are aligned and your trigger control is on point, but if you want to shoot faster, you’re going to have to learn how to manage recoil…
Managing recoil starts with having a proper handgun grip, and the thumbs forward grip is definitely going to give you the most control over your pistol…
What Is A Thumbs Forward Grip?
A thumbs forward grip is simply a technique in which you grip your handgun with both hands…
As you grip your pistol, the thumb on your dominant hand will rest on top of the meaty part of your non-dominant hand’s thumb…
Now your exact thumb locations may vary due to your hand size, but both thumbs should be pointed in the direction of your target.
One of the reasons this type of grip is beneficial is because you’re able to get direct contact on the pistol grip from both of your hands…
Having solid contact on the gun from both of your hands gives you a lot more control than other common ways of gripping a pistol, such as the teacup grip…
The teacup grip is usually the grip you see in Hollywood. Actors portraying cops and FBI agents use it all the time as they’re clearing buildings in movies and on TV shows…
It basically involves your dominant hand gripping the pistol while your non-dominant hand cups under the grip of your handgun…
And the problem with gripping a pistol this way (even though you can still shoot accurately) is that your non-dominant hand isn’t really doing much of anything to help you control recoil…
The result is that you can’t make follow-up shots quickly, and your rate of fire is relatively slow.
But like I mentioned before, with a thumbs forward grip you have both hands making direct contact with your gun on both sides, and you’re able to lock the gun in (almost like it’s being held in a vice).
How Hard To Grip A Pistol…
A common question that often gets asked is… How hard should you grip a pistol?
Many amazing shooters will give you different answers to this question. Some will say you should grip harder with your dominant hand than with your non-dominant hand…
Some will say to grip as hard as you can with both hands… Some will say that you don’t really need to grip very hard at all…
The thing that has worked best for me is to grip equally hard with both hands using the same amount of pressure I would use if I were gripping a hammer…
I once heard Jerry Miculek mention this amount of pressure for gripping a pistol… So I tried it out, and it seems to work best for me.
You’re going to have to experiment a little bit to find out what grip pressure works best for you, but I think the easiest way to think about it is…
… to just grip the pistol really hard without causing yourself to start shaking because if you’re shaking you won’t have a stable body position to make accurate shots from.
Variations Of A Thumbs Forward Grip…
Even though the thumbs forward grip seems to be pretty straightforward, there are small ways it can be applied differently…
Jerry Miculek’s Approach…
Jerry Miculek is a world-renowned competition shooter, and his approach to the thumbs forward grip is very simple…
Both thumbs should be pointed forward and not doing anything, which means they’re not applying pressure in any way…
They’re just there because they need to be placed somewhere that makes sense, and the rest of your fingers and hands do all the work.
This is probably the most common approach to using the thumbs forward grip, and obviously, if it’s working for Jerry Miculek, it can be VERY effective…
That being said, I’ve found that it’s not the best approach for me…
Frank Proctor’s Approach…
Frank Proctor is a shooting instructor, former Special Forces soldier, and a very impressive competition shooter, and his approach to the thumbs forward grip is a little more involved…
First of all, he likes to apply pressure downward from his dominant hand’s thumb because it helps push the gun down which helps fight against recoil…
Secondly, he likes to drive his non-dominant hand’s thumb into the frame of the pistol because it helps lock the gun in more and can counteract a little bit against bad trigger control…
After trying out both methods, I’ve found that Frank Proctor’s approach has worked better for me because it allows me to manage recoil better.
So when I grip a pistol, I press downward with my dominant hand’s thumb, and I press into the frame with my non-dominant hand’s thumb.
I recommend you try both approaches out and see what works better for you.
How To Achieve A Proper Thumbs Forward Grip In 3 Easy Steps!
Achieving a proper thumbs forward grip is very easy if you follow 3 simple steps…
Step 1:
Grab the pistol in your dominant hand. Make sure your trigger finger is straight along the frame of the gun (and that the gun is pointed in a safe direction), and lift your thumb straight up.
Also, make sure your hand is as high up on the frame as it can possibly be.
Step 2:
Place your non-dominant hand on the other side of the pistol grip…
Make sure to get as much of your lower palm as you can actually making contact directly onto the pistol grip (in between your dominant hand’s fingertips and the lower part of the palm)
Step 3:
Lower both of your thumbs and present your pistol at the target. Like I mentioned earlier, I like to apply inward pressure into the frame with the thumb of my non-dominant hand…
…and downward pressure with the thumb on my dominant hand.
Thumbs Forward Grip – Conclusions…
In the end, I highly recommend you start using the thumbs forward grip when you shoot a handgun and keep practicing it until it becomes second nature.
Again, it’s the best handgun grip to use if you want to better manage your pistol’s recoil, and managing that recoil allows you to make quicker and more effective follow up shots.
Try it out and see if it works for you!
Now before you go…
It’s important to remember that accuracy is a lot more important than speed when it comes to shooting, and if you need help improving your accuracy…
I highly recommend you download my FREE Trigger Pull Exercise…
What you’ll learn:
- How To Properly Pull The Trigger On Any Gun
- How To Practice Proper Trigger Control From Your Home Safely (Without Spending Any Money!)
- How To Make Proper Trigger Control Second Nature To You
This is the same method I used to improve my own shooting, and like I said before, it’s 100% FREE…
I hope this helps you out…
Good luck, and remember to be safe on the range!
-Red Dot Shooters