In this issue: Opinions on FWB P70 Air rifle? Re: Gripping a Pistol Re: Gripping a Pistol Gripping a pistol - Part 2 ******************************************************************** I mostly shoot air rifle and have followed the recent exchanges on the FWB 603. I have been considering purchasing a FWB P70 and would be delighted to hear about shooters experience with this rifle. Thanks Jim Boone E-mail: jboone@gill.ifmt.nf.ca [Editor - If you shoot at widely varying elevations, go with the P70. The compressed air rifles will give you constant pressure where a pneumatic will not. They are also much easier to cock. You just have the hassle of filling up your air tank properly. Aside from that, the CA vs. pneu rifles are essentially identical. I will probably move up to a 2002CA someday.] ********************************************************************* << Through the grip the weight of the pistol is transferred to the hand. The pistols center of gravity should be near the trigger, so a considerable weight is taken by the middle and ring fingers (middle two fingers) curled round and under the trigger guard. >> I pretty much agree with Chet's classical description of pistol griping, but I'm not so sure about the statement that the center of gravity should be near the trigger. I certainly agree that in some designs it is near the trigger. But should it be this way? Let us examine some of the factors in gripping a pistol. The primary purpose of grip is to make the pistol a part of a single body-pistol unit. By properly gripping the pistol, it becomes an extension of the arm and we are able now to direct the bore axis of the pistol perpendicular to the facial plane of the target. At this point, if the sight picture is correct and the pistol fires, a perfect 10 should be the result. However, this will occur IF and only IF the recoil characteristics of the body-pistol unit is the same as it was when the sights were "zeroed". Which brings us to the second grip factor. The grip must be absolutely consistent from shot to shot if recoil of the body-pistol unit is to be consistent. Recoil begins as the cartridge primer detonates and builds as the bullet is pushed down the barrell. In point of fact, the exact direction of the muzzle changes as the bullet progresses down the barrell.Therefore changes in grip pressure result in changes in recoil characteristics which results in changes in point of impact. No surprises here, this is all common knowledge. Now consider the effect of moving the center of gravity of the pistol to the rear. (Adding weight to the rear or reducing weight in the front) As the center of gravity of the pistol is moved to the rear, recoil characteristics become relatively more and more susceptible to slight changes in grip pressure as the pistol attempts to rotate upward around its center of gravity when fired. This occurs because the bore axis is above the center of gravity causing the muzzle to rise and the grip to be pressed downward. On the other hand moving the center of gravity forward will reduce the effect of grip pressure changes. This is a simple fulcrum and pivot problem. How much should one push the center of gravity forward? It greatly depends on individual taste as well as physical considerations such as size of the hand and strength of the grip. Elite level shooters rarely have serious problems with grip consistency. However the theoretical considerations of the placement of center of gravity on pistols is quite evident in current pistol design. Casual observation of pistol shooters at the 1996 Atlanta World Cup and Olympics would suggest that a good number of elite level pistol shooters use weights to bring the center of gravity forward of the "stock factory" position. Best regards, Phillip Williams ******************************************************************** Dear Michael, I enjoy the list, keep up the good work. In general I agree with most of what is sent to your list by readers. In the most recent (#31) there was an article on gripping the pistol. I agree with most of what was said, but I am a bit puzzled by the following statement: "If the athlete has not fired the pistol within the first two seconds of aim, lower the pistol and break the circuit and breath two cycles and restart the position and grip to aim procedure again." I am not sure what discipline of pistol shooting Mr. Skinner is speaking of, but the majority of slow-fire precision pistol shooting requires more careful attention to sight alignment than 2 seconds allows. I instruct my junior air pistol shooters that up to 7 seconds is acceptable as long as they are not forcing the shot. Beyond this amount of time, the body is telling you to breath in a convincing fashion, and the eyes will tend to lose their focusing ability in relation to the front sight. Also, Mr. Skinner made no mention of the positioning and pressure of the thumb in relation to rest of the shooting hand. It is imperitive for the horizontal control of the pistol that the thumb lay in a natural and relaxed position on the thumb rest. The thumb should apply no pressure to the stock other than that from its own weight. I agree that factory stocks fit only about 2% of the shooters that use them unless they are modified with a filler compound and rasp or sandpaper. To fit the grip to the hand as perfectly as possible is an essential task. Using a chalk or talcum powder, coat your palm and shake off any excess. Then grip the pistol making sure that the barrel axis is aligned as closely to the "V" of the hand (between the first finger & thumb) as possible. After you release your grip, the low areas that need to be built up will not have powder on them. Repeat this proceedure as needed until the grip is built up to the correct anatomical fit of the shooter. Note: shooters grips do change over time due to aging/growth and modifications in technique. Periodical fittings are recommended. 10.9s to you, Patrick Rowling Junior Pistol Coach Oyster River Range [Editor - as for the 2 seconds, Chet will tell you that is all that is needed when you are a mental shooter. Someone who uses more than 4 seconds is a physical shooter. You should note that it isn't 2 seconds from when you assume the position, but when you have begun to aim, balance the lungs, and call up the Quiet Zone. Mental time moves much quicker than physical time - the best way I can explain it is how you dream. What seems to last for hours in your dream actually only occurs in a matter of minutes while sleeping.] ****************************************************************** HANDGUN GRIP AND GRIP PRESSURE During our last discussion we talked about handgun grip and how to proceed. In this segment we will extend the grip to include locking of the wrist and arm into the athletic position. In the last segment we mentioned the problem of freeze up or muscle lockup which will destroy the trigger fingers ability to pull the trigger to the rear and correctly firing the weapon. The tighter the grip the more control you have over the weapon - to a point however. The point here is that to much grip pressure restricts the trigger finger and therefore restricts the ability to shoot the one-shot match that will result in a perfect bull-eye. So then what is the correct grip hand pressure for the accurate firing of the weapon ? The correct hand grip pressure is that which allows maximum control over the weapon while not restricting the trigger finger from pulling the trigger smoothly to the rear and firing the weapon. The grip will have enough grip pressure to achieve maximum control over the weapon and at the same time permitting the trigger finger free travel pull of the trigger smoothly to the rear and allowing the weapon hitting the point of impact sighted by the athlete. That is the answer to your question about grip pressure. Now for the last aspect of the grip pressure, upon the athlete achieving the correct grip pressure, the athlete will note that the wrist is or should be locked from the pressure of the grip. This is accomplished by the pull of the t