Grip Pressure We get a lot of questions regarding gripping pressure. How hard do you grip a Free Pistol? An Air Pistol? While every individual is different as to grip strength, amount of body mass (to absorb recoil), etc., there are some guide lines. The "grip" that you take on a pistol must be:
- Constant
- Adequate to hold the pistol securely during firing
- Allow free and independent movement of the trigger finger
It is this last factor that often causes the most problems. If you are "squeezing the sap" out of the wood on the grip of the gun, you will have a very difficult time moving the trigger finger with any finesse. For this reason Free Pistol grips are constructed to require a bent wrist. The more you must depress the hand and thereby take the wrist away from a straight position, the less force can be applied to the grip. This in turn forces you to grip more lightly and thus free the trigger finger for more subtle application of pressure to the 20-50 gram trigger weight of the Free Pistol. As you move up to higher trigger weights, the grip angle becomes less obtuse and finally you get to something like the Colt .45 Government model with a trigger pull of 4 lbs. (1800 grams!) and the gun is constructed to be held with an almost straight wrist.
So, start out gripping the Free Pistol with about the same pressure you would exert during a handshake with a young girl - not a "limp fish", but not so hard as to cause any discomfort!
Don