by Brian Gunny Zins

Not saying that this is the only grip to use. This is merely an option, it may work for you it may not, depending on your hand size and structure. It works for me and it has worked for many shooters that Andy and I have taught it to. It is not UNSAFE for those who have questioned it, trust me the gun will move less with this grip. If you do use a grip that aligns the sights and gun up your arm to your shoulder you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage.

Here we go.

A proper grip is a grip that will NATURALLY align the guns sights to the eye of the shooter without having to tilt your head or move your wrists around in order to that. Also a proper grip, and most importantly, is a grip that allows the gun to return to the same position that is one in that allowed the sights to be aligned without having to search for the sights after each and every shot.

To many times I have seen, and I am sure most of you have also, may do it yourself. Someone shoots and you can see the front of the gun waving around as they try to get sight alignment back. This is not a problem with recoil management, grip strength or position. This is a grip issue.

If you line the gun up you arm and too your shoulder in order to align the sights one of 2 things must happen. Your head leaves a natural position in order to see the sights since they are lined up with your shoulder or you have turn your wrists until the sight are slignes to your eye and then the gun is no longer aligned up your arm. This was called “grip alignment.”

Yes back in the day they taught “grip alignment.” Well grip alignment as they described it is BS, just like Natural Point of Aim with a pistol is BS. But that’s a different conversation. Two handed shooters don’t even shoot with the gun aligned up their strong arm to their shoulder. Unless you have some deformity and you head is growing out of your shooting side shoulder why would you want the gun aligned up your arm to your shoulder?

This is for a 1911 slab style grip or a .22 with slabs. If you are using orthopedic grips you can’t do it with them.

My grip is simple, it’s not hard to get into and once you get it, it will feel better and recoil will be better managed and the sights will always come back to alignment. If you rotate the meaty portion of your hand below the little finger behind the back-strap of the gun, everytime you shoot, it will want to move off of it. It is just a squishy, fatty portion of your hand that cannot control the gun or offer any resistence to recoil whatsoever. The fatty portion of the hand there cannot be moved, it is just fat. Try to move it. The movement caused by making fist does not count because the rest of the hand causes that movement. The place the gun tends to move to is the valley formed between that meaty portion below the little finger and the meaty part of the thumb. So I ask why not start with the gun in the place it wants to be.

Even with a picture this hard to describe and even when done in person we still tend to have to work individually with shooters to show them how to do it.

The best and easiest way to get the proper grip, at least a good starting position as you may need to tweak it around a bit until it feels good, is with a holster.

Put your 1911 in a holster on the side of your body not in fron or behind, but on the side of your hip. Put your hands in the surrender position, like the action shooters from. Keep your eyes and head straight. Allow your shooting hand to come down naturally to the gun, don’t move it around just let it come down and grab the gun. The fatty part of the little finger should all be on the right panel of the grip. Now keeping the gun in your hand with the grip assume your one handed shooting position. The sights should be pretty close to being aligned. If they are not the you will need to tweak the grip a bit. Like I said this is best if in person and someone who uses the grip can actually show you.

So if you ever run into me at a match or wherever please ask and I will show you or talk to someone who has attended a clinic or uses the same grip and ask them.

I hope the photos below are of some help.

Zins Grips a

 

Zins Grips b

 

Zins Grips c