There are lots of differences between shooting a semi-auto and a revolver. This is especially true in how you grip each pistol. It’s often a point of confusion, even with seasoned shooters. Those who started shooting with wheel guns will attempt to use the revolver grip with semi-auto pistols. Newer shooters (these days) mostly started shooting with semi-auto pistols and will want to use that gripping technique with a revolver.
Using the proper firing grip on a handgun allows you to shoot accurately and consistently, recover from the recoil efficiently, and properly manipulate the pistol. Yet it’s something that’s often not covered in detail during firearms instruction. It can even cause you to believe that your pistol isn’t accurate. “Much of the fiddling with pistol sights,” Morrison states in The Modern Technique Of The Pistol, “can be traced directly to improper gripping of the handgun.”
Acquiring the proper firing grip with each pistol starts by positioning the web of your hand, between the thumb and first finger high on the back strap of the pistol. This applies to both revolver and pistol. From there, things are different.
Gripping a revolver is more “natural” because it resembles forming a fist. The three fingers of the strong hand wrap around the pistol – trigger finger is straight - and the thumb clamps downward, towards those fingers. The support hand wraps around the strong hand and the thumb crosses over the strong hand thumb. Gripping the pistol is like squeezing a ball. As with all hand pressure, it should be enough to control the pistol during firing, but not a “crush” grip. While the rest of the hand is gripping the pistol the trigger finger must manipulate the trigger. The more pressure applied with the rest of the hand the more difficult it will be to get a smooth “feel” on the trigger.
With semi-auto pistols, the strong thumb is held parallel with the barrel. The support hand thumb is positioned underneath the strong thumb. The thumbs are stacked as opposed to crossed. The goal is to have the heels of both hands in contact with the pistol’s grip. Using the revolver grip – thumbs crossed – with a semi-auto pistol leaves a large gap between the heel of the support hand and grip of the pistol.
Using a semi-auto grip on a revolver can be dangerous. Extending the support thumb past the cylinder can lead to escaping gases removing skin from the thumb. Do a ‘net search for “thumb injured shooting revolver” or something similar and you’ll see the results of improperly gripping the revolver.
Obviously, there’s more to the differences between gripping the revolver vs. a semi-auto than we can cover in this column. Some of my reference books have complete chapters on this subject. And, while you may favor one type of pistol over the other, it’s always best to know how to use them all. Remember, there’s no rule that says you’ll have your pistol when it comes time to fight.
Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy. He is the author of The Book of Two Guns, AR-15 Skills and Drills, has a regular column in American Handgunner and makes some cool knives and custom revolvers. www.shootrite.org or visit Shootrite’s Facebook page for other details.