Gun Fit – the U and general hand alignment

Novices are told to find a gun that “feels good in their hand” with no guidance as to what that means or even what features to look for. “Feels good in the hand” needs to be banished to the same penalty box as “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”.

The first thing I do is assess student grip strength, using a grip strength meter or the Captains of Crush grippers, including the Zenith 50/70 lb models as well as the 80/100/140 lb models. Typical male grip strength is between 60-80 pounds; typical female strength is 50-70 lbs. Top tier shooters typically have max grip strength of 100 lbs or more — but they only use 70% of that when gripping the pistol.