I had mentioned in my other thread about my first range session and I was curious, did anyone else experience soreness in their firing hand after their first time firing a substantial amount of ammo?

I discovered later at work that day that my thumb and knuckles were a little sore and my grip was a little slack. I didn't know if that was normal when you were starting out or if it was possibly an issue that I was holding the handle to tight. The guy running the place told me a bit, mainly on confirming safety, but he was real busy and I didn't want to bother him much with 1000 questions, so i basically tried different ways of holding the gun figuring out which stance or grip gave me the most control.

I discovered that I really didn't suffer from the 'flinch' a lot of people talked about. I was wearing ear protection of course, but the other shots on the range were merely background noise and mine, I just ignored trying to keep my eye on my target. The recoil which wasn't bad, but a little more than what I expected was my main obstacle in controlling, which is where the sore hand came in I think. I think what I really need to work on to start getting better is a proper stance and correct way to hold when firing.

So to sum up a long thread? Should the soreness be expected the first couple of times firing until I get used to it or am I doing something wrong?

Like anything new your using muscles in a different way. After years of target shooting with handguns I found one of the things that really helps is to develope good hand strength.

I did this by using a grip exerciser or a raquet ball and squeezing it when I had time. A good strong grip will help with the accuracy.

Another help is to get a good accurate 22 such as a Ruger target auto if your shooting a big bore auto or a Smith #17 if your shooting a big bore revolver for practice. Not only is practice much less expensive, but problems such as flinch, jerking and poking are much easier to resolve by going back and fourth between the 22 and the big bore.

Keep practicing

Get a gallon milk jug and fill it with water and hold it at arms length for a good 20 count. Do this 5 times for 4-5 reps at first, then increase the time and reps. It will help strengthen your forearm and grip. Also a good pair of shooting gloves will not only help your grip but soak up some of the recoil.

RJ

About your grip, I would suggest you watch that video I posted in your other thread

this video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4584332856867071363&q=ipsc+todd+jarrett) helped me pull my shots into nice little groups. definitely worth a look to both noobs and olds alike.

When I first started out shooting, I got laughed at because I shot "Hollywood" style. I was fairly accurate, nothing to write home about, but then again, I was new to the sport. I then took a basic handgun class at the local range and they gave me some pointers, but was mostly a safety class. I would suggest you do this also, I dragged my fiancee(at the time) along and made her pay :D You are paying them to teach you, you can ask your 1000 questions and they are obligated to answer you as best they can.

As to the soreness, I don't remember any except from shooting my .357mag. That one had a bit of bite to it I wasn't expecting. That soreness was in my wrist from snapping back with the recoil. My wrists are pretty weak and get really sore really quickly all because of a few childhood accidents :rolleyes: But other than that I don't get much soreness.

Keep practicing, dry fire using the grip in the video clip, and that will help your shooting. If you are worried about dry firing you can get snap-caps to absorb the firing-pin impact, but I am pretty sure your gun can handle being dry-fired.

Good luck, be safe, and practice, practice, practice.

Wonderful video, I already saw a couple of things I was doing wrong. got the finger pad thing down though. I think what I did was cross my left thumb over my right thumb trying to hold it steady and squeezed the **** out of it when I fired, probably why it was mainly the right thumb and knuckle there that were sore. Very informative.

Thanks guys

You are teahcing your hands and arms to do a new activity. There is a learning curve that the body goes through with any activity that takes strength, precision and muscle memory to be built. Think of it like you are learning to throw a fastball. If you are strong, you can just muscle it over the plate, but your technique will probably suck. If you have good technique but are weak, then you might be able to throw one or two over, but then get tired and slow down and get shelled. You need the whole package to shoot, just like pitching 9 innings.

Your hands were soaking up recoil and you were trying different grips to establish control. Its a tall order and it takes time before you dont have those aches later in the day. Bob is right about training. Strengthen your hands. Do both, not just your strong side. Balance is a good thing. You dont want to have a Popeye like forearm on one side to go with an Olive Oyl one on the other :) Niner's video he posted is good help too. Last thing I would recommend is that you pay attention to when your hands and arms are getting tired. That's time to quit as practicing tired leads to bad practice and bad habits. Sounds like a good way to spend part of the day. :)

Ah, yeah, I was looking over the grip I watched in the video and recalling the grip I was using yesterday, I had been pressing my thumb hard against the joint of my thumb right against where the web of the hand is. That is where the center of the soreness was, so I was doing something wrong.

I'd like to see him do that with a 44 mag and Sven loads. (the guy in the video) Not saying his is not a good way to shoot a semi, but a large revolver holds and recoils different than a semi.

JMO

RJ

Wonderful video, I already saw a couple of things I was doing wrong. got the finger pad thing down though. I think what I did was cross my left thumb over my right thumb trying to hold it steady and squeezed the **** out of it when I fired, probably why it was mainly the right thumb and knuckle there that were sore. Very informative.

Thanks guys

I learned very quickly that crossing your thumbs is BAD. I learned it on a .44mag and the hammer likes to come back and carve a big hole in the top thumb. And depending on your semi-auto gun, especially a GLOCK, when the slide cycles, it will carve a 2 big holes in your thumb. Best not to cross your thumbs when shooting ;)


I'd like to see him do that with a 44 mag and Sven loads. (the guy in the video) Not saying his is not a good way to shoot a semi, but a large revolver holds and recoils different than a semi.

JMO

RJ


yeah RJ, I don't think that grip would work well for a revolver, not necessarily from the recoil but from putting your weak hand's thumb up that close to the cylinder. I imagine it would get pretty hot, really quickly. That video is for holding pistols, especially in a competition type scenario, but works for SD also since that's what those competitions were based on anyway.

I use a slightly modified Charles Askins grip. I bend my right elbow (I'm a righty) a bit and cup my right hand in my left palm, left elbow bent more than the right, giving my right hand a little squeeze. My shoulders aren't squared with the target but angled a bit, more like shooting a rifle. This grip helps to dissapate some of the recoil while still being a stable shooting platform.

RJ

yeah, I didn't mention it cause it was dumb, but I got the tip of my thumb popped by the slide once, left a nice blister. That'll teach me. All good now