Is this the proper grip on the xds? It feels a little awkward for me to have my left thumb so low, but I have been having some issues creeping up higher and riding the slide lock.
Try this it's called the high thumbs grip a much better grip than what you have. It takes sometime getting use to it but once you do it is a great grip.
View attachment 49001
Try this it's called the high thumbs grip a much better grip than what you have. It takes sometime getting use to it but once you do it is a great grip.
Riding the slide stop is an issue for many folks shooting small auto-loaders. It takes some concentration and practice to get the muscle memory doin' what you want.
Interestingly, the strong thumb can cause a number of troubles for the handgunner including those of the Bullseye discipline. The thumb rests on some target pistol stocks were to give that thumb somewhere to sit and watch the show and not interfere with what the rest of the hand was doing.
That grip is far too low. Want high and tight into the beavertail to reduce felt recoil.
Can angle one or both thumbs out to stay off the release if need. The thumbs are not grip, the grip is established by fingers around strong hand and offhand palm against grip.
I prefer my strong thumb on top of the lower knuckle of off thumb, fitting like a jigsaw.
Think of getting meat of offhand against the grip in the space between strong hand fingers and back of palm.
Search Google for flagging hands - the grip is established before touching gun by flagging fingers together at angle down with thumbs up.
Here is a great link, I adapted my grip towards Leatham-Enos (scroll down in link) - my shooting improved after made slight changes to my grip in this way.
That is more like how I have been trying (not me in pic). I just find that I occasionally ride the slide lock on the xds. Not sure what to change. Even in your picture, it looks like the right thumb could interfere with that slide lock on the xds
The slide locking back is a bonus. Don't count on it - it could not lock back on you at the absolute worst time possible. Develop your manipulation skills so that you can react to such a possibility with subconscious competence.
That said:
Yes, the dominant (assuming that you are right handed) thumb infringing on the slide-stop/release is a common issue with many shooters of all different skill levels. The definitive solution is either to find a better place to index that thumb (with the "thumbs forward" grip that's popular today, the first or even second joint of the support hand
thumb is a popular index point, as is the "anatomic snuffbox," depending on your thumb length and articulation) and/or to use hardware modification in order to achieve the same effect. Certainly, that the slide does lock back will give you the advantage of time, in a time-is-life situation, as it will help speed the emergency (i.e. "slide lock") reload.
----
And I'll drop a bit of advice -
Grip is sexy.
But trust me, absolutely MASTER your trigger path, first.
Everything else is easy to correct for, by-comparison.
Grip is what everyone talks about because when you've got a good grip, you can shoot really fast. When you've got a good grip, depending on the specifics of the BSA template, you can be very accurate/precise - but without good trigger control, trust me on this, that grip is just hiding deficiencies in that specific fundamental, and skewing the BSA template will bring out your actual weakness.
Honestly I just grab each pistol in a way that is comfortable and shoot it. When I try to find the perfect technique/grip it always feels awkward and uncomfortable. I feel like I shoot pretty well and could do better with more practice. To me trigger control make the most difference in my shooting.
Take your hands off your firearm RIGHT NOW. You are showing a lack of skill with your attached photos.
Take a few deep breaths... go ahead and download the XDMOD 2 w/ GRIPZONE 9mm "manual" (Bible of thee Gripth.)
Get familiar with all of the zones on the mod 2. Practice dry runs and air-gripping until you feel you can safely enter the zone.
Repeat for about 30 weeks...
NOW... you can pick up your XDS, and use the training-- and skill you inherited from the Bible of thee Gripth to start doing proper grip drills.
Breathe... then think "Zone A" and just "enter"... repeat the process for zone B, and zone C. You'll be gripping properly in no time.
If you take your life seriosley... then I would also recommend hocking your XDS in favor for a XD MOD 2 w.GZ 9mm. Unfortunatley SA shafted us this year and didn't release a XDs with the holy grail. What is the holy grail you ask?
Simply put, it’s every surface on the frame that makes contact with your hand. The GripZone™ has been carefully, intentionally designed to combine multiple principles of biomechanics in order to enhance your shooting experience
Take your hands off your firearm RIGHT NOW. You are showing a lack of skill with your attached photos.
Take a few deep breaths... go ahead and download the XDMOD 2 w/ GRIPZONE 9mm "manual" (Bible of thee Gripth.)
Get familiar with all of the zones on the mod 2. Practice dry runs and air-gripping until you feel you can safely enter the zone.
Repeat for about 30 weeks...
NOW... you can pick up your XDS, and use the training-- and skill you inherited from the Bible of thee Gripth to start doing proper grip drills.
Breathe... then think "Zone A" and just "enter"... repeat the process for zone B, and zone C. You'll be gripping properly in no time.
If you take your life seriosley... then I would also recommend hocking your XDS in favor for a XD MOD 2 w.GZ 9mm. Unfortunatley SA shafted us this year and didn't release a XDs with the holy grail. What is the holy grail you ask?
Not me in photo. Just trying to figure out a way to best avoid the slide lock (I've had a couple not fully in battery and a few not locking back) I know this is a training issue and am just looking for a couple different things to try to fix this.
I do have to admit....I don't have this issue on my Mod 2 GripZooonnnne FTW. lol
This is a photo of me in a recent training class I did. I cannot emphasize how important it is to get professional training. Once I started really rolling the support hand forward and focusing on a push pull with my hands my recoil management took a step to the next level. You want skin contacting metal (or plastic if you shoot glocks like me). Skin on skin is bad. Skin on gun is good.
Also I'm just an amateur. Take my advice for what's it's worth (not much).
Assuming you are right handed: Grip with the right high on the backstop and get your middle finger up in the notch under the trigger guard. Your left hand should support your right hand by closing around it tightly. No fingers in front of the trigger guard - all should go around your right hand. The only finger left without a job is your thumb which rides forward along side your other thumb keeping both thumbs from contacting the slide.
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