Thumb bite !!

[rof68]

Returned from the range today and AGAIN , I am suffering from 'thumb bite".
After a morning of clean up,at the Fort White [ Fl, ] gun club, my wife and I took the oppertunity to fire a few rounds .
Being most use to a revolver and now mostly using [ or trying to use ] semi-autos , I am finding it a bit painful on the thumbs.
My grip that I had been using on the revolvers , is NOT working uot very well with the autos slides and is dinging the thumbs. I seem to find myself slipping back into the old style grip -- BUT -- the slide QUICKLY reminds me to "get a grip " that is more in tune with the auto loaders.
I guess I'm a slow learner and this has happened the last two times I have been to the range .
Have any of you had this problem , and how did you correct it ?
I guess if I get clipped another dozen times , I just might learn to modify my grip and save my blood.
ROF68 [Bruce]

[Jizzle]

what kind of autos?

[rof68]

I use both a .32 Walther PPK and an FEG PA-63 9 MM [ Walther look alike ] for carry , also have a S&W Ultra-lite .38 [ don't like it ] and an old Colt .38 long barrel police special-- Wife has her Turaus PT-25 .25 cal [ like the Beretta Tomcat ] with the tip down barrel .
By the way , ROF68 stands for Retired Old Fart and I'm 68 years old.

[Scooter]

You know what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks. It happened to me when I started shooting autos, but I was about 14 and learned quick to change my grip. I like my blood where it's at.
My suggestion would be just slow down and be meticulous about the grip for a good while. Hopefully it becomes more natural for you. That or you'll learn after a few dozen more "blood donations" Good luck to you

[rof68]

SLOW DOWN !!!!!!
At my age , what else is there but slow ???<grin>

[Scooter]

Maybe I should rephrase that a bit. How about concentrate on the grip, that or continue to donate blood to you guns

[Jizzle]

you gotta do what you gotta do. the ppk has a small grip to start with. just relax and check your grip every time.

btw why don't you like ur S&W?

[rof68]

Jizzle , I don't [ nor does my wife -- I bought it for her ] like it because neither of us can hit anything with it at anything over 7 yards.
She wants to do range shooting as well as use a gun for carry-- so I bought hr a Taurus PT 25 .25 cal for a purse carry gun -- she's damned good with it also.
I kniw the argument that the S&W .38 lite is for close carry -- I don't care , I still don't like it !!!!!!!!!!
I'll sell it locally as it will be a lot less hassle that way .

[Jizzle]

how much would you part with it for?

[rof68]

$ 400. ,BUT , I don't want to go through the hassle of mailing it through a licensed agent .
That's why I say , I will sell it locally.
It will sell with a holster , speed clip and carry box it came in new.

[Jizzle]

i'm originally from fla. my grandma lives a little south of you and is looking for another conceal carry revolver. that's why i was curious. i'll pass along the info.

[Chuck]

Returned from the range today and AGAIN , I am suffering from 'thumb bite".
After a morning of clean up,at the Fort White [ Fl, ] gun club, my wife and I took the oppertunity to fire a few rounds .
Being most use to a revolver and now mostly using [ or trying to use ] semi-autos , I am finding it a bit painful on the thumbs.
My grip that I had been using on the revolvers , is NOT working uot very well with the autos slides and is dinging the thumbs. I seem to find myself slipping back into the old style grip -- BUT -- the slide QUICKLY reminds me to "get a grip " that is more in tune with the auto loaders.
I guess I'm a slow learner and this has happened the last two times I have been to the range .
Have any of you had this problem , and how did you correct it ?
I guess if I get clipped another dozen times , I just might learn to modify my grip and save my blood.
ROF68 [Bruce]

Are you using a weak thumb over the strong thumb grip on your revolver?

[rof68]

Chuck -- I'm TRYING NOT to fall back into the weak thumb over the strong thumb grip, BUT , I guess ever once in a while , I slip back into that position.
I got use to that while using a revolver and thumbing the hammer back with the weak thumb on a single action Ruger single six..
After I get tired of loosing skin and splattering blood all over the shooting table , This old dog , just might start to learn not the shoot an auto loader that way !!

[Chuck]

.
. Since you know the classic revolver grip (weak thumb over strong thumb) needs to be changed, you can do it with some dry fire practice.
. Here is my best attempt at explaining it without visual demonstration. I recommend that you try cupping the weak hand fingers in front of the strong hand so you can experiment with the most comfortable position for your thumbs. Some shooters prefer a thumbs high grip with both thumbs pointing up. This grip has some advantages of preventing your weak hand thumb from pushing against the frame and changing your sight picture.
Some shooters prefer the two thumbs forward grip with the strong hand thumb in contact with the frame of the gun and the weak hand thumb over the strong hand thumb. The pad of the weak hand thumb should contact over the nail of the strong hand thumb. If the weak hand thumb exerts more than contact pressure it will be harder to maintain a consistent grip and accuracy suffers.
There are more variations on thumb placement but these two are what I see most often on the range from the experienced and competent shooters.
. Once you decide if one of these changes in grip is what you want to use, it will take a lot of dry fire practice to make it work under stress.
. I always taught my recruits that it takes 1500 to 2000 repetitions of a movement, like drawing and firing a holstered handgun accurately, to reproduce that movement under stress. If you have all of the other basics down, it will take fewer repeititions to make a new grip a habit.
. Dryfire is the way to do this. If you will invest 10 to 20 minutes a day in dryfire for the next week before shooting that pistol again, you will have a new grip that will keep your weak thumb out of line with the slide.
. Do you have any training on dryfire and how to do it safely? I have investigated a few incidents of people doing quick draw tricks and shooting their TVs (usually during cop and cowboy movies), two waterbeds, and a couple of bedroom floors. If there is any question about dryfire, please ask and I'll give you some simple safety rules.
.
Let me know how it works out for you.

[rof68]

Chuck , first I want to say Thank you for the advice and insite to my delema and of course , BOTH of my thumbs thank you !!!!!!!!!!
The practicing drawing and dry firing is going to be on hold for awhile because of a lack of a decent holster.
I have been searching for a good leather holster IWB for my FEG PA 63 [ Walther look-a like ] 9 MM , thus far I have bee unsuccessful in my hunt .
I also am trying to order a M-11 from Brigade holster makers , BUT , they are back ordered and are not taking any orders at this time -- I'm on a waiting list and will be notifyed when they are taking orders again. Check it out at :
http://www.brigadegunleather.com/m-11.html