Video: Getting A Grip On Big-Bore Revolvers

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Want to master the hand cannon? You've got to dial in your grip.

A fledgling skill, a proper and solid grip is among the most important fundamental skills in handgun shooting. Ignore it and you’re likely to find your overall accuracy subpar and follow-up shots next to impossible. Key as it is with the most common handgun calibers — 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP — its significance increases a couple magnitudes when you step up to big-bore revolvers. Makes sense, they’re beasts.


More Big-Bore Revolver Information:

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  • The Elegant Power Of The Ruger Blackhawk Bisley .45 Colt
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Recoil is the most obvious aspect a proper grip helps negate when shooting these excessively powerful handguns, but it’s not the only thing it manages. Inherently heavy, due to the extra material in the frame and cylinder, there is also a matter of keeping the revolvers on target. Given this class of handgun is generally utilized for hunting, up to and including dangerous game, making sure those massive bullets impact where they’re supposed to is imperative. A good grip ensures you'll keep it hitting the bullseye one trigger pull to the next.

From Max Prasac’s experience with nearly every hand cannon conceived, he’s found grip tension — plenty of it — does a pretty solid job at putting a round where it needs to go again and again. For the big-bore guru, it’s a matter of consistency, with a stout grip maintaining a dependable point of impact, no matter if he’s shooting off a bench or offhand. Though, as he freely admits, his is far from the only way to skin a cat with some shooters allowing their guns to ride and fly.

Prasac, however, does opt for a somewhat unorthodox overall grip, locking the thumb of his support hand behind his strong hand. Funny as it may appear, this is an insurance policy. Locking in his grip, he doesn’t have to worry about recoil putting the gun somewhere it shouldn’t be — such as his kisser.

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