feels good in hand

[farmerboy]

I've been wondering. You hear alot of people claiming they bought this gun because it felt right in their hand or it pointed good. Some like the feel of a glock, so now they are a glock owner, others are a XD owner and yet others are 1911 fans all because they feel and aim right. Well I use to and still am a S&W man (auto) and hated glocks. Alot on here heard me in the past say that I purchased a glock 22 gen 4. I have to admit it did feel alittle different and like all else it did point different. But thats all I really shot about the last 8-9 months. I shoot in my yard and I shoot about 5-6 days a week. Maybe 10 rds or maybe 50 rds a day. So doing this day after day the gun feels like an extension to my arm now. Im very, very accurate with it and love everything about this gun. I have alot of others put up and havent really shot anything else at all. So as far as feeling right and aiming and all- I believe you can get use to anything really. With practice, practice and more maybe it would have been your last gun to choose but if thats all you had and shot the crap out of it I do think it would be your favorite. What do you guys think?

[spanishjames]

Makes sense. A lot of people have an affinity for their first gun. Especially if they got it when they were younger. They may shoot it the best, and enjoy the feel of it, since it was all they knew for a while.

[drail]

While I would have to agree with the idea that you can get used to almost anything I cannot even imagine how a Glock would feel good in anyone's hand. To me it feels like trying to use a shovel with a 2X4 handle. Round handle works much better even though you could probably get used to the 2X4 over time. I guess it's the dichotomy of "the world is what you make it" and "this is what you get". I must be built for comfort because ALL of my tools either get modified or replaced if they don't fit my hand. Someone on another forum said "get a DA revolver and learn to shoot it fast and accurately and then you can pick up anything and hit with it". I would have to agree. Years ago I shot a S&W 745 auto and tried for 2 years to be proficient enough to compete in IPSC with it. Never did. It was 100% reliable and had a beautiful trigger pull. Switched over to a 1911 and made a lot of progress very quickly. The grip angle on S&W autos just never worked for me (maybe I didn't try hard enough or long enough). I honestly think S&W would have sold a lot more auto pistols if they had copied the 1911's grip angle.

[tahunua001]

yes, I will agree that with practice you can shoot just about anything with a good level of competence and after a time become very familiar with just about any platform. however when I am dealing with a new shooter that has very little firearms experience I tend to tell them to go for a firearm that requires as little adjustment as possible so that it is easier for them to got good in the first place, too many obstacles, too early on and they can develope bad habits that are hard to fix.

[Skans]

With practice, practice and more maybe it would have been your last gun to choose but if thats all you had and shot the crap out of it I do think it would be your favorite. What do you guys think?

I've shot the crap out of my Glock 17 for 20 years. I still hate the trigger and "trigger dingus"....and I'm no more accurate with it now than I was after shooting it for 1 year. Glocks just aren't for me - nothing wrong with the gun, except I'll always only be so-so with it.

[Woody55]

The two pistols that always "felt good" to me were the Beretta 92F and SIG P226. Probably because of the curve and size of the grip.

But I shoot better with my Glock 27 (at least short range rapid fire) because that's what I shoot most. There might be a better feeling substitute for this pistol that I would shoot better with given the same amount of practice, but this one is good enough. It's not like I've got world class talent anyway.

[PT-92]

For me it's the classics as they have achieved their respective claims to fame for a reason (balance and accuracy--I don't think I could miss with any of these blindfolded): Lugar, 92, 1911 and the Hi Power . Works of art.

I own 92's and 1911's and I have a Browning HP clone but have never owned a Lugar--it's on my 'bucket-list.'

[Metal god]

I agree that you can get used to a gun ,I did . I had a 92 fs, a bunch of revolvers , mk3 22/45 , beretta 380 . They all shot well and I shot the 92 best . I recently bought a XD9 . It felt good in the store but when I started shooting it , I did not feel comfortable with it . I felt like I needed to point the nose downwards to get the sights to line up . That was then this is now . Now that I've put about 800 rounds down range it feels good in my hand and I no longer feel I'm pointing the muzzle downward to shoot striaght . I like the gun alot now . 800 rounds and no problems with the gun what's so ever. It goes bang evey time . Can't ask for to much more out of a hand gun

[LockedBreech]

One thing that surprises me is how much "feel in hand" can change over time.

I always figured it was a static variable, and so about a year and a half ago when I got to handle an M&P9c, I thought it was the most ergonomic, comfortable handgun ever. Fast forward a year and a half later, I grabbed a M&P40c a few days ago and I did not think it was comfortable at ALL. I have no idea what precipitated the change.

There are, though, undoubtedly guns that just plain fit you. My PX4 feels as good as it did the first day I got it over 4 years ago, and I've held the Gen4 Glock 19 about a half-dozen times and I think it feels completely phenomenal, to the point that I'm about settled on getting one.

[sigcurious]

I like my g34 and I am used to it, but even with more and more rounds through it it does not feel good in my hand as my other pistols do. But I shoot as well (or not well ) with it as my other pistols.

I think that feel and proficiency are two separate factors. If you only have one gun even if it doesn't feel good, practice will make for proficiency. Given options however, I would imagine people will practice more with what feels good, excluding external factors such as a carry pistol where might concealment trump other factors leading to a gun that does not feel optimal.

[MonsterB]

My personal opinion is you need to give a gun more than just a hold at the counter, or a day at the range to make an honest evaluation. Feel in hand is different than feel while shooting, and even if you dont care for a certain gun at first, it could become your favorite when you get in sync with it. Glocks didnt feel great to me at first either, but with some shooting I found what all the hype is about. By no means the best feeling gun in hand to me (my Sig 229 would have that honor), but an awesome gun to shoot and be very accurate with.
I buy alot of guns, shoot several k rounds through them, and then decide if I like it or not. If after a good amount of shooting, I still love the gun, I keep it, or otherwise sell or trade it off. Noone could ever accuse me of not giving a gun a fair chance.
Currently, I am reaching my best shooting consistency ever with a Sig 229, and I expect that to get even better with practice. I thought it felt good in the hand at the shop, as I have with several other guns, but shooting it is what really sold me on it. Holes in the target, or whatever you are shooting at, will tell the real story. Far too many shooters, it seems, base an opinion on a very small sample of a guns fit, or accuracy, on the first time they pick it up. Or web rumors. Believe what your own results tell you, and understand that what feels good in the hand at the shop may not translate into a good gun for you.

[Leejack]

If were talking ergonomics here, the mighty sigma is hard to beat. It feels like it is part of the hand and is as natural a pointer if there ever was one.

[farmerboy]

Yes my sigma does feel just like you stated, even though I havent shot it in nearly a year :-( Put the last 9 months into my glock 22 ONLY...

[jmr40]

Choosing a gun because it feels good in your hand is like choosing a car by sitting in the seats of every car on the lot without ever driving one. I sorta feel that is a very over rated way to choose a gun or car. The human hand is very adaptable and within reason will conform to whatever shape you put in it.

I've owned or shot most of the major handguns and like everyone else have my preferences, but given a few rounds to get familiar with any of them, I can quickly shoot any of them pretty well.

[Marquezj16]

I enjoy shooting guns what feel good in my hands more than the one's that don't.

[BigJimP]

Generally - I agree...

If you only have one gun ....and practice enough with it / you'll adapt to it within reason.

The one exception is a really crummy trigger....and some guns just have really crummy triggers...lots of creep, some kind of hitch where just before they break there is something that catches like sear isn't ground properly...some triggers have a lot of wobble as they travel thru an arc - and/or feel real mushyu....and some of them just break with pressures way over most anything generally accepted as ok....

example: I have an American Derringer.....45 Colt / .410 shotshell....that has about an 18 lb trigger on it ( its like trying to squeeze water out of a rock )...its way past unacceptable. My brother in law bought it ...and gave it to me a few yrs ago ..../ someday I'll sell it - let someone else figure out what to do with the trigger pull on it. As a "belly gun" its still marginal in my view...

[PT-92]

While I do think that one can adapt to any handgun via simple practice, I also see that initial comfort that one feels when gripping the gun for the first time as only increasing/accentuating the shooter's prospective accuracy capabilities.

Not to make an oversimplified analogy, but remember when you were comparing the baseball bats in Little League in that sometimes seemingly elusive search for that "perfect feeling" bat you were sure would result in a Ted Williams-like .400 bat. ave. (wow does that bring back some great memories of thirty years ago ). I think the same type of "feeling" applies to that "perfect" handgun.

[serf 'rett]

Yes, many folks can adapt.

Yes, if you shoot it enough, you should become proficient. I had a high quality BB gun with no front sight (knocked off) that I used for years and years. (Should have bought stock in Daisy, Inc. because I certainly helped the company in their BB sales!)

Yes, I can even get good groups out of my friend’s 40S&W Sigma. He scatters the holes around in random 15 to 18 inch patterns, but they plop into a 3 to 4 inch group for me. (Trigger not very good on his.)

However…

I will contend that good ergonomics is very important. Examples: Large hands/small pistol or small hands/large pistol; grip angle vs. natural point; bore centerline distance from support; etc. I believe that you can find a “fit and feel” which is best for you. It may take a few years of shooting. It may take shooting different weapons and platforms. It may take dabbling in different types of shooting - hunting, Bullseye, IDPA and so forth. And it might just take the aging process to develop into a grumpy old opinionated codger, who is picky.

[serf 'rett]

Postscript: Got to agree with BigJimP on the crummy trigger deal killer.

Crummy triggers don't follow me home.