Sunday, January 19, 2020

Are They Suggesting Ergonomics and Fit Don't Matter?

A recent post from Say Uncle indicates that grip angle, natural point of aim or a gun feeling “good in your hand "are unserious considerations." Say Uncle in turn links to a post from the View From The Porch blog that asserts that "[o]ne of the most trite pieces of advice given to prospective first-time handgun buyers is to "go to a gun store and try holding a bunch of different ones to see which one feels good in your hand."

     Is there anyone that takes this seriously? For instance, if you were to go into a room full of serious rifle shooters and suggested that the length of the stock, the location and height of the cheek rest, the angle or drop of the comb, or a scope set too far forward or back was irrelevant, "unserious" or "trite," you would be laughed out of the room. Ditto for a group of shotgun shooters if you suggested that the fit of the shotgun wouldn't impact your shooting.

     What you get with a pistol that naturally points for you and fits your hand is a weapon that you don't have to fight against to shoot well. Can you train around a poor fit? Probably, but good fit will save you time, repetitions and money in becoming proficient.

     I came across the Say Uncle post at The Captain's Journal. Herschel Smith adds his background from engineering when he expresses his doubts about the foregoing posts:
      I’ve been a practicing registered professional engineer for a very long time.  But until recently I had not studied ergonomics and biomechanics, and things like pronation and abduction, axis of action, first, second and third class levers, resistance to circulation, kinetic chains, etc.

     I would have been more likely to accept these pronouncements before I engaged in my recent study.  Now, not at all.

2 comments:

  1. "Say Uncle" may have a valid point. If everyone chose handguns based solely on how they feel in your hand...then everyone would buy revolvers and no one would be shooting semi-autos. In my own case, my first experience in shooting a DA revolver had such a profound impact on me that I quickly sold off my Glocks and now I exclusively carry and shoot wheelguns. They just seem to "melt" into my hand and feel like an extension of my body. The revolvers greatly reduced capacity and increased reloading time are IMHO a worthwhile compromise for something that feels so natural and comfortable in my hand.

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    1. My experience is somewhat different in that I find that I generally don't like the standard stocks on double-action revolvers, but have changed to other grips. There are some semi-autos that point naturally for me. Unlike a lot of Glock users, I prefer the grip angle on the Glock Gen 4 over the earlier grip angles.

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