Gripping a 1911

1911 with extended safety can be bumped in recoil into safe position if the thumb is under the safety. So keep the thumb above the safety if right hand shooter. The support hand keep the thumb clear of the slide.

So both thumbs are forward with the dominant hand thumb above the safety, support hand clears the slide.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Need stop the frame as the videos show camera from right hand side very briefly.

Master Class – Ep 02 – Slide Lock Reload w/ Larry Vickers

Mandy Bachman and Larry Vickers take you through, and help teach the nuances of a good slide lock reload.
Time 1:40 through 2:20 Shows camera from right hand side of right hand shooter Mandy Bachman.
Brief sequence so need to stop the video.

Master Class featuring Ken Hackathorn – Ep. 04: The 1 to 5 Drill
Time 2:52 3:04 Shows Ken Hackathorn shooting with camera from right hand side. Shows grip technique from right hand side with right hand shooter Ken Hackathorn.
Brief sequence so need to stop the video.

Wizard Drill – Master Class – Ep06 featuring Ken Hackathorn
Show level of performance in self defense use.

Time Start at 2:30 at 2:44 shows one hand shooting
Time 3:10 draw then two hand shooting video from right hand side.


Everyone is different so your style may vary slightly. I tend to hold the 1911 more like Ken Hackathorn than Mandy because of my hand size. I can secure the 1911 better under recoil with out any unusual push pull or various other methods.

Great vids. I always do slide lock reloads. They have become very natural to me.

One thing I do differently from most shooters is that I use what I call a “high grip”. My weak hand always wrapped around the trigger guard. I am not a big guy and have smaller hands so this helps me get a better purchase.

Please note all these shooters in these vids....the trigger finger is off the trigger and rested on the frame until they are engaging the target. At the range, I see lots of shooters breaking this very important safety rule. Get in the habit of doing this the right way.

Also, I can’t stress how important the two thumbs forward grip is. I hear a lot of shooters say things like “I shoot better shooting my way” etc....that may be true but it’s only because you didn’t build good habits the correct way. Sometimes you have to go backways before you can go forward.

Also, learn to shoot weak hand, two hand. You will become a better shooter strong hand.