[abuwf]

As I was dry-firing my PPQ today I decided to try pressing the trigger with my middle finger. To my amazement the felt trigger weight was significantly smaller with my middle finger! I also appear to have a steadier aim at the trigger break.


I'm thinking of trying live-firing with my middle finger. With this hold there's just enough space between the trigger guard and the slide for me to keep my index finger. It rests comfortably on the lower end of the slide catch.


Do you foresee any danger of live-firing with my middle finger?

And yes, I know I need to improve my finger strength.

 

[agksimon]

I don't see any danger, but your grip to control recoil will probably be diminished, the barrel will rise more and target re-acquisition will take longer.

 

[Kar98]

Pulling the trigger with your middle finger while having the index finger stretched out and against the frame to point at the target was the super duper tacticool operator technique back in the day. Like, way back.

 

[ErichBaumer]

No credible shooting expert or instructor has decided this is a good idea in any context outside major injuries to the trigger finger. This is what we would call a clue.

 

[Kar98]

No credible shooting expert or instructor has decided this is a good idea in any context outside major injuries to the trigger finger. This is what we would call a clue.

Wrong.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_shooting#Overview

 

[Grunt67]

Haven't tried this finger with a pistol, or rifle, but, when I was a kid,I used the middle finger ( don't know why I started this ) , but it was very accurate.of course, there was no recoil or muzzle flip, as another poster mentioned.

I may give it a try & just see how it goes.

 

[balance]

I don't see any danger, but your grip to control recoil will probably be diminished, the barrel will rise more and target re-acquisition will take longer.

Without actually trying it, I feel the same way. The middle finger is one of the stronger fingers on your hand, which is probably the reason why the trigger felt lighter. The trigger on the PPQ is already pretty light and short. I don't believe the positives would outweigh the negatives.

 

[grumpy1]

Sure it is possible to do but you are going to end up changing your strong hand wrist orientation quite a bit turning upwards and IMO that is going to have a dramatic impact on controlling the weapon and perceived under fire. If you ever got into a struggle with someone over control of your pistol you would also be at a disadvantage with keeping control of your pistol. Personally for me a lighter trigger pull does not necessarily translate into better accuracy and precision.

 

[hayduke13]

Pistols aren't designed to shoot with the middle finger.

 

[Different.Drummer]

Where is the index finger when the slide goes through its cycle of retracting and returning to full forward position?

 

[agksimon]

Wrong.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_shooting#Overview

I shoot IDPA/USPSA and can guarantee, at least from my viewpoint, if I shot using the middle finger for the trigger, that is one less finger on the grip (and probably the strongest of all four), I couldn't possibly have the recovery times that I have, to acquire the targets, as fast as I do. Granted, the strong hand doesn't do as much gripping as the support hand, but it does make a difference. It's like any other sport; you will reach a plateau and won't improve, unless you do the same things as the people that are at the top of their game.

 

[Kar98]

I shoot IDPA/USPSA and can guarantee, at least from my viewpoint, if I shot using the middle finger for the trigger, that is one less finger on the grip (and probably the strongest of all four), I couldn't possibly have the recovery times that I have, to acquire the targets, as fast as I do. Granted, the strong hand doesn't do as much gripping as the support hand, but it does make a difference. It's like any other sport; you will reach a plateau and won't improve, unless you do the same things as the people that are at the top of their game.

Did I say it was a GOOD modern technique? Or did I say it was the exact opposite?

 

[surrealone]

Mechanically speaking, there are actually some solid reasons the middle finger makes sense as the preferred trigger finger, chief among them being a) the middle finger is usually stronger than the index finger and b) the tendon arrangement in the middle finger typically entails less rotation/torque as the finger flexes, usually resulting in a straighter bend when the finger flexes to pull something. Taken together, these things mean a cleaner, more accurate pull of the trigger with a stronger finger.

However, the above analysis (of the middle finger being used as a trigger finger) is in a vacuum, whereas trigger pulls take place not in a vacuum, but in the context of a hand that is also gripping and being used to assist in aiming. Once that context is applied, it becomes clear that use of the middle finger to pull the trigger entails tradeoffs.

The tradeoff one makes to use the stronger middle finger to pull the trigger … is a weaker grip due to the middle finger's strength no longer being applied to the grip. Worse, the (now useless) index finger can't assist with grip, resulting NOT in replacement of a stronger gripping finger with a weaker one … but instead in the complete loss of one (perfectly good) gripping finger on the pistol's grip.

Most instructors will tell you that grip+trigger control are two key elements of good pistol shooting. Which of these two elements is the more important tends to be a matter of who you ask. From my point of view regarding what's going on with the hand during a pistol shot, one's grip sets up the the foundation for the shot while one's trigger control serves as the mortar. You ultimately need both, but if I had to call one more important than the other, I'd say the grip/foundation carries more weight (to extend the analogy just a little farther ). Thus, I see no viable reason for someone with four perfectly good fingers and one perfectly good thumb (on a single hand) to only use two of those fingers (instead of three) to grip a pistol. Similarly I see no good reason for someone to use the index finger for nothing … or to use it only to point. (Reminder: People have eyes … and pistols have sights for a reason ... so use them!)

Surreal

P.S. I deliberately left the support hand out of the equation just to keep things simple. Bringing the support hand into the equation doesn't change my perspective on the topic in the slightest.

 

[WaterDR]

I have shoot quite a bit with the middle finger. There are some good mechanical reasons why it works well:

BUT......I think it’s a terrible habit and I’ll tekl you why. Trigger finger discipline is soooooooo important and you won’t really have it with the middle finger.

Riddle me this.....where do you leave the middle finger when not on the trigger? Not so easy when you think about it that way.....

Stick with the index finger.

 

[Kar98]

Riddle me this.....where do you leave the middle finger when not on the trigger?

Front of the trigger guard, or on the grip, below the trigger guard.


Again, I'm NOT advocating shooting with the middle finger as a modern or good technique; just that it used to be a widespread, tacticool thing for many decades before Weaver and Modern Technique came around.

 

[WaterDR]

I would also add, I have tried my ring finger and my pinky too. They all work 🙂. So does shooting a gun upside down.

Just because you can hit a bull doesn’t Mean it’s a good idea

 

[Kar98]

I would also add, I have tried my ring finger and my pinky too. They all work 🙂. So does shooting a gun upside down.

Just because you can hit a bull doesn’t Mean it’s a good idea

In 2019 (or rather since about the 1970s), it's a good backup skill to have, like being able to write with one's off-hand, but it's in the end it's useless. The only time in history I can think of that skill coming in handy would have been July 20 1944 when Stauffenberg decided it would make sense to detonate a timer-fuzed bomb rather than trying to shoot Hitler with his off-hand or his mangled right hand.

 

[WaterDR]

Just don’t shoot with your pinky out....it’s gay.....not that there is anything wrong with that 🙂

 

[ErichBaumer]

Wrong.

I should clarify- no currently living respected instructor. No one (or at least no one worth listening to) is currently advocating classic point shooting, or using the middle finger for trigger manipulation in any context outside of injury.

 

[Redcat94]

It worked for Jack Ruby.