Shooting With The Middle Finger

[Ramjo]

I'm just gonna keep this rather brief. 

 

Last weekend I lost most of my trigger finger to an accident working at home. All that's left is up to the first knuckle from the palm.  I don't want to go into why or how it happened.

 

What I'm here to ask is, how many people out there are shooting with their middle fingers? In just holding rifles, i can see the transition wont be bad, but it's my magnum revolvers and pistols in general that I am worried about being able to control.

[Trekbike]

Sorry to hear about your accident.    Any chance of switching shooting hands?

Edited August 23, 2015 by Trekbike

[hipower]

Man, so sorry to hear this. I'm sure it is devastating at this point, but sounds like you are on the road to physical and mental recovery.

 

God Bless you buddy.

[Ramjo]

Sorry to hear about your accident.    Any chance of switching shooting hands?

Not Really. Im right hand/eye dominate so doing things lefty just makes it very frustrating. Nothing feels right doing it left. I figure the one handed shooting is over for righty, it'll be 2 hands or nothing.

[Ted S.]

Get a robot finger! That would be cool, and possibly simulate full auto fire!

Edited August 23, 2015 by Ted S.

[Omega]

Not Really. Im right hand/eye dominate so doing things lefty just makes it very frustrating. Nothing feels right doing it left. I figure the one handed shooting is over for righty, it'll be 2 hands or nothing.

I think you can learn to work the trigger just fine as is.  It will take time, but once you work it enough, you will develop muscle memory.  Get some snap caps and practice dry firing until it becomes second nature.

[monkeylizard]

I'm actually faster shooting with my middle finger, but I have less control because of the changed grip so I don't do it with firearms. When I played paintball and laser tag a lot, I almost exclusively shot with my middle finger because in both games, volume can be just as important as accuracy. It's definitely a two-handed grip to do it though. With practice, I don't see why it won't become just as natural as the index finger.

Edited August 23, 2015 by monkeylizard

[EssOne]

Boy I'm sorry that happened to you Ramjo. I have had experience with a friend who insisted on triggering his pistol with his middle finger, and his results were poor at best. The biggest issue was proper control of the pistol, which is very difficult once you shift it in your hand to accommodate middle finger triggering - after all, the pistol was designed to be fired with four fingers and a thumb with the forefinger on the trigger. Once you have to shift the gun in your hand to accommodate middle finger triggering, the weight, balance, height of the bore line above the hand, and ergonomics of the gun become critical and very touchy, making accuracy difficult.

 

OK, now for the good news. This guy wasn't an enthusiastic shooter and you are. So I think if you'll let the hand heal, build up its strength, then go looking for the most well balanced, ergonomic, hand fitting, and possibly lightweight pistol you can find and then practice with it like the shooting enthusiast you are, I think you might just pull it off. There are some other things you'll have to worry about and overcome - one is getting your shooting hand chewed up by the slide, you'll have to be careful there, and the other is letting the gun get away from you, which I believe practice will overcome, especially with a good two hand hold, and with hand exercises to get the hand good and strong. Even so, like I said, I'd recommend that you avoid single hand shooting as much as possible, and rapid drawing is something you want to approach with some real caution for sure.

 

You'll have to experiment around with this, but you should expect to find that the trigger system of the gun and the curvature and distance of the trigger from the frame inside the trigger guard will be very important to you. For instance some versions of the CZ 75 have had a long reach trigger, which probably wouldn't lend itself to helping with your problem, and I suspect that a double action gun might be hard for you too. You would want a gun with the bore line as low as possible for best balance, as a gun with a high bore line above hand would (I believe, anyway) be harder for you to control. You'll also find that operating a safety or decocker will be difficult without compromising control of the gun. Finally, a single stack gun might be easier for you to control than a double stack pistol, so you might want to experiment with that before giving up entirely. The bottom line is you're going to have to be much more selective about which gun you adopt than in the past and you really need to experiment quite a bit before settling in on one particular design..

 

So I'd encourage you to carefully give it a try as long as you can do it safely. I hope this isn't too discouraging.

Edited August 23, 2015 by EssOne

[z0mbies fear me]

That sucks and I'm sorry to hear that, but it can be done. I practice shooting with my middle fingers on either hand every couple of range trips (started that after severely cutting my trigger finger with a box cutter a few years ago) . Just a couple of mags each but it's really not that bad. Rifles/shotguns were the easiest transition for me. Pistols are a little trickier because you have to be aware of the slide movement. The only thing I have much of a problem with is my Taurus model 444 (ultralight 4" unpredictable barrel raging bull/tracker frame 44 magnum) at just 28 Oz it's a bit of a beast with only your ring and pinky fingers wrapped around the grip. It will take a little bit of practice but you candefinitely do it. Good luck.

[bersaguy]

I have a friend that is an avid shooter and very good at it. He also lost his Trigger Finger back to first knuckle off main palm as a child and is right handed. He shoots at the range every week and shoots everything from 22's to Tokarev 7.62X25 and several 1911's and he uses middle finger for all of them. He does shoot two handed most of the time but I have seen him shoot with one hand and very accurately.he will order the grips for each firearm that he shoots till he finds to right feel. He has in the past had grips special made for the 762's but he has no problem.

 

I am sorry for your accident but I am thinking if you are as dedicated to shooting as my friend is you will over come this and be back shooting as good as ever...........

[TNWNGR]

It's a non issue with a rifle or shotgun and the Enfield rifles of WW-I/II-Korean/Malyasian Conflict were frequently volley fired using the middle finger of the right hand. As to handgun its doable in slow fire and can be developed further but learning to shoot with your weak hand will prove more productive. Your not the first shooter to have this problem and won't be the last just adapt and persevere.

[peejman]

As you adapt to the new norm, your hand will get much stronger than you think. Like anything else, it'll take time and practice.

[Pete123]

I'm very sorry to learn about this accident. 

 

In my 30's I began having severe back pain, which culminated in surgery.  It was very hard to accept that my body wasn't the same and that I couldn't do everything I did before.

 

Here is what I learned over the years, hopefully it will help you.

 

First, we don't need to know how the accident occurred.  The only thing I will say is to let yourself off the hook if you played a part in it. We are all human.  None of us can be sufficiently focused all the time.  Accidents happen.

 

Next, the most helpful thing to me was my attitude of accepting with grace things I could no longer do.  The next most helpful thing I learned was that physical therapy made all the difference.  I've been conscientious about my physical therapy through the years and have been able to do anything I want for a long time now.

 

You may need an occupational therapist as well.  

 

The PT and OT have extensive knowledge in helping people learn how to do things differently than they did before due to injury.

 

It may be that shooting magnums will need to go (but maybe not).  I quit shooting them some time ago because the recoil isn't pleasant and I can do whatever I want with a 9mm or .45 ACP.

[Grunt67]

I'm just gonna keep this rather brief. 

 

Last weekend I lost most of my trigger finger to an accident working at home. All that's left is up to the first knuckle from the palm.  I don't want to go into why or how it happened.

 

What I'm here to ask is, how many people out there are shooting with their middle fingers? In just holding rifles, i can see the transition wont be bad, but it's my magnum revolvers and pistols in general that I am worried about being able to control.

 

 When I was a youngster, I used my middle finger ( right hand ), all the time. Worked great or that. Just a matter of adjusting.

 This was with my Red Ryder BB. Not sure why or when I changed over.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Grunt67

[Jonnin]

sorry to hear this.

I sent you a possibly helpful PM. 

 

All I got on the subject is to go read "shane" again... think the idea was to lay your pointer finger down the barrel to point-aim quickly...  if memory serves.

 

That aside humans are very adaptable.  It is highly likely you can work the problem out by trying things and seeing what you can do with what you have.

[Ramjo]

Thanks guys. 

[peejman]

 When I was a youngster, I used my middle finger ( right hand ), all the time. Worked great or that. Just a matter of adjusting.

 This was with my Red Ryder BB. Not sure why or when I changed over.

 

My kids do that too.  I think it's because the middle finger is both stronger and longer so it's easier to reach the trigger. 

 

 

 

In fact, here's evidence my little one uses 2 fingers...  :D   This was his first time shooting a real rifle. 

 

[Grunt67]

My kids do that too.  I think it's because the middle finger is both stronger and longer so it's easier to reach the trigger. 

 

 

 

In fact, here's evidence my little one uses 2 fingers...  :D   This was his first time shooting a real rifle. 

 

 

 That's cool, PJ. If it works, that's all you need to do.

[LagerHead]

I don't think it will be a huge problem. Here's my suggestion: Place your index finger (what's left anyway) along the slide as you normally would while holstering, etc. Grip the gun lightly with your right hand. Place your left hand over your ring finger and pinky and grip tightly with your thumbs pointing forward.

 

This is basically how many competition shooters grip, with their weak hand gripping much tighter than their strong hand. The theory is that it allows the muscles in your dominant hand to relax, giving a smoother trigger pull. Therefore, your strong hand isn't really the one providing the bulk of control of the gun. Of course, keeping the bore axis in line with the bones in your strong hand and a tight grip combine to control recoil. I haven't tried this with my middle finger, but I think the theory is sound. Really interested to see what you finally decide and how things work out. Keep us posted.

[Caster]

I do a lot of shooting with my middle finger. ....ohh wait.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I do a lot of shooting with my middle finger. ....ohh wait.

 

Isn't that trap shooting? I mean they both involve shooting a bird.

[Oh Shoot]

I do a lot of shooting with my middle finger. ....ohh wait.

 

Condolences to Ramjo, but yeah,  my first thought when I saw thread title:

 

 

- OS

[Ramjo]

The problem is  I dont have any autos. Up to now all I've carried are revolvers.

[Ramjo]

Thought I would show the community how well I've progressed since becoming a trigger finger amputee.

 

All pistols in this video except the Nagant and the Enfield were fired with the nub I still have.

 

Notice I switch to the middle finger on the 3rd shot with the Nagant revolver, because even in single action the trigger is atrocious.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPsC6FXN_Fw

[Possumslayer]

Op.....welcome to the digitally handicapped club!