How to Manage Pistol Recoil with the Parallel Grip

Balancing speed and accuracy requires excellent recoil control. This grip is an excellent way to control recoil to maximize speed.

How to Manage Pistol Recoil with the Parallel Grip Pistol Drill

Controlling a handgun’s recoil for fast follow up shops is a never ending battle for shooters, be it plinkers, competitive shooters, law enforcement, or military. We all want to be able to get that second shot on target in a fast and accurate manner.

Frank Proctor is a skilled ex-special forces soldier and a Grand Master competitive shooter. When he speaks up, you better listen. You can learn more about him over at The Way of The Gun. You should definitely subscribe to his YouTube channel while you’re at it.

While watching that video, pay very close attention to exactly how he’s gripping the pistol. Many shooters are close to his grip, but not quite at an optimal grip.

Train train train the proper grip

As much as I would love to talk further about the specifics of the proper grip, it really is something you need to see – not read. So go watch that video. Adjusting your grip by a quarter of an inch can make a surprising difference.

However, watching a YouTube video on pistol grip technique is not enough. The only way to quickly obtain the proper grip on a pistol repeatedly under stress, is to train train train.

It is critical for shooters to work hard on building subconscious skill so you don’t have to think about obtaining the proper grip. In this case, simply drawing and re-holstering your pistol is perfect practice. Pay very close attention to exactly how you’re gripping your pistol. If you practice the wrong grip, then you’re better off doing something else with your time.

Written by - always a student, sometimes a teacher.

I don't consider myself a competition shooter - I think of myself as a performance pistol shooter. I am all about performing at as high of a level as possible. Towards that end, I am obsessive about learning how to perform. I spend a lot of my life learning from the best across the entire firearms world and even into other areas of performance and other sports. I am a USPSA Carry Optics Grandmaster, currently working towards my second GM title in the Open division.

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