Is there any truth to Glock grip angle?

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HistoryJunky

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I was reading this article about popular CC pistols since Illinois had passed the law, and came across this, said by a local gun shop worker to the paper.

Polhamus says: Reliable, extremely popular and often a less expensive choice, the Glock is a larger concealed carry weapon. Most law enforcement officers carry Glocks. Some don’t like the grip angle, which forces the user to adjust the wrist to aim properly.

Read more: http://www.journalstandard.com/article/20140330/News/140329277#ixzz2xVlVzLdl

Anyways, is there any truth to this being the "proper" way to aim? I have no experience with Glocks, and I've only handled one, never shot. Not looking for Glock or anti-Glock war, just wondering about the potential theory behind it.
 
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SHE3PDOG

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It is a silly argument. A Glock user could just as easily say that one must adjust their wrist to aim properly with a Springfield XD or a 1911. Truth is there are a lot of different grip angles and hand swells, but Glock takes a little more flak than most because it is pretty close to the extreme end of the spectrum.

As I implied earlier though, it really just depends on what you have the most experience with.
The writer probably has a bit of a bias based on his previous experiences and training with other guns.
 
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Elerius

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I can say that every time I had left my G19 sit for a few weeks without touching it, it feels strange like I have to bend my wrist to aim down the sights. But the feeling definitely goes away and you get used to it pretty quick, just make sure you hold it periodically so it doesn't get strange again.
 
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Baba Louie

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You are different than me. Your hands differ from my hands (maybe, probably, dunno for sure). You will grip this sidearm or that sidearm and adjust to accommodate the grip and modify your "aim" technique to hopefully hit the intended target reliably as will I, it just might be that your hands are larger or smaller or fatter or more thin than my own.

Does that make this gun or that gun less? Nope. Just different.

Yeah a Glock or 1911 or Colt Python or what-have-you might not fit you perfectly. Close enough is usually good enough. Modifications to the grip can also be done, tho with a polymer frame, it's going to alter things somewhat permanently for that particular firearm.

Glock has played around with their perfection the past 30+ years and it continues to slowly evolve. The grip angle hasn't changed, but texture, finger grooves, slim frame, modular backstraps, etc. have, each change an effort trying to achieve perfection.

Until the next generation of design comes forth.

Any Truth to Glock grip angle? It works. For quite a few apparently. YMMV
 
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mavracer

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I'm real used to shooting guns with a straighter grip angle, I have practiced drawing and point shooting enough so that when my gun reaches eye level the sights are pretty much lined up. When I pick up a Glock and bring it o\to eye level it's front sight is quite a bit above the rear.
I'm sure if I would practice with a Glock that this would go away, but I have no interest. YMMV
 
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Pond James Pond

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There is no such thing, barring extreme examples, as a bad grip angle. There can be a bad grip angle for a given person.

Take me for example. I bought a G19 as my first ever gun. I read posts about grip angle this and that and thought: "What is all the fuss about?".

One day it hit me. I realised that if I pointed the gun at my target, focussing purely on instincitive pointing, ie leveling the gun where I judged it should be on target, I found that the sights were on target vertically, that is the front between the two points of the rear, but that horizontally they were not aligned. The front sight's base was level with the rear sight's top.

In other words, my shots would have struck high unless I then consciously brought the front sight down to an angle that felt unnatural to my wrists.

In the times I have handled other guns, especially when choosing the replacement for the Glock I did my "closed eyes" test: Choose an object to aim at, close eyes, bring gun to bear, open eyes and see where the sights are aligned. If they were pretty much on , that made the gun a natural pointer for me in a way the Glock was not.

The CZ I now shoot is a natural pointer. Interestingly, a 4th Gen Glock with a different backstrap on is also a far more natural pointer than my old Gen 3...
 
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gyvel

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Since the Glock's grip angle is very near that of a Luger pistol, which is considered to be one of the most naturally pointing guns ever, I don't see where all the condemnation for the Glock grip comes from.
 
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Pond James Pond

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I don't see where all the condemnation for the Glock grip comes from.
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Certainly from my part it is not condemnation so much as resignation.

It is one of the vagaries of my shooting, it would seem, that I can shoot a Ruger MkIII with little or no issue, whilst the Glock always too me that extra half second to align the sights after pointing the muzzle at my target.

In my case this simply was not something I was happy with in a gun that was otherwise perfectly (sorry anti-glockers! ;)) satisfactory.
 
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gyvel

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It is one of the vagaries of my shooting, it would seem, that I can shoot a Ruger MkIII with little or no issue,
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Which is no surprise since the Ruger Standard series virtually duplicates the grip of a Luger pistol.
 
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TunnelRat

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Since the Glock's grip angle is very near that of a Luger pistol, which is considered to be one of the most naturally pointing guns ever, I don't see where all the condemnation for the Glock grip comes from.
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According to whom? This statement gets brought up ad nauseum. When was the magical study of all firearms in current production using thousands if not millions of people in order to come to such a conclusion?
 
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lee n. field

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Polhamus says: Reliable, extremely popular and often a less expensive choice, the Glock is a larger concealed carry weapon. Most law enforcement officers carry Glocks. Some don’t like the grip angle, which forces the user to adjust the wrist to aim properly.

Read more: http://www.journalstandard.com/artic...#ixzz2xVlVzLdl

Anyways, is there any truth to this being the "proper" way to aim? I have no experience with Glocks, and I've only handled one, never shot. Not looking for Glock or anti-Glock war, just wondering about the potential theory behind it.
Click to expand...

You get used to it.

Truely, a normal hand can adjust to many many things.
 
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Nakanokalronin

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XD/M/S, M&P,1911,BHP, all Rugers and many other semi-auto pistols point naturally for me when brought up to eye level. No readjustment is required for the sights to be perfectly aligned. For some Glocks, I need to tip my wrist down in order to achieve this.

The Gen3 G17 points high for me, but not the Gen4. I think Glock finally realized that most other guns point naturally and those Gen4 back straps really help. The Gen3/4 G19 and G26 points naturally for me, but not the 45 models. I prefer the flatter back straps on most poly gun and a flat MSH on a 1911 since it works best for me. IMO, the M&Ps have the most ergonomic grip based around the human hand. Glock is far from that, but they're not the worst.
 
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TailGator

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A lot of the complaints that I have read come from people who have shot other firearms, often 1911s, so extensively that they are simply accustomed to something else.

Glock claims that they researched the grip angle quite extensively and designed it around the average novice shooter. That is fine as far as it goes, but if your qualifications are different on either count you may not like it. I am personally OK with it, but I haven't spent the time with 1911s that a lot of folks have.
 
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Madcap_Magician

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Aim the gun properly and you won't have an issue.

If I am shooting a Glock, I shoot isosceles, and the sights align naturally on target.

If I am shooting a 1911, M&P, XD, or one of the other guns with a less aggressive, more traditional grip angle, I shoot isosceles but with an arm position a bit more like the Chapman or Weaver stance. Surprise, the sights are aligned.
 
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JN01

New member
What "points naturally" is subjective and varies from person to person.

I don't know where the idea that the Glock grip angle is so radically different from all others got started, but it seems to be legendary now.

The angle of a G19 is pretty much the same as a 1911 with an arched main spring housing (which I prefer). Works for me.

The only pistol I had that gave me trouble in "pointability" was a Colt Pocket Model. It felt like it was nearly at a right angle and always seemed to point low for me.
 
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4thPoint

Moderator
comparo.jpg

.... And not everyone agrees on how to measure.


But we all agree that a flat mainspring housing as opposed to a humped mainspring housing on a 1911 affects how it points, right?
 
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