A proper grip is going to help you make a good shot on target, but it is even more important when you have to make follow up shots and control recoil.

In this pro-tip I am going to walk you through the steps to get a proper grip and also help you choose one to fit your hand. To do that, I am going to use this Smith and Wesson M 2.0 Compact, the 3.6 inch model, and we are going to be shooting 9 millimeter.

To start, I am going to go through the strong hand placement on the grip. You want to get a nice high grip on the back of the gun with your strong hand by nestling the web of your hand nice and high along the back of the grip.

You don’t want to grip too low because that is going to allow the gun to move a lot during recoil. By gripping high you’ll have a lot of leverage against muzzle flip.

You also want to think about how you are gripping the gun with your strong hand. You want to grasp it strongly, like a firm handshake, but you also want to be able to move your thumb and your trigger finger freely.

Next, you'll bring your support hand into play and you want to eliminate any spaces that you may create with your strong hand. To do that we are going to deploy a wrist cant. This little extra bend is really going to help you control recoil.

I am simply going to eliminate any spaces by placing the base of my thumb along the base of this thumb like so, so that I can control recoil. The thumb’s forward grip is going to be very helpful when you are transitioning from target to target to help you index the gun. The thumbs forward grip allows me to direct the gun to the next target quickly.

Let's talk about grip pressure.

I mentioned how it is important to have a strong grip with your strong hand, but enough to move your thumb and your trigger finger. The majority of the power in your grip is going to come from your support hand. You want to think of it as a vise clamping down on the front of your strong hand and the gun to help control recoil.

Now if you chose an M and P you have the option of four different back strap sizes to choose for your grip.

I like the small grip because I have small hands, but if I change out to the larger grip that’s going to mean that I have even less opportunity to reach the trigger.

That’s going to make it harder for me to hit my target and it’s also going to make it very tiring to shoot again and again.

One of the best drills to test if you are using the correct grip size is a very common one we all know. It’s called a Bill drill, where you are going to shoot six shots in the center of the target as fast as you see the sights lift.

Set your target at between 5 and 10 yards. If you only shoot as fast as you see the sights settle, focusing on accuracy to start, you will begin to see how grip can affect how fast you can recover after the gun recoils. Slower shots with sporadic hits can indicate a grip that is too large.

The Bill Drill is an excellent drill to help you learn to grip the gun properly and control recoil.

If you notice your hits start to stray outside of the center of the target, you know you are going a little too fast or not gripping the pistol properly.

This is a great drill to take to the range to learn how to control recoil and improve your grip. Until next time be safe and have fun.