# Shooting with broken fingers



## alistair (Feb 21, 2015)

I had an accident over the winter and broke all the bones in the fingers of my right hand. Although I have recovered some mobility in my I still can not make a fist.
When I've tried to hold a handgun the tips of the fingers do not wrap around the front of the grip as I cannot move the tips, and when I use my left hand to fold the tips around the side I experience extreme pain.
Anyone have experience with unorthodox grips or arthritis fingers and holding a handgun?


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

I had to use my left hand when I hurt my right hand.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

alistair said:


> I had an accident over the winter and broke all the bones in the fingers of my right hand. Although I have recovered some mobility in my I still can not make a fist.
> When I've tried to hold a handgun the tips of the fingers do not wrap around the front of the grip as I cannot move the tips, and when I use my left hand to fold the tips around the side I experience extreme pain.
> Anyone have experience with unorthodox grips or arthritis fingers and holding a handgun?


Are you currently undergoing physical therapy to restore the strength and range-of-motion in your fingers/hand? If so, work on completing that therapy, and in doing so, your grip will probably improve enough that you'll be able to shoot again with little to no difficulty. It is my impression that if you are in pain as described above when the fingers are moved, then maybe it's just a bit too soon to get back to shooting with that hand.

As Tony said, above, you always have the option to shoot with the other hand, although it takes quite a bit of practice to get really "good" at using your non-dominant hand in pistol shooting. If you want to try this, handle the pistol extra-carefully, as it's kind of like starting over again from the beginning. Take your time, think about what you are doing, don't rush. Concentrate on the basics, the fundamentals of shooting (sight alignment, sight picture, and use a gentle squeeze of the trigger to fire, not a slap/jerk), and accept that you will be shaky at first, until you build-up the muscles that allow you to hold the pistol steady. You can use the same eye to aim, just tilt your head slightly to the side to get the eye in line with the sights (as my left eye is stronger than my right, I've always shot right-handed, but with the left eye, and never had any difficulties; I've even won a few local and state competitions shooting that way, so it CAN be done successfully).

If you are going to shoot an autoloading pistol, you'll also need to figure out how to fill magazines for shooting. Look into getting a loading-assist device like the UpLula to help you fill your mags. If you know anyone who has one, ask if you could try it out with that person's help, to see if it will work for you (try before you buy, if at all possible).

I once broke the wrist of my shooting hand two weeks before a match, so I've experienced something similar to what you're going through, and I know it sucks.

Good luck! 
.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Using your non dominant hand can be difficult. As DJ mentioned above
When I had shoulder surgery, was far enough into my healing process but still didn't want to absorb the weight or recoil as my shoulder wasn't 100% yet. 
I only used my healing dominant arm n hand as a type of stabilizer, 
Smooth n steady was important for me. 
Good luck on your healing process.


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## alistair (Feb 21, 2015)

Thank for the input. I am going through PT and although fingers now move and curl, there is no movement in the tips (except in trigger finger).


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

I didn't break fingers, but thanks to injury, I got to know one of these very well.







When I starte with it, it took both hands and turning two circles to compress it one time.
Keep on the therapy and ask if there is anything you can do at home. Do it, but don't over do it. You may just have to vacation from much shooting until things level out. Shooting was not very fun when I started and I no longer own my go to rifle calibers.
Remember, the first two fingers are precision. Writing and articulation. Te ring and pinky fingers are anchor and strength. Plain body mechanics but something that needs to be considered for tasks like shooting and even climbing stairs.
It took over a year, between learning to walk again and shoulders. One shoulder never recovered completely, along with some other things. Patience.
Good Luck.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

alistair said:


> Thank for the input. I am going through PT and although fingers now move and curl, there is no movement in the tips (except in trigger finger).


If you'd rather not say, no problem, but if you don't mind saying, what model and caliber is your pistol, or pistols?

Some handguns don't need a lot of grip strength to fire them; I can fire my Glock 17 with a one-finger grip and full control.
If you can eventually get the fingers around the front of the grip, to pull it back into the palm, you'll probably be fine.
Fingertip pressure on the sides of the grip add almost nothing to recoil control, and can actually hurt your accuracy.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

Ouch!


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