Are Pistol Grips Useful in Big Game Hunting?

A while back, I was thinking about whether I should get a gun with a pistol grip for hunting, and I love to do big game hunting. I have researched whether they are useful, and found some very interesting answers.

So, are pistol grips useful in big game hunting? Pistol grips are not good to use when big game hunting. But, if you are being attacked by a big game animal they can be good to defend yourself. They are harder to shoot accurately, and in big game hunting you need a lot of precision to down your quarry.

Pistol grips are illegal on certain guns, in some States because of the increased risk of hitting bystanders in a shootout. This is generally not an issue in big game hunting situations. But, the reasons why they aren’t useful needs further explaining, so read on where I will explain the why below.

Why aren’t pistol grips useful in big game hunting?

A pistol grip is more difficult to aim and use in big game hunting because:

It doesn’t naturally fit the hands (but it does require getting used to for folks)
The location of the safety on a rifle makes it hard with a pistol grip
It can get caught on the brush or your pack
It kicks back more on your thumb on powerful rifles

1. It doesn’t naturally fit the hands

With a shoulder stock, the way your arm is positioned is to work with your natural body motions. Which makes it feel more natural and intuitive when you aim. With a pistol grip, the position of your wrist is out of alignment with your arm, and your wrist is rotated at a bit of an angle because of the way you hold a pistol grip.

This makes it harder to aim, and harder to pull the trigger in an effortless way. It’s like trying to turn a door hand with a cast on your wrist. The angles are slightly off and you have to use different muscles to pull the trigger and flick the safety on and off.

Pistols are designed to be compact so that you can conceal them and are lighter to make them easier to carry around for everyday use. Also, in war situations, you can use them as a back up when the ammo on your rifle or automatic weapon runs out.

On top of that, a pistol grip on pistols is best used when holding it with two hands directly out in front of you.

For these reasons, a pistol grip was the best option for handguns. Later they were adapted to automatic rifles and other guns to increase their stability in a situation where you want to spray a lot of bullets in an area. Rather than shoot with a lot of accuracy.

So, having them on rifles isn’t the best option, although they still will work for hunting.

2. The location of the safety on a rifle makes it harder to use with a pistol grip

Flicking the safety off when you are in a firing position is harder to reach when you have a pistol grip because your thumb is wrapped around the pistol grip.

With a standard shoulder stock on a rifle, the thumb is resting on the side of the gun just below the safety. And you can flick it on and off without moving your hand very much or at all.

Each rifle is unique and some will require more hand movement than others. But, it is still much less hand movement to flick it off, and then reposition your hand when you have a pistol grip because the thumb has to come all the way back around to wrap around the pistol grip.

The extra movement destabilizes the rifle or gun, and you have to spend more time lining the shot up. Which can throw you off a bit. When hunting you want to be calm, focused, and in the zone so you want to minimize the extra movements you need to make.

That way you’re creating less opportunity for something to go wrong which can mess up your shot. So, a pistol grip can be used in big game hunting but it is more difficult and isn’t the best option.

3. It can get caught in the brush or on your pack

Similar to adding more motion, the extra part of the gun that is sticking out adds something else which can be a minor annoyance.

When you’re in a lying down position to take a shot, the pistol grip can get in the way especially in thick brush or when the ground is uneven. And you may need to adjust your position to put your gun in a spot that is comfortable to take the shot. This makes noise which can spook the big game you’re hunting.

A standard shoulder stock on a shotgun or rifle doesn’t stick out below the gun, so you have more flexibility to position your gun, which makes it easier to hunt overall.

You might also be crouching behind a small hill or behind some rocks, where the pistol grip will also get in the way a bit, and cause issues for you when positioning your gun.

You might be holding your rifle to your side, and then happen upon a big game animal. So, you’ll want to quickly and quietly hide in cover. But, as you do that the pistol grip might catch on your jacket or straps on your backpack. And can cause you to drop your rifle, or at a minor make your movement awkward and staggered which can alert the animal to your presence, and make it more likely it will get spooked or be on high alert. Making it harder to shoot it.

So, overall a pistol grip adds one more thing that can go wrong when hunting big game and isn’t the ideal option.

4. It kicks back more on your thumb on powerful rifles

When you use a pistol grip on a shotgun or rifle the kickback goes into the crook of your thumb, which does hurt a bit. With a shoulder stock, all of the force goes into the large area on your chest and spreads the force out.

So, having the force hit your thumb causes unnecessary pain that you don’t get when you use a standard shoulder stock. That area of your thumb is quite weak and close to the bone which is a sensitive area of the hand.

But, pistol grips are commonly found on shotguns, which are very good to use when hunting. I recently wrote two articles about whether you [link: Can You Hunt Moose With a Shotgun], and if you [link: Can You Hunt Deer With a 20 Gauge Shotgun?]. Definitely give them a read if you’re unfamiliar with using a shotgun for hunting big game.

Overall though, unless a pistol grip is serving a useful function you generally don’t want one. And in hunting big game you don’t need one. But, if you have one it isn’t the end of the world it is just more difficult and annoying to use.

Conclusion

Pistol grips aren’t useful in big game hunting, but they can be used. They are harder to use, when turning the safety off, and taking your shot. As well as, getting in the way when you are getting in position to take a shot. It also kicks back on the thumb which you don’t get with a standard shoulder stock gun.

By sssmith79Uncategorized

The Gear Outfitters