Benefits of the "Fire Hose* grip?

[CactusSam]

Ok, so a friend of mine and I have gotten into a little debate about "which grip is better" when shooting your AR. I'm a proponent of the "fire hose" grip where the support hand is extended out well beyond the mag well and the thumb basically wraps over the top rail near the front sight post. I feel like this allows a more stable platform, especially when engaging multiple targets rapidly or single targets rapid fire.

I also happened to find this awesome, but old, video from Jerry Miculek (just in case anybody has the same argument with friends).

Any other feedback from you guys?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSJw58FAEnM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSJw58FAEnM)

[clodhopper]

I have heard it referred to as the "c-clamp grip".

[nynco]

I would say that the proper grip depends on your needs in a situation. I would not put my arms out wide and far out like your video says in a tactical situation. it makes a larger silhouette target for a bad guy.

Without body armor, I would stand sideways
With body armor, forward facing with no side profile at all, arms in closer
No tactical worry then full best possible way to brace, elbows out support arm way out there forward.

What you are training for then dictates what works best. Then research the proper way for all those situations.

There is no one size fits all.

[Guylee]

The C grip makes recoil control a lot easier and creates a much more stable shooting platform in the standing position and makes transitioning to targets much smoother. The closer your support hand is to your body, the more weight on the front of the rifle you have to control. It feels awkward at first, but once you get used to it you will notice that your sights don't move around nearly as much upon firing.

[Teufelhund]

The C grip makes recoil control a lot easier and creates a much more stable shooting platform in the standing position and makes transitioning to targets much smoother. The closer your support hand is to your body, the more weight on the front of the rifle you have to control. It feels awkward at first, but once you get used to it you will notice that your sights don't move around nearly as much upon firing.

This. The Corps taught me to stand sideways and hold the weapon near the mag well, so I had to re-train myself to use the "c-clamp grip" (never heard it called that before). The latter works much better for recoil control and faster follow-up shots, but does present a larger target perpendicular to the enemy.

[Guylee]

This. The Corps taught me to stand sideways and hold the weapon near the mag well, so I had to re-train myself to use the "c-clamp grip" (never heard it called that before). The latter works much better for recoil control and faster follow-up shots, but does present a larger target perpendicular to the enemy.

At its core it's really meant for tactical shooting. If you're engaging an enemy would you rather stand sideways towards him and present your relatively vulnerable areas, or square up and present him a level III plate to shoot at? Seems counter-intuitive but I'd rather take one in the plate than in the armpit.

[Teufelhund]

Good point. We didn't have plates when I was in the military though, so you didn't want to get shot anywhere.

[Kraven251]

The c-clamp grip is what I use, and have found it far more beneficial when running dynamic drills. Though, you need to be careful not to have chicken wings flopping out there to get your elbows shot off.

[Guylee]

Good point. We didn't have plates when I was in the military though, so you didn't want to get shot anywhere.

Wellllll in that case I guess turning sideways is a pretty good plan!

[RonMexico]

Without body armor, I would stand sideways
With body armor, forward facing with no side profile at all, arms in closer

Always stand square. Absorbs recoil better but you never want to get double lung shot

[TheBelly]

I don't care if a guy holds the rifle with the hand guard firmly stuck to his junk. Can he hit the target?

[asmo]

As the old wise saying goes:

Situations dictate strategy, strategy dictates tactics, tactics dictate techniques.....techniques should not dictate anything.

[C Ward]

There is an article by Kyle Lamb that one of the key points he brought up was the wisdom of compromising a proper shooting position to give the enemy a better target by squaring up to him . The gist of his point was to shoot the rifle like a rifle and make sure you hit the target and then the body presentation to the opponent was meaningless .

[dan512]

There are a million different techniques and a million circumstances under which they work. The short answer is there is no one way. However, try different techniques, what gives you the best hits on target in the fastest time? At least then you have data.

[Bailey Guns]

Different stokes... What works better for one (or for one situation) doesn't work better for everyone (or every situation) for a lot of reasons.

[King]

The C-clamp works best for quick shooting and short engagements. Try holding the rifle like that for extended periods and you will learn to love holding that magwell. When working/training, I use the mag well grip 9/10. The upside is endurance but it sacrifices some stability/accuracy