Newbie needs help with my grip

[Wagon Box Willy]

Howdy pards,

I'm brand new to pistol shooting and have about zero experience.  I have a Pietta NMA which I'm trying to learn with and I'm having trouble with my grip.

From what little practice I have so far I think I'm OK with my two handed grio but would like to shoot dualist mostly if I can.

During a dry firing session today I took some pics and even two short movie clips of my grip including cocking. 

I actually dont know how much of a problem I have or if the uncomfortableness I feel is normal and it will go away with practice.  What I feel is that in order to get a good thumb leverage on teh hammer I have to move my hand up the back of the grip so much that my trigger fingers pulls the trigger with the pad of my second knuckle.  In the pics and clips below I can just barely cock the gun (again, with very little practice so this may get much better with time) but this position does allwo me to pull the trigger with the first pad of my finger albeit close to the knuckle.

As you can see I have to open up my hand (palm) a bit to get my thumb on the hammer but my fingers never move so my grip stays mostly the same.

Any comments will be helpful, thanks.
  Willy

http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/guns/grip1.jpg
http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/guns/grip2.jpg
http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/guns/grip01.wmv
http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/guns/grip02.wmv

[Daniel Nighteyes]

One thing, Willie, is that most single-action shooters drop their little finger under the butt of the grip.  Gives much better control.

Here are some "grip-pics" that I just took with my cellphone.  Recognize, though, that I'm holding the pistols out at arms-length AND at nearly a right-angle to the way they should be pointing.

First the Uberti New Model Army:




Second, the Pietta New Model Army.  Note the difference in how much my thumb is having to "reach" to grip the  hammer:



Finally, and for comparison, here's my grip on an Uberti 1861 Colt Navy.  As you compare the images, you can see that my grip on the Navy is much more "compact" due to the smaller grip.  (Unfortunately the focus is a little off...)



Hope these help!

[Wagon Box Willy]

Thanks Pard!  Yes, that does help.  I had Googled a lot of links which showed folks with way more thumb than I have that made it look simple.  Your pics appear to me that you have the same short thumb syndrome

-Willy

[Daniel Nighteyes]

Your pics appear to me that you have the same short thumb syndrome

Hey now!  I greatly resemble that remark!     

[Wagon Box Willy]

After some dry fire and then live shooting today I'm feeling a little more comfortable.  Perhaps in a couple of thousand more rounds I'll get the hang of it

[Daniel Nighteyes]

After some dry fire and then live shooting today I'm feeling a little more comfortable. 

Did you notice the improvement in control when you dropped your little finger below the grip?  To many, it makes a BIG difference.

[Leo Tanner]

My camera died but I can say that with 51 grips my pinky stays on the face of the grip but with the Old Model Vaquero it does drop below.  Both are considered big grips but have different shapes.  I don't have short thumbs so both feel natural when cocking.  I know a lot of folks in the old days would cock with the off hand but that won't work for duelst. 

Gee, just realized this was no help at all.  Keep practicing.

[Wagon Box Willy]

Did you notice the improvement in control when you dropped your little finger below the grip?  To many, it makes a BIG difference.

I tried dropping the pinky and while it felt good it made cocking more difficult.

I noticed a couple of things.  With my current load which is not a full case but which uses a 250 grain bullet.  If I locked my arm to keep the gun from rising the trigger guard would bang my middle finger (kinda painful).  Dropping the pinky moved the middle finger out of the way but made cocking harder.  Allowing the gun to rise a bit to absorb the recoil felt good though I know it eats at speed.

- Willy

[Daniel Nighteyes]

Allowing the gun to rise a bit to absorb the recoil felt good though I know it eats at speed.

Not necessarily, though I'm by no means a speed-demon.  Allowing the gun to rise a bit frequently makes it easier to cock the hammer for the next shot.  Changes the geometry, dontcha know...