Hope everyone’s had a pleasant time shoveling Thanksgiving food into their mouths. As I was spiraling into a comatose state, I thought it would be helpful to offer a guide on the usage of Forward Grips.

We get to have the pleasure of having Lucas, our weekend choo-choo train and experienced shooter to demonstrate various techniques, and Ryan for being on the less sexier end of the camera.

The Broomstick

The most common method, this seems normal at first because the shooter has a complete purchase on the grip. Also, note how the elbow on his strong hand (right) is sticking out. This is called “chicken winging.” By the way, if you were here in real life when this photo was taken, that massive coliseum of an elbow would have taken any lesser man’s head clean off.

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The most notable difference is the way his left hand is positioned on this Magpul RVG. His thumb’s wrapped over the rail and his hand is at a natural angle. We like this technique because his arm is parallel and as close as can be with the rifle, giving better control over recoil. If we were to take a look at the ergonomics of a pistol grip, it isn’t perpendicular with the rifle. The angle is more comfortable with a shooter’s hand and wrist. When going through the Close Quarters Combat segment of Basic Combat Training, a Drill Sergeant pointed out how easy it was to just point my finger at a nearby tree. With this concept, instead of taking the valuable time aiming at close targets through sights, it’s much easier and faster to instead visualize your finger pointing at a target. The position Lucas’ hand is at right now is at a more natural “pointing” angle than it was with the “broomstick” grip. Try pointing at an object and observe the position of your hand.

His elbow is also now tucked in, and the front of his body is square with his target and in an athletic stance. Eliminating the “chicken wing” by tucking in the elbow presents a smaller target, and also tightens up your body for better recoil management. It also provides the most protection when wearing a ballistic vest, as they were designed to stop rounds when they impact the plate and/or Kevlar square on. When shooting with your side exposed, the rearward kick of the rifle further rotates your upper body. With a square stance, your body provides a solid wall for the recoil to push again.

This is Magpul’s Angled Forward Grip. The AFG is nifty because of its extreme angularity that provides a more natural grip. The concept is still the same: thumb wrapped over the top of the rail and the arm is in line with the barrel.

The Magwell Grip

Let’s take a break from actual physical devices, and have a little refresher on positions sans forward grips. This is the “magwell” grip. The hand is basically using the magazine extension as a vertical grip. Recoil retention is at a minimum with this position becase the hand is not as close as safely possible to the recoil source: the end of the barrel. Target acquisition is also slower and more unstable because the easy “point” technique mentioned earlier is now nullified. I do favor this hold when shooting off of sandbags or from a bench rest, as I like to pull back and down to keep the front of the rifle seated as firmly as possible to negate the rifle’s kick.

The Traditional Grip

The most common image we see in our heads when someone’s shooting a rifle. This is probably the most “neutral” of all positions, and this one and the next happen to be my favorite. This grip does relatively well in most aspects of shooting but excels in none.

The Overhand Grip

This is a lot of people’s favorite way to hold their rifle when not using a forward grip, and you can see why. The rifle is being pushed straight back to the shoulder and the hand is at a natural angle. The “traditional” grip was very commonplace amongst armed service members, but as newer techniques are developed, this one is slowly becoming the most dominant.

We’ve covered quite a few bases today, and later we can get into using grips in positions other than standing, and also other rail accessories, such as hand stops. As an end to this article, I’d like to say that the best system a person can use is the one that works for them, so this is not the absolute technique a shooter must abide by. My Senior Drill Sergeant, who still haunts my dreams to this day, favored the magwell grip, and with his track record and combat experience, there is no logical way that I am going to walk up to him and say that he’s doing it wrong. All 230 pounds of testosterone rage would pummel me into the finest of dust to be scattered on Sand Hill.

I hope this article was as informative and entertaining as to you, the reader, as it was for me to write. If you have any further guidance, disagreements, or comments, please leave a comment or send me an email: david.at.rainierarms@gmail.com.