Sig P365X - support hand thumb placement for best grip

[Pressingonward]

Hey Everyone,

I have a Sig P365X (same grip module as the XL, but the non-XL barrel) that I use as my carry pistol.

I am fairly new to pistol shooting, only started a couple years ago. I've had some guidance from more experienced shooters, but no formal instruction yet - hope to alleviate that soon. Put roughly 1500 rounds downrange, plus some dryfire practice with a MantisX

I can shoot accurately if I shoot slow, but if I try to shoot at all fast my groups open up. I know I'm anticipating the recoil, so I'm working on that, but the other issue I've found during live fire practice is that I don't have a good grip. I have medium-small hands and my preference is to put my support hand index finger in front of the trigger guard, and my support thumb along the gun right underneath the slide. The problem with this is my thumb wants to occupy the same space as the takedown lever and slide release, which obviously won't work.

I've been shooting with my support hand rotated forward a bit to where my thumb sits along the bottom of the slide in front of the takedown lever - the side of my thumb sits in the back of the accessory rail groove, with my support index finger in front of the trigger guard. This works great for one shot...but the recoil pulls my thumb off the gun into free space and I then have to reset my grip for the next shot, which is slow and ultimately results in a sloppy loose grip that is inconsistent from round to round. There just isn't enough space under the slide for the support thumb to have good contact with the gun and keep it in place during recoil.

I finally gave up on that grip and have been experimenting to try to find an alternative. The most stable grip I've found is to wrap my support index finger under the trigger guard with the rest of my fingers, point my support thumb straight up to keep it clear of the slide release and takedown lever, and wrap my shooting hand (right hand) thumb over the top of my support thumb. I don't think this is a good grip - the gun is not as stable since I don't have support out front, but it's the only one I found where the recoil didn't move the pistol in my hand involuntarily each shot.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a better way to grip small pistols like the P365? Hoping there is a good video or pictures out there somewhere I can reference to build a proper grip - I usually see full size pistols in the instructional videos and that doesn't really help here.

I do have a Hogue grip sleeve I want to try at some point, and I'm tempted to try the Wilson Combat grip module, but I don't want to throw money at a problem that I'm guessing is probably due to my own inexperience rather than a problem with the fit of the gun to my hand.

[gaijin]

Yeah, the P365 is difficult to shoot “accurately/rapidly” due to grip size and light weight.
I strive to shoot it with same hand(s) position as any full size pistol;
Grip as high as possible.
Both thumbs pointing towards target (ie- High Thumbs).
I find prepping trigger to the “wall”, then rolling through/steady pressure, til it breaks, is helpful in regards to NOT anticipating the shot and consequently with accuracy.

While the P365 may be difficult to master, it can be done.
We shot “carry gun drills” this AM. I cleaned the “Dot Torture Drill”, that isn’t particularly difficult- but it DOES require total focus and execution for EVERY SHOT.
50 yd A/C Zone hits (USPSA Target) are certainly doable.

What I found helpful to increase the “shoot ability” was to clean up the gritty trigger and run a RD with a PMM Barrel/Comp on mine.
With an unmodified gun I had 25 to 30% lousier hits as reference.
I certainly ascribe to taking every advantage possible to get hits, rapidly.

I’ll add; one of the pups has the Wilson frame. It made zero difference in controllability subjectively.

[georgeib]

FWIW, I did add the Hogue grip to mine, and it certainly feels more secure in my hands. I can shoot it as accurately as my full size pistols with a 507k and the MCarbo spring kit installed, so no complaints there. But I can't shoot it fast... yet. I need more time behind the trigger with it. Dry fire it's fine, live fire I run into the same issue as the OP in having to readjust my grip between shots sometimes. I'm determined to figure it out, and I will.

[pag23]

Yeah, the P365 is difficult to shoot “accurately/rapidly” due to grip size and light weight.
I strive to shoot it with same hand(s) position as any full size pistol;
Grip as high as possible.
Both thumbs pointing towards target (ie- High Thumbs).
I find prepping trigger to the “wall”, then rolling through/steady pressure, til it breaks, is helpful in regards to NOT anticipating the shot and consequently with accuracy.

While the P365 may be difficult to master, it can be done.
We shot “carry gun drills” this AM. I cleaned the “Dot Torture Drill”, that isn’t particularly difficult- but it DOES require total focus and execution for EVERY SHOT.
50 yd A/C Zone hits (USPSA Target) are certainly doable.

What I found helpful to increase the “shoot ability” was to clean up the gritty trigger and run a RD with a PMM Barrel/Comp on mine.
With an unmodified gun I had 25 to 30% lousier hits as reference.
I certainly ascribe to taking every advantage possible to get hits, rapidly.

I’ll add; one of the pups has the Wilson frame. It made zero difference in controllability subjectively.

I agree, but along the lines with the Wilson comment....for me it does help with hand placement and I get a little better grouping at close range with rapid fire with the Sig red dot and a TLR7 light..

Mine came with the Sig reddot which I find to be crappy so I am getting a Holosun for it...probably the 407


It is also helpful that all my P320s have the Wilson Grip as well

[gaijin]

The Wilson frame/grip does have a slight palm swell, but for me it wasn’t enough of a difference to bother with.
Purely subjective.

Oh, the Holosun 407/507K shares same footprint as the Sig optic.
The 407x2/507x2 won’t fit the optic cut in slide.

[pag23]

The Wilson frame/grip does have a slight palm swell, but for me it wasn’t enough of a difference to bother with.
Purely subjective.

Oh, the Holosun 407/507K shares same footprint as the Sig optic.
The 407x2/507x2 won’t fit the optic cut in slide.

Thank you...probably go with the 407k

[SteyrAUG]

If you really want anyone to be able to fix anything, have someone take a picture of your hold.

[Pappabear]

I did all the above suggestions:
gaijin +1
added the Hogue grip
Holosun optic

And I added the gas pedal for my off hand to give more left handed support. Can research that little goodie. I had to get a custom holster for my 365 but not for my P320.

PB

[Pressingonward]

If you really want anyone to be able to fix anything, have someone take a picture of your hold.

I figured that would be needed. Will see if I can get someone to snap a picture.


That gas pedal looks intriguing...will see what I can do without buying more "stuff", but I could see that solving the problem if nothing else works

[bamashooter]

OP, sounds like you know the deal. Sounds like you have your accuracy established at whatever distance you have chosen. Speed can take a long time to accomplish, however, it's very doable. Likely a few thousand rounds minimum. Relatively speaking, the P365 has a very small sight radius. That feature alone, along with the recovery time which comes with such a small, lightweight piece requires most folks to homestead it at a range in order to run the gun. I recently purchased the basic 365 w/ manual safety. Sweet little pistol though I do have a CT / LG-422 on the way. I'll likely go with the extended Zev Tech magazine release and call it good. Good luck.