Why the hell can't I shoot a .40?

[ASH556]

Severe ongoing pain? Maybe an issue for a doctor. Only when you shoot a .40? Grip issue all day long. I'm not going to sit here at a computer and pretend to be the pistol ninja, but I do have quite a bit of training with the pistol, and I've worked at a range for the past 7 years watching all kinds of people try to shoot all kinds of pistols in all kinds of different ways.
The thing about a .40 (and a .357 Sig for that matter) is that due to the high pressures, they tend to snap more at the muzzle, wheras a 45 (especially with a heavier frame like a 1911) tends to stay more on plane, so while the recoil is there on the 45, it's more of a push than a snap. The first thing about your grip that I would check is how high it is. The lower on the grip you are, the more torque the recoil will put your wrist through. You need to get your primary hand as high and tight on that grip as possible. Also, you mentioned your thumb hitting the slide stop. Unless you have gigantic thumbs, youve got your grip torqued pretty hard over (assuming right handed if primary thumb is on slide stop. The majority of the pressure on the pistol should come from the palms and heels of your hands, not your fingers and thumbs. Get high and tight and apply most of your pressure on the sides instead of front to back. Get as much meat to grip contact as you possibly can. This should stabilize the pistol in your hands, which will lead to improved control and accuracy.

[threeheadeddog]

I have shot .40's and in my opinion I will never own one for anything other than game guns and I am avoiding even that at the moment. However I was/am a bit of a 10mm fan and one year I shot about 5k+ rounds of doubletap ammo including some range sessions of 300+ through a custome 10mm 1911. Using the modern thumbs forward grip I never had a sore wrist but I did get numb fingers, sore hands, finchy at the end of range sessions. The worst thing though was the "tennis elbow" I was getting.

I am just saying this to make my point that IMHO wrist pain from moderate .40 shooting is not normal when using an appropriat grip. I am not a doctor and would never give medical advice but once you are past the medical part of the equation I would seek some training or advice from someone who knows the propper way to show you to hold/perform with a handgun.

Somewhere on the springerprecision website there used to be 2 great videos on propper handgun shooting.

[Safetyhit]

I'll chime in and add that as someone who shoots almost only .40 these days, I agree with several others in that all circumstances considered you may have some likely minor physical issue with your wrist.

[jklaughrey]

For duty, .40. Never had any issues. You sir have an underlying medical issue. I have had Carpal Tunnel release on both hands and I still have no pain. Didn't even have pain before the surgeries. Too much unsupported non ergonomic typing in my cruiser.

[RancidSumo]

I had considered that it might be something wrong with my wrist because every now and then I get a little pain in that wrist and I can make it pop (well its kind of a grinding sound) on demand. I was just wondering if it was possible that its a grip issue. It seems that it most likely is not so I'll just have to stick with shooting my 9's and .45's.