THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

THE MONKEY GRIP | 1999-07-10

You have probably noticed that television and movies now show people holding pistols sideways. They hold the gun in the same way a monkey would grab one.

Look at all the tapes of live action shooting that have ever been taken. You will never see one single person using this monkey grip on a real gun in a real fighting situation.

In the movies, everybody who has a pistol is an expert. According to television, anyone can hit his target if it's close. Anyone can therefore afford to hold his gun sideways in a fighting situation. Actually, no matter how often you have done it, you can miss anything in a fighting situation.

That is why, in the real world, a professional will use a two-handed grip on his pistol.

That is why, in the real world, nobody uses the monkey grip.