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I thought it was to accentuate the Glock's good looks?

More seriously, I've never used it for any functional purpose on mine.

Some say that the Europeans put their weak hand index finger in front of the guard like some Americans do (who are criticized for doing so). Although there are a few top shooters in the U.S. that do it.

Its for your weak hand index finger, as the above said. I shoot that way regularly. I picked that up from my dad who suggested it, it really helps me bring the gun down after recoil. Various divisions of tactical teams (SWAT, FBI, etc) train this way as well. They don't all do it but some units do.

My H&K is the same way.

AndyC wrote:Finger forward on the trigger-guard is a technique popularized in the 70s in an attempt to reduce muzzle-flip during recoil - checkering and hooks were commonly added there so the finger wouldn't slip off.

It's how I was trained so it's hard for me to shake - particularly under stress (reverting to training and all that) - but the more modern technique takes the forefinger off the front of the trigger-guard and instead wedges the finger against the underside of the trigger-guard. This position moves the weak hand slightly lower on the gun (while the strong hand stays high), the idea being to make use of leverage to assist in counteracting muzzle-flip.

The Glock has a pretty long trigger-guard so it might not be the most comfortable thing to try and get one's finger around, but YMMV.

Not a very clear pic, but here's me using that technique on a Browning HP to illustrate:

What's the story behind the pic?

My G23/3 and G26/4 both have the texture on the front of the trigger guard. When I first started shooting Glocks I used it. Then I took some tactical training and the instructor taught us not to use it. During his training at the Glock "school", to become Glock certified, the instructor asked the students if they knew what it was for. After various replies he informed the class that it was there because it looks cool.

P.S. Thanks for sharing the cool pic Andy C.

G26ster wrote:Some say that the Europeans put their weak hand index finger in front of the guard like some Americans do (who are criticized for doing so). Although there are a few top shooters in the U.S. that do it.

Europeans have weak index fingers?

The Annoyed Man wrote:

G26ster wrote:Some say that the Europeans put their weak hand index finger in front of the guard like some Americans do (who are criticized for doing so). Although there are a few top shooters in the U.S. that do it.

Europeans have weak index fingers?

Yes. Apparently, they haven't heard of any of our finger exercises:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

G26ster wrote:Some say that the Europeans put their weak hand index finger in front of the guard like some Americans do (who are criticized for doing so). Although there are a few top shooters in the U.S. that do it.

Europeans have weak index fingers?

Among other things...

No top competitor uses the finger on the trigger guard... except Eric Grauffel, the European Open IPSC champion.


So if you are already a champion shooter, with a Tanfoglio 38 super open gun, you may get by using this type of grip.

For everyone else, why would you want to take one of your strongest fingers of your support hand, extend it out away from the others and hook it on something that provides little support. Why not use that strength to enforce a nice balanced grip that allows you to manage recoil and get the sights back on target for follow up shots. Remember, Eric Grauffel is pretty much just steering the gun to the next target, the compensator and ports are reducing muzzle flip and the recoil is pushing straight back.
Not so on our guns.

Look at the video below of this guy shooting a G18 with his finger forward on the guard. See how much it gets bounced around. Even though we don't shoot full auto pistols, when firing multiple shots the principle is the same. We need a grip that keeps the sights tracking straight and returning to the same point for the next shot. One lone finger way out in front is not that grip.

Gringop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDT8-0VlSxI