STRENGTHEN YOUR PISTOL HOLD WITH THE LAUCK LEVERAGE GRIP
STRENGTHEN YOUR PISTOL HOLD WITH THE LAUCK LEVERAGE GRIP
Bob Pilgrim
Dave Lauck
Anyone involved in the shooting community is familiar with 2012 Pistolsmith of the Year Dave Lauck. He not only builds exquisite and match accurate rifles and pistols his D&L Sports company also offers rugged fixed and folder knives, revolver sights and numerous firearms accessories. Currently, he is engaged in developing a unique 200 grain .45 ACP bullet. Dave is also a former career law enforcement and SWAT officer and ran his esteemed International Tactical Rifle Championship competition from the vast ranges of the Small Arms Training Academy near Gillette, Wyoming. Unlike some master gunsmiths, who reluctantly leave competition to attend to their popular and growing business, Dave continues to win firearms competitions in the very tough Arizona competition circuit. Dave is also a super patriot and is also known for his gold plated and engraved 1911 pistols that have been presented to presidents, high government officials and gun pro actors. Of course, our 45thpresident has not been overlooked and Dave’s most recent labor of love resides in the Trump White House.
Lauck Leverage Grip
Dave is an inventor and innovator. In regard to his competition successes, Dave, like Jack Weaver who introduced the shooting world to the Weaver Stance, has developed what he and his fellow competitors call the “Lauck Leverage Grip.” Included in his modified grip equation are his “Heavy Duty Handstop”and afore mentioned “new bullet.”
Extension Magazine
His two handed hold works best with a ten round extension magazine inserted into his 1911 pistol. His dominant hand grips the pistol in the normal manner with the hand stop wedging his hand up into as high a grip as the gun’s frame will permit. His support hand drops down and its index finger overlaps the space in between the third and fourth fingers. The remaining fingers grip the magazine while the thumb locks down on the strong hand’s middle finger. In a manner, it resembles an overlapping golf grip and the stacked hands ape the elevated prone position hold. While a 10 round extension magazine works best his grip can also be employed with his eight round, .45 ACP stick with its ½ inch “bucket” base plate.
Excellent Control
Muzzle flip is controlled “better than a compensator” and it allows him to “twist inward with both hands to lock the sight picture into alignment with the target while manipulating a “duty weight trigger.” Dave likes to shoot what he carries for personal defense and with this set up has been “beating nine millimeter comp guns in speed shooting matches.” Dave has had a 27 year hiatus from USPA/IPSC competition and is currently unclassified, so he is shooting against all comers.
What’s Old is New
Dave combines his unique grip with the Weaver Stance for enhanced recoil control, but when shooting on the move he uses bent knee Groucho and squares up to the target. However, he is not locked into a particular stance or foot position when solving fast moving shooting requirements. It’s more important to maintain sight alignment and trigger control from both stable and un-stabilized positions.
Some time ago, Ken Hackathorn and I had a conversation concerning the best stance to use to control stockless machine pistols (MP) like the Glock 18. With his extensive select fire experience in Special Forces, he opined that the Weaver Stance excels here. I agreed based on my experience with Ingram MPs in the FBI. The push pull dynamic provides the necessary leverage to control these high cyclic rate weapons.
Limited Evaluation
I chose Sig Sauer’s lightweight P 320 C pistol with a 21 round X-5 extension magazine for my evaluation of the Lauck Leverage grip. Appreciable muzzle climb was provided by Sig Sauer’s 125 grain +P NATO load’s near 1300 feet per second velocity. I haven’t shot Gunsite Weaver or Chapman Weaver for a long time, but I didn’t forget how to apply the push pull from the bladed stance. I shot a string of rapid fire from the isosceles stance and compared its degree of control with a string of +P from the Weaver position. Maybe it’s my advanced age and subsequent loss of some strength, but I detected no appreciable difference between the two? However, I am not denying that Dave’s technique doesn’t work for him and some of his opponents. A good number of Dave’s fellow competitors have adopted Lauck’s Leverage grip and are now a serious threat to his dominance. It’s hard to argue with success and some hard isosceles shooters may, after experimentation add Weaver skills to their shooting repertoire?
This article is for informational purposes only. All shooters need to seek professional instructions for firearms.