I was just rereading an article by Brian Pearce in the Feb-March 2002 issue of Handloader (#215) and on page 33 he says “Always wrap it (he is talking about the off-hand) around the side and never use it to cup the bottom of the grip frame”. Also in looking at Ross Seyfried’s article in Handloader #208 (Dec2000-Jan 2001) it is obvious that he is not cupping the bottom of the grip frame but rather has his left hand to the side and not under it. I typically do use my left hand to cup the bottom of the grip frame. I shoot a Ruger Bisley 45 Colt. Why would cupping the bottom of the grip frame be the wrong way to do it? Is it because recoil would be more likely to be inconsistent and therefore group size would be larger? Thanks, Rufous.

When shooting my 45LC Silverhawk, I too hold the grip with my off-hand on the side, not under (cupped).
When I wrap my off-hand (left hand) around my right hand, the left hand thumb wraps around the right thumb's first knuckle, with the left pointer under the trigger guard (with a gap so as not to get this pointer smacked under recoil).
I squeeze both hands with enough pressure to shoot comfortably. Once recoil is under way, the off-hand is released practically on it's own.
The whole idea is to hold the revolver with enough certainty to duplicate the hold each and every time, so the sight regulation is exact every time th trigger is pulled. And to combat the effects of recoil, yet allow the revolver to roll within the grip.
Cupping the off-hand, in my experience, does not offer enough of a hold on the revolver to hold it as well as one does with both hands.
Should you decide to change grip-holds, you may need to re-sight the revolver, since the change may effect the point of aim. ~~~Suluuq

[ 08-24-2002, 09:13: Message edited by: Rusty Gunn ]

If you shoot a high power like my Ruger 480,the grip digs into your palm,if you don't hold to the side.Really painful.

When shooting in the isoscoeles position I find that cupping with the weak hand tends to naturally pull the muzzle down,whereas a side grip locks the elbows and steadies the pistol. However when shooting modified weaver, a cupped weak hand acts as a rest. These have been my experiences at least.