Anyone ever get this 'injury' from shooting?

[Dean407]

My shooting hand started to get very irritated and inflamed after I picked up a new pistol. I guess in trying to adjust my grip- the recoil was hammering on the joint that got inflamed?

It's actually been a few days since I last shot and the swelling went down a bit.

I had thought I waited long enough from the previous time that it was OK to shoot again, but clearly not. :(

I am guessing that my grip on the new weapon was leaving a small gap in that area allowing the recoil to 'smack' it round after round. Does that sound logical? Actually, in retrospect, I may have purposely relaxed my grip in that area so that the pressure didn't hurt it while holding, but it still got whacked while shooting so that didn't help.

I will not shoot again until several days after this is 100% healed.

Anyone ever get this before from shooting?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[nn]

Not the way you describe, but, I got hit by a slide in the big joint of the left thumb and it got like that and took a couple of years for full motion to return.

[Ti Carry]

Never!

I am guessing that this was the sk in 9mm? Have you taken any formal training? If it was the 9mm something is very wrong with your grip I'd say to allow that to happen.


Ti

[tk4878]

This happened to me when I first learning to shoot. I was using a 2" revolver that kicked like a mule. Combination of a lot of rounds and improper grip left me with the same injury that you have. It took over a week for the swelling to go down and left a pea size knot under the skin. I went to a Orthopedic doc and was told that it was fibrous scar tissue that will eventually go away. The bad news was that I couldn't shoot for another 4 weeks. After that 4 weeks, hasn't happened again. Could be from a combination of rest, improved grip, and increased strength. And I haven't used that gun since.
Consult your doctor if things haven't improved. Hope things get better.

[wmhawth]

No but when I used to shoot a lot of 44magnum my right wrist would ache.

[ccw9mm]

Puffy thumbs syndrome? Only when someone catches me sittin' on my butt during trap rotations.

I have had the sides of the thumb and forefinger get a bit raw, but never puffiness/bruising in the web between them. Though, I have noticed that older 1911's seem to hit me harder, there, having something to do with the size of my hand as compared to the grip safety.

Otherwise, no clues.

[Dean407]

Never!

I am guessing that this was the sk in 9mm? Have you taken any formal training? If it was the 9mm something is very wrong with your grip I'd say to allow that to happen.


Ti

Nope. The SK never bothered me. It was after the 1st time I used my new Beretta PX4 9mm shooting 124gr practice ammo...ver soft recoil-with small backstrap attached. I was tweaking my grip a lot trying to get used to this gun.

Also, indoor ranges are VERY hot and humid now. Probably in the high 80's. My support hand and right hand on gun were just not staying where I wanted them as they were coated with sweat.

Also, I have some nasty excema on my trigger finger and middle finger. Cracked skin, soar, covered in band aids but sweat moved them around and irritated me more.

LOL.

Come to think of it- indoor ranged this time of year are a torture chamber! People using nasty dirty ammo choking me and irritating my eyes, 90 billion degrees and 99.99999999999% humidity...

Bleh. I've often stayed nearly and hour in those conditions.

It will get cooler soon and I will look into going to outdoor ranges.

[Dean407]

This happened to me when I first learning to shoot. I was using a 2" revolver that kicked like a mule. Combination of a lot of rounds and improper grip left me with the same injury that you have. It took over a week for the swelling to go down and left a pea size knot under the skin. I went to a Orthopedic doc and was told that it was fibrous scar tissue that will eventually go away. The bad news was that I couldn't shoot for another 4 weeks. After that 4 weeks, hasn't happened again. Could be from a combination of rest, improved grip, and increased strength. And I haven't used that gun since.
Consult your doctor if things haven't improved. Hope things get better.

Hmmmm. Yep. I am new and I had trouble getting accurate with the PX4 so I started playing with my grip. Add the other stuff mentioned in my other post and it wasn't a pleasant shooting experience.

I will let it heal completely before shooting again for sure.

I think since I have such slight hands with little 'meat' it didn't take much to irritate the joint or whatever then like an ass I went and tortured myself too soon all over.

[aus71383]

I hadn't shot my .44 Magnum for a month or so, and I went out to test out some handloads. 320 WFNGCs at 1300 +/- fps. After firing 18 rounds, I was done for the day. My wrist and the thick thumb part of my palm were swollen, and the muscles were just tuckered out. I couldn't hold my hand out without it shaking like crazy. After a few days, it went away. Just goes to show - I need to shoot my .44 more often to stay in shape.

Austin

[Dean407]

It's feeling better already- it's been 2 1/2 days since the range visit.

[ReefBlueCoupe]

No, but the last time I went to the range I smacked my left index finger with a 2lb sledge while wacking the target stand into the rock hard ground. I think it's fractured because there's still a big bump there.

That's the worst injury I've received at a gun range, thankfully.

[msgt/ret]

Due to arthritis I have a similar problem when firing SA revolvers but surprisingly, I guess it is due to the slightly different grip angle, I do not have a problem when firing a DA or pistol.

[Miggy]

+1 on the sounds like bad grip.
Worse comes to worst you can always get a PAST glove

[Dean407]

I had a revelation a few hours ago.

I had difficulty being consistent with the PX4. It didn't occur to me just how much my grip was shifting until I put all of this together!

As sweaty as my hands were, my grip kept slipping down and my support hand couldn't grip much at all.

My HK P2000SK with pinky finger extension doesn't allow my hand to slip down no matter what, so I am always fine with that gun.

Soooo...it took more torture and a few posts to forums to put the two things together.

To fix this I have the Hogue universal slip on grip on order and will put on the medium back strap to fill out my hand a bit more.

Was advised the Hogue slip on fixes this issue by someone who had the exact same issue as me. No finger grooves, and a round plastic grip...95+ degrees and it's like holding a oiled up snake. :)

Live and learn, eh?

[Cap'n]

Dean,
If your PX4 is a .40 cal. you are experiencing what has become known as PX4 TRIGGER STING.The shooting shock waves travel threw the gun and are absorbed in your hand and trigger finger. Many .40 cal PX4 owners have stated that their trigger finger would actually go numb for a couple of days. Check out the "B" forum and search for the thread "PX4 trigger sting". This thread is about (7) pages long and Beretta USA addresses this problem on the forum. Their suggestion: WEAR A SHOOTING GLOVE. Yep, thats what they suggest. I'm a big fan of the Beretta 90Two/92FS/M9 series pistols. I believe they are top of the line. Not so much a fan of the PX4 tho. Now the CX4 carbine, oh yea, just bought one that will be in this week!
I believe the trigger sting thread will answer all your questions.

Hope your hand gets better soon!

Edit: Noticed yours is 9mm. Some trigger sting problems were reported by 9mm owners in the "trigger sting" thread, but not as many. Check out the thread. This could be the problem.