Effect of grip size and grip strength on pistol marksmanship in police officers: A pilot study

Abstract

Police officers may be required to use their firearms in self-defence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between hand grip size and strength with pistol shooting accuracy in police officers. Twelve (age = 38.08 ± 6.24 years; height = 174.42 ± 7.33 cm) police officers had their hand sizes (palm width and hand span) and hand grip strength measured. Handgrip dynamometer was set at a Glock 17 pistol's grip width (50 mm). The officers fired 10 rounds from their service pistols at a stationary target. Independent samples t-tests were performed to identify differences between the sexes. Correlations were used to investigate relationships between measures of hand size, strength, and marksmanship. Alpha levels were set at p < 0.05. Male officers were significantly stronger (p = 0.01) and had a bigger hand width (p = 0.03), but not hand span. There were no significant differences in marksmanship between the sexes. Neither hand size nor grip strength had a significant impact on marksmanship even though there were strong and significant relationships between hand size (span and MCP) and grip strength. A V-shaped curve appears to exist between grip strength and marksmanship and hand span and marksmanship, with a potential influencing factor being the standard sizing of the pistol grip.

Factors Influencing Marksmanship in Police Officers: A Narrative Review

“…By contrast, in a recent study by Orr et al [ 31 ], no association was found between shooting performance and grip strength. Moreover, the authors found a negative trend between marksmanship and grip strength in male officers, although this association was not statistically significant.…”

“…A total of 2964 titles and abstracts were screened, and 2902 references were considered not relevant to this review. Full texts of 62 studies were assessed against the eligibility criteria ( Table 1 ), and 23 research papers were included in the review [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…The included studies were conducted in Australia [ 7 , 15 , 18 , 30 , 31 ], Brazil [ 22 ], Canada [ 5 , 16 ], Czech Republic [ 2 ], Netherlands [ 19 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 32 ], Turkey [ 3 ], and the USA [ 17 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 26 , 29 , 33 ]. Of the 23 included studies, ten were cross-sectional studies [ 3 , 5 , 15 , 16 , 20 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 29 , 31 ], seven were quasi-experiments [ 2 , 17 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 32 , 33 ], two were randomized controlled trials [ 19 , 28 ], two were crossover trials [ 18 , 30 ], and two were retrospective cohort studies [ 7 , 26 ]. Individuals assessed in the studies were regular police officers/recruits [ 3 , 5 , 7 , 15 , 16 ,…”

“…Of the 23 included studies, ten were cross-sectional studies [ 3 , 5 , 15 , 16 , 20 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 29 , 31 ], seven were quasi-experiments [ 2 , 17 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 32 , 33 ], two were randomized controlled trials [ 19 , 28 ], two were crossover trials [ 18 , 30 ], and two were retrospective cohort studies [ 7 , 26 ]. Individuals assessed in the studies were regular police officers/recruits [ 3 , 5 , 7 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 ] and members of specialist units [ 2 , 18 , 22 , 30 , 33 ]. One study assessed both police officers and specialist officers [ 24 ].…”

“…Fifteen studies [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 26 , 30 , 31 , 33 ] assessed physical and/or physiological factors and their relationships with marksmanship ( Table 3 ). Anderson and Plecas [ 5 ] reported significant and positive correlations between shooting scores and Police Officer Physical Abilities Test (POPATS), dominant hand grip strength, combined hand grip strength, forearm girth, and second finger ray length; however, the results were found when male and female subjects were analyzed together.…”