Purpose of finger rest on bottom of trigger guard ?

What's the purpose of the curved finger rest under the trigger guard ? Is it historically correct ? Is it for an out of style way of holding/shooting the rifle ? Just curious to its use and purpose, feels uncomfortable and unnatural to hold -Thanks

Keeps the gun from slipping too deep into the scabbard while on horseback.

It is to help the shooter improve his grip and pull the buttstock into the shoulder. Trigger guards like that were/are used on rifles don’t have a ’pistol grip’ contour in the buttstock. ‘Straight wrist’ stocks can be uncomfortable on some shooters hands.

I believe it is a place to rest your finger.

And I think /know it is designed to bruise my knuckle !!! /Ed

I've found finger rest pretty good for finding branches, vines, and saw briars. By catching the aforementioned, it gives the game an even chance by letting them know your in the area.

Style, the human hand can grab a stick or a rock with equal ease. We seem to want to make things unique.

I don't know what the originator(s) intents were but I find it very helpful in getting a good grip and in putting the trigger finger in position to use the front trigger on a double set trigger.

We're dancing around the real reason here. Accurate shooting demands things be done the same way, every time. A straight wrist stock is difficult to get the same grip on the stock every time. Having a "finger rest" forces the hand to be in the same position for each shot. Take a look at the Scheutzen style rifles and the elaborate lengths they go to achieve the same thing. For many rifles sold to the general public, it was a marketing ploy by having features known to be effective on target rifles of the era put on average rifles, so then in the mind of the consumer, the average rifle should be just as accurate. Marketing is marketing then or now.

How does it work? By the hand not being in the same place, trigger control varies and by "reaching" with the finger to the trigger, the gun can be canted (tilted) during the shot leading to inconsistent accuracy. It can also lead to "pulling" the shot to the right for right hand shooters. It can also lead to shots being low to the right or high to the left. Accurate, consistent shooting requires variable control, there is no other way.

If you think I'm kidding, deep dive into Scheutzen and competition rifles of the day and then do the same for trigger control in match shooting. You'll find hand position is very important and anything inside the rules that helps a competitor is a bonus and certain to be on the rifle. Most folks outside the competition shooting world have no idea what a serious competitor will look at to eliminate variation and improve accuracy. So basically, nothing in the competition world has changed, just the powder and the guns.

dave951 said:

We're dancing around the real reason here. Accurate shooting demands things be done the same way, every time. A straight wrist stock is difficult to get the same grip on the stock every time. Having a "finger rest" forces the hand to be in the same position for each sho

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Thats been my observation exactly. I shoot much better with a TC with a hook than with a GPR without. Both with double set triggers.

I vote with Dave, too - although I only use it with the set trigger set.

DixieTexian said:

I believe it is a place to rest your finger.

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This made me chuckle. I tip my hat to you sir.

Years ago canting a rifle was a big deal. The extension top to bottom helped.

Many of the hooks on later era rifles are a style issue. Earlier era rifles had no hooks on the trigger guard. Rifles west of the Ohio River , some had hooks , some didn't. I've never been to a rifle show from the mid west , but the museums I have attended , seem to have some of each, some hooked and some Eastern style w/o hooked guards. Buyer's choice.

I wish my GPR had that finger rest.

Widows Son said:

It is to help the shooter improve his grip and pull the buttstock into the shoulder. Trigger guards like that were/are used on rifles don’t have a ’pistol grip’ contour in the buttstock. ‘Straight wrist’ stocks can be uncomfortable on some shooters hands.

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My thought is that, in general, straight grip stocks are for pointing guns. IE: Shotguns. Particularly in shooting flying. The surprise flush is not conducive to a proper hold on a pistol grip. My favorite double shotguns all have straight grips.

Pistol grips, I believe, are for rifles, which you aim. The extreme pistol grips on Anschutz rifles lend credence to my opinion. The '03 Springfield is a straight grip and I could never shoot it as well as the M1 Garand which has some pistol grip. It was a deliberate choice to give the M16 family a full fledged pistol grip. I once sold off an unmentionable Model 94 because I could not easily shoot it well with that straight grip.

Please pardon my mentioning the unmentionables. They were the examples I had to work with on this question.

The finger rest is a great addition. You won't believe just how tired that finger is after a long afternoon in traffic.

hawkeye2 said:

The finger rest is a great addition. You won't believe just how tired that finger is after a long afternoon in traffic.

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Beer bottle opener.

I have always liked the finger hook. I eventually built them on my Renegade hunters.