How to Throw a Hand Grenade
Locate your target before you ready your grenade., Grab your grenade in your throwing hand., Pull the pin with your non-throwing hand., Throw with an overhand motion., Take cover!
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Locate your target before you ready your grenade.
Unlike firearms, there's no way to "point" a grenade at your enemies so that is selectively deals to damage to them — grenades will indiscriminately hit anything, friend or foe, that's within their blast radius.
For this reason, it's extra-important to know where your enemy is before you pull the pin.
Don't even grab your grenade until you've identified an enemy position you intend to strike — you do not want to be caught with a live grenade and have nowhere to throw it.Note, however, that, in combat situations, you can expose yourself to enemy fire if you spend too much time peeking out of your cover and trying to locate your enemy.
This requires you to delicately balance your need to locate your target with your need to protect yourself.
Many sources recommend against spending more than just a second or two looking for your enemy. -
Step 2: Grab your grenade in your throwing hand.
When you've found a target and you're ready to throw, grab your grenade in the hand you usually use for throwing.
Grip the grenade in the palm of your hand with the pull ring pointing up.
Use your thumb to put steady pressure on the safety lever — the large, square, metal lever running from the top down the side of the grenade.
Don't let up your pressure on the lever until you're ready to throw.
The lever holds a small but very important part of the grenade called the striker in place — if you relax your grip on the lever after you pull the pin (this is called "milking" the grenade), it's possible for the striker to rotate and strike the fuse while the grenade is still in your hand.
Because this can easily be deadly, it's important to get in the habit of keeping steady pressure on the lever at all times before throwing. , Grip the ring on the side of the lever mechanism by slipping a finger through it and remove it with a pulling, twisting motion.
The safety clip holding the lever in place should fall off of the grenade.
Note that, contrary to the portrayal of grenades in movies and on TV, their fuses aren't necessarily lit when you pull the pin.
Rather, this happens when you release the lever and the striker is able to ignite the fuse, so keep pressure on the lever until you throw. , Hand grenades can be thrown naturally — the same way you might throw a baseball.To throw, plant your feet about shoulder-width apart, put a slight bend in your knees, cock your arm back, and hurl the grenade over your head as you take a strong step forward.
Your arm should pass next to your ear and you should twist slightly at the hips.
Let the grenade roll out of your fingertips as it leaves your hand.
For the greatest distance and accuracy when throwing, follow through with your throwing motion.
That is, after the grenade leaves your hand, let your arm continue its natural path downward and continue to twist slightly at the hips. , Use the time available before the grenade explodes to protect yourself.
Crouch, kneel, or lie prone behind any available cover to protect yourself from shrapnel.
Keep in mind that in the types of situations in which you're likely to use a hand grenade, you'll probably want to be wary not just of the explosion of the grenade, but also of the possibility of enemy fire, so waste no time at all taking cover.
If no cover is available, flatten yourself against the ground and orient yourself toward the coming explosion.
This minimizes your profile, presenting less of your body area to potentially deadly shrapnel.Once the grenade is in the air, it's (literally and figuratively) out of your hands.
Without pressure from your hand to hold the safety lever in place, its spring will push it up and away from the grenade, allowing the striker to ignite the fuse.
For many grenades, at this point, you'll have about four to five seconds before the grenade detonates.
However, this can vary depending on the type of grenade you're using or, rarely, whether your fuse is defective. -
Step 3: Pull the pin with your non-throwing hand.
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Step 4: Throw with an overhand motion.
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Step 5: Take cover!
Detailed Guide
Unlike firearms, there's no way to "point" a grenade at your enemies so that is selectively deals to damage to them — grenades will indiscriminately hit anything, friend or foe, that's within their blast radius.
For this reason, it's extra-important to know where your enemy is before you pull the pin.
Don't even grab your grenade until you've identified an enemy position you intend to strike — you do not want to be caught with a live grenade and have nowhere to throw it.Note, however, that, in combat situations, you can expose yourself to enemy fire if you spend too much time peeking out of your cover and trying to locate your enemy.
This requires you to delicately balance your need to locate your target with your need to protect yourself.
Many sources recommend against spending more than just a second or two looking for your enemy.
When you've found a target and you're ready to throw, grab your grenade in the hand you usually use for throwing.
Grip the grenade in the palm of your hand with the pull ring pointing up.
Use your thumb to put steady pressure on the safety lever — the large, square, metal lever running from the top down the side of the grenade.
Don't let up your pressure on the lever until you're ready to throw.
The lever holds a small but very important part of the grenade called the striker in place — if you relax your grip on the lever after you pull the pin (this is called "milking" the grenade), it's possible for the striker to rotate and strike the fuse while the grenade is still in your hand.
Because this can easily be deadly, it's important to get in the habit of keeping steady pressure on the lever at all times before throwing. , Grip the ring on the side of the lever mechanism by slipping a finger through it and remove it with a pulling, twisting motion.
The safety clip holding the lever in place should fall off of the grenade.
Note that, contrary to the portrayal of grenades in movies and on TV, their fuses aren't necessarily lit when you pull the pin.
Rather, this happens when you release the lever and the striker is able to ignite the fuse, so keep pressure on the lever until you throw. , Hand grenades can be thrown naturally — the same way you might throw a baseball.To throw, plant your feet about shoulder-width apart, put a slight bend in your knees, cock your arm back, and hurl the grenade over your head as you take a strong step forward.
Your arm should pass next to your ear and you should twist slightly at the hips.
Let the grenade roll out of your fingertips as it leaves your hand.
For the greatest distance and accuracy when throwing, follow through with your throwing motion.
That is, after the grenade leaves your hand, let your arm continue its natural path downward and continue to twist slightly at the hips. , Use the time available before the grenade explodes to protect yourself.
Crouch, kneel, or lie prone behind any available cover to protect yourself from shrapnel.
Keep in mind that in the types of situations in which you're likely to use a hand grenade, you'll probably want to be wary not just of the explosion of the grenade, but also of the possibility of enemy fire, so waste no time at all taking cover.
If no cover is available, flatten yourself against the ground and orient yourself toward the coming explosion.
This minimizes your profile, presenting less of your body area to potentially deadly shrapnel.Once the grenade is in the air, it's (literally and figuratively) out of your hands.
Without pressure from your hand to hold the safety lever in place, its spring will push it up and away from the grenade, allowing the striker to ignite the fuse.
For many grenades, at this point, you'll have about four to five seconds before the grenade detonates.
However, this can vary depending on the type of grenade you're using or, rarely, whether your fuse is defective.
About the Author
Danielle Simmons
Specializes in breaking down complex home improvement topics into simple steps.
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