One-hand shooting much?

@Mark_L Your message didn’t come through. But. Welcome to the community, we are glad to have you here. :us:

4 Likes

Welcome to the family brother @Mark_L and God bless you.

1 Like

**0%. If you should get in a fight for your life and you get shot in your gun hand you’d better know how to shoot efficiently with your other one. Every one of my firearms classes in the last 13 years, shooting with your off hand is not a suggestion, it’s mandatory. Indeed it’s ungainly to begin with but the more you practice with the off hand the better prepared you’ll be if, God forbid, you get in a gun fight. It will also test your “strong” eye if you shoot with one eye closed (not a good practice). Get to the point where you can transfer in a split second. The “average” gun fight is over in about 4 seconds. Use police targets, full profile life size. Sportsman’s warehouse has black and white life size, photo targets with the organs, spine, brain etc. lightly high-lighted and full size. 50 targets for about $30.00. Well worth the investment.

3 Likes

It is more than just one-handed shooting to consider. There are also one-handed magazine changes, one-handed slide racking, and one-handed call 9-1-1 while continuing to fight off the bad guys.

2 Likes

Point taken. However practicing shooting with either hand should be the starting point. All done at the local range…when you’ve become efficient with both hands and not shooting yourself in the foot…move on to changing out magazines without fumbling them in a high stress situation, even to how to place them in your pocket or vest…of the almost 500 hundred students who’ve taken my classes, most were not that competent with a firearm to begin with and many had never even handled one let alone changed out magazines. Over half the students in my classes had never even fired a hand gun. Many who claimed to be “experienced” shooters, weren’t.

1 Like

One handed Judy chops!

68JVzl

3 Likes

The cross section of your class demographics falls pretty much right on the student norm (from my experience also). If I had to guess it would be that maybe 1 in 5 gun owners ever bother to get formal training. Kind of scary!

2 Likes

VERRRY scary. I’ve had guys come in blustering about how long they’ve been shooting…more than one I’ve to have a “chat” with about how to handle an UNLOADED firearm safely not just by themselves but in a group of people. Once on the firing line it just solidifies how little to none they’ve actually learned how to handle the gun let alone hit the target. One old adage that’s been proven over and over is “the gun is always loaded…even if it’s not.”

But all in all I’ve enjoyed the stuffin’s out of the classes. I’ve only had to tell one student I couldn’t pass her after the class…but we “retook” the instruction a year later and she did well.

"In the beginning God…

"Despots may plan and armies may march, and the congresses of the nation may seem to think they are adjusting all the affairs of the world, but the mighty men of the earth are only the dust of the chariot wheels of God’s providence."

1 Like

I been shooting one handed for almost 50 years.never 2 handed.
A single action revolver in each hand alternating back in forth. Shoot one while cocking the other lot of fun…

4 Likes

Well folks, having read these posts I am convinced I’d better start practicing one hands, both dry and live at the range. I currently never do that even though I grew up being taught to shoot that way. Glad I read this!

5 Likes

One more question: when shooting one handed do you hold the gun 0⁰ vertically or slightly canted?

I was instructed to hold the gun canted inboard around 45⁰, the same angle as if I were punching a bag, not gangsta-style horizontal. It seems to help recoil control.

1 Like

Opinions and experiences vary, I think most of a slight cant to the one handed.

2 Likes

I hold straight up Sideways seams gangsta and harder to aim

2 Likes

🠕 This.
I think each shooter should experiment and find out what works best. And every once in awhile, we should each try it again to find out if it’s still true.

4 Likes

It’s also good to be able to fire with the gun sideways, ideally know how with your and the gun both sideways, as if lying on the ground say behind a car or a curb, aka “urban prone” as the rifle circles call it.

2 Likes

That’s why this Community exists.
Another soul saved… :v:

4 Likes

Again, not level-with-the-ground “sideways” (90⁰), more like 30-45⁰. The reason this seems to work for me is that it’s the natural angle of the arm and hand when extended and simply pointing my finger at something.
EDITED FOR CORRECTED GEOMETRY

2 Likes

I’ve been introduced to few different methods… and I recommend to try all of them.

  • gangsta style (horizontal) works great for visual effects only … other than that, zero control
  • +/- 45 degrees somehow helps to manage recoil, but follow through is slow, not natural comeback on the target
  • classic vertical hold with locked elbow (upper arm twisted inwards with forearm twisted outwards) works good, but the method is fatiguing

My favorite one, used right now is the same as regular grip in isosceles stance. So still vertical hold. The only difference is that the handgun is kept in one hand with thumb up, the center of body mass is moved toward shooting side leg and supporting hand is kept close to collarbone to make shooting arm more stable.
All shooting principles remain the same.

3 Likes

Thanks for the tip, @jersey, I’ll have to try that. I’m geometrically challenged when it comes to describing things.

Yes, getting back on target for follow-up shots with a +/-45⁰ one-hand hold is the big challenge.

3 Likes

well,I basically when firing left handed the weapon is tilted up even long rifles fot the reason that the ejected rounds go over my head ,have a
had some ejected rounds go into my shirt and dont like the dancing around to get that hot casing out of my shirt LOL it will get your attention real quick

2 Likes