Let's talk one-handed shooting

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ezmiraldo

New member
Hi all!

The more I train to use pistol defensively, the more one-handed shooting seems useful. Recently I've kind of gone to the extreme and decided to practice one handed for 85% of time, and shoot two handed only for the remaining 15 (mostly long-distance shots).

For the benefit of all of us here trying to master shooting one handed, what are some good tips? I'm talking stance, grip, position of the non-shooting hand, or anything and everything else that helps improve speed and accuracy. To keep things simple, let's assume we are doing short-distance defensive shooting with either strong or support hand.

Let's hear it.
 
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While practicing one-handed shooting, make sure to work in some weak-hand, one-hand practice, too. You never know when your strong hand/arm may become incapacitated.
 
For precision, slow rate shooting I'll stand with my target, shooting arm and body all in line with my non shooting hand in my pocket.

For more defensive, fast paced shooting I'll stand body facing target with my shooting arm out in front with my arm slightly turned to the right (Im a lefty, if you are a righty this would be cocked to the left) and my non shooting hand balled into a fist placed on my right chest (again, this would be your left hand and chest if you shoot righty)

Luckily for me, I shoot left handed but am a right handed person at everything else in this world. So, I really don't have an off hand as i can easily manipulate a firearm with my dominant hand.

Hope this helps

-Robb
 
I'm a big fan of one handed shooting. In my 20 years in law enforcement I can probably count on one hand the number of times I had both hands free. Something is always in the other hand, ticket book, flashlight, doorknob, other people............something.

I'll go one farther, I believe most of the shooting should be one handed with your left hand. I normally do 50-40-10. 50% weak hand, 40% strong hand and 10% two hands.

Shooting weak hand is no different then strong hand, it requires nothing more then tons of dry firing.

Stance, what stance. Why practice with your defense pistol/revolver with a given stance?

I teach a weakly ladies firearms safety and self defense class. The Stance we use is setting in a car, setting at the table, on the couch, dragging a (dummy) child, laying in bed, laying on the ground at an ATM machine, and drawing from a diaper bag while pushing a baby buggy.

Stance is for square range target shooting, not self defense.
 
If you have to shoot one handed, then it's because either one hand is hurt or because the attacker is on you. Taking careful aim when the BG is one foot from you isn't possible. You need to train for gun retention and not shooting yourself.
 
I do a lot of one handed shooting at the range with both hands. Holding the gun "high" is key. Shoot some local IDPA's. Our's seem to almost always have a one handed component that works both hands separately.
 
Like Kraigwy says, there might be something in your other hand so its good to practice one handed shooting and don't neglect non-dominant hand either. Shed sweat, not blood.
 
I like shooting one-handed. Especially with the "support" hand. I should practice more of it at the range, however.

There are times in IDPA where I just kind of do it on second-nature.

There have also been a couple times where I've made the stage for our local IDPA event. Granted, my stages are boring from a "real life" scenario standpoint. I tend to make them more "skill drill" in nature. But the two times they've used my stage, there was a "support hand only" segment in them.
 
There's another important reason to practice one-handed shooting. It can to be a stressing reliability test for some semi-automatic pistols. I've owned a couple of pistols over the years that were admirably reliable when fired two-handed but could be counted on for a malfunction or two every 50 rounds when fired one-handed unless the shooter concentrated on technique.

It's nice to find out about something like that at the range...
 
I was trained one handed and am more comfortable that way.

The same stance you'll find in the Army pistol manual 1912, for the 1911.

It wasn't until the the late seventies that I started using a modified Weaver stance.
 
Here is a simple little test.

Get some sort of barricade. LEAVE YOUR GUN IN YOUR POCKET, don't need it for this test.

Get you range buddy to get behind the barricade while you stand in front about 15 yards.

Watch you partner while he points his finger at the right side of the barricade like its a gun. Have him do it with both hands, right hand only and left hand only. Check to see how much your partner is expose in each position.

Have him do the same thing on the left side of the barricade, Two hands, left hand only, right hand only.

You'll see the benefit of one hand shooting, and as to the left side of the barricade, you'll see the benefit of left or weak hand shooting.

If cover is available, the less you expose behind that cover, the better you'll be.
 
ezmiraldo,

Start with the basics.

Dry fire, slow fire with .22, working ones way up.

And yes, both left and right hand. Do the basics and don't use shortcuts.

Over tine you will get quite good and will out shoot many who fire two handed, even rapid fire and multiple targets.

But it takes time and discipline (and ammo!)

Deaf
 
I've owned a couple of pistols over the years that were admirably reliable when fired two-handed but could be counted on for a malfunction or two every 50 rounds when fired one-handed unless the shooter concentrated on technique.

Absolutely. It's surprisingly easy to have a limp-wrist malfunction.
 
I practiced one handed shooting quite a bit by breaking my wrist - I was signed up for of all things an injured shooter class. How convenient. Then I took LFI-Stress fire, still in the cast.

With practice, it's not a big deal. Last match we shot a stage one handed with the weak hand. Not a hard stage but I got all zeros. Most did -it is just a matter of time, grip and trigger control.
 
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it appears that the common thread is: similarly to training two-handed, start slow, focus on the fundamentals, give it extensive trigger time - including dry-fire and live fire, and over time shooting one handed will become natural and effective?

so, you mean there is no "majic bullet" or "secrete formula" that cam make you an expert one-handed shooter in just 10 minutes!?!! you dissappoint me, guys... :D lol
 
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