Shooting a 357Mag with one hand

COASTER

New member
Hi Folks !
I'm trying to gauge whether this is normal or not. I've been out on the range several times w/my 357MAG pistol and seem to find that I am a better shooter with my right hand alone (as opposed to using both hands)--matter of fact I am rock steady when I use my left hand compared to my right (and I am not left handed !)

Does anybody care to tell me if you think this is abnormal?

Thanks much for your time....

Safe Shoot to you !!! :confused:
 
:sound of the mosquitoes:

i don't even know what to say. if you are telling the truth, cool. regardless, why would you post something like this? this is really a stupid subject. this is not to say that you are stupid by any means. if your shooting style works... then it works. who cares if it's weird.

What did you want to hear after posting something like this?
 
Whatever works for you Coaster. I don't think any style would be abnormal if you're keeping the rounds on target. It may be that your eye dominance favors using your left hand?
 
I don't think I am steadier with one hand, but I will say that I am right handed, and I have noticed that on a one-handed hold, I am steadier holding with my left hand than my right. I hate to say this, but I suspect it's because I am in my mid-40's and my factory parts are getting a little worn. Certainly the right hand/wrist/forearm/shoulder have a lot more repetitions on them.
 
I'm going to go out on a limb here with this. Please note that this is not fact, just theory. Work around the edges of this and the truth should come out.

You mention that you are better right handed only vs. two hand...and you mention that you are better left hand (off hand) than right hand (dominant hand). I am going to venture a guess that this has something to do with muscle memory. It also has to deal a lot with right/left brain hemisphere dominance. Right & Left brains being relative opposites (right side, creative - left side analytical...or something like that...) it makes sense that if you have NOT trained effectively with dual hand holds, the two brain halves are competing against each other instead of working in uniformity.

By the same token, your right hand 'should' have more strength than your left hand if your right hand is dominant. The result is that when two-handing a pistol the brain is trying to exert equal force on two hands...but the left hand doesn't have the staying power of the right and therefore they aren't working in sync with each other.

When using just the right hand there is no brain counteraction against the left because the left isn't involved in the picture. All your brain activity is focused.

I read a book once on Billiards (shooting pool) wherein the book says to chalk your cue with the off hand - the reasoning behind this is psychological. By forcing the other half of the brain (say, left side) to do the work, you effectively also clear the opposite side (right side) at the same time. This creates a moment of clarity which allows the pool shooters to focus both brain sides more effectively. It seems to me that this same concept applies here.

Now, here is where I can't quite back anything up - it's just theory. Your left hand doesn't have the muscle memory built up that your right does. All muscles are working at equal force (sorta) and are focused with all of your brain power. The lack of muscle memory and strength (ie: your right hand will have much stronger index and thumb muscles from all the writing you have done in your life...) means that you are NOT exerting improper force with the wrong digits on the firearm from overbuilt "normal use" muscles that your right hand uses.

I would be willing to bet that if you practiced a LOT with your left hand, you would find a three-stage build up. First, you would improve your left hand concentration and shooting. Second, you would eventually plateau your skills as your brain focus and left hand strengthen. And Finally, you would begin to lose a bit of your accuracy as you begin to doubt what the heck is going on and your brain goes "WTF???". A Fourth stage would occur, in theory, when you surrender and just accept your ability to shoot left handed, and your groups would tighten up again.

I do know that when it comes to benchrest shooting a rifle, my left hand (off hand) groups are actually better for about the first 10 shots than my right hand...after which my left trigger finger gets tired and I start to lose accuracy.

Just a theory, but I think the basics are there for any medical doctor to explain in greater detail.
 
I can't really comment here! left hand ,right hand,both hands!!!! I still have trouble hitting the target these days (the problem of being a obsolite model I'm afraid ;) )

Dave
 
Eye dominance adds a lttle to the equation. I survived a stroke 8 years ago from a closed head injury. I am right eyed and righthanded. I suffer from glaucoma and cataracts. My right eye is basically blind. I shoot more accurately left handed and left eyed. I especially notice this when shooting CAS gunfighter with two revolvers. One in each hand.
 
I notice this too, and it isn't uncommon. I see it more in guys that shoot quite a bit and practice with both hands frequently.

For me I am more accurate left hand supported and faster right hand supported, but the differences aren't that big. My left hand is more accurate because it has had less trigger time and hasn't learned as many bad habits, but becuase it doesn't get as much trigger time it is slightly slower in recoil recovery. My right hand is faster because it gets more trigger time, but has also learned a few more bad habits. For one hand only shooting I am decidedly better with the gun in my right hand.

My dominant eye is my right most of the time, but it is very very little stronger than my left. With just a little squint in my right eye my left will sort of take over and that helps with left handed shooting. Then there are days when I really don't have a dominant eye, and that isn't fun since shooting with both eyes wide open is nearly impossible.

There are little nuances everywhere you look in shooting.
 
I am (since birth) left eye dominant and right handed. I was taught, many years ago, to target shoot very deliberately and right handed. I can achieve (on good days) excellent accuracy this way and, for what it is worth, I shoot my four-inch GP100s, my five-inch 27-2/627s, and my two-inch SP101 -- all .357 magnums -- one handed with no problems at all.
 
I am also right-handed but left-eyed. In one hand shooting I find I do better generally with the left hand than the right. Part of it might also be I grip harder with the left to make up for it being weaker.
In two hand shooting I always do better than with one hand.
What style are you using? I find with the Isoceles I do OK because the gun is lined up center line to the body so my left eye dominance doesnt make much difference. In Weaver I have to tilt my head or something.

But bottom line: its about putting the bullets on the target where you want them to go. If standing upside down and pulling the trigger with your tongue yields the best results then so be it.
 
boogeyman,

Saying that someone brings up a "stupid" topic, doesn't serve any purpose other than to make someone feel bad. I think that was rude. The guy just asked a question is all. Give him a break.
 
For all we know, you might bounce up and down on one foot while shooting two handed, which would explain the difference! ;)
 
It is not true for me, and one might think logic would say two hands form a more stable platform, but hey.....................

"Efficiency is anything that works" -Bruce Lee
 
boogeyman said:
:sound of the mosquitoes:

i don't even know what to say. if you are telling the truth, cool. regardless, why would you post something like this? this is really a stupid subject. this is not to say that you are stupid by any means. if your shooting style works... then it works. who cares if it's weird.

What did you want to hear after posting something like this?

Well now that we all now you're part of the thought police, I'd like to ask where you got your name from? I mean seriously a name like the boogeyman? What kind of moniker is that? Are we all a bunch of little kids here all of a sudden :rolleyes:

Back to shooting one handed. Glad it works for you.
 
A lot of my bullseye shooting friends can shoot incredibly accurate with just one hand! Some of my guns , like my Smith 41 , I shoot one handed only. A friend of mine who is a high master bullesye shooter also shoots left handed despite being a natural right hander - he once won a Camp Perry 22 Pistol Championship! So I would say you are not experiencing anything highly abnormal.

For myself , I shoot my 357s or 44s better with a two hand hold.
 
I'm the same way. I shoot slower one handed than with two, but I also shoot better with one hand than with two.
 
Same here (at least till the hand gets tired).

I think it’s because when you shoot one handed the eye is farther from teh sights and therefore it’s easier to align them properly...
 
I like to shoot my GP-100 one handed.... but ( I dont want to sound sissy) it stings a little with the 158 gr loads. The 110 gr mag loads from winchester are awesome for some fun shooting the .357. One or two handed.
 
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