Shooting a pistol

[Roger]

I like to go out to the range at least once a month and practice. It keeps me on the go and is quite relaxing.

 

[AeroDillo]

Some good points. However, it must be considered that the U.S. Military taught single-handed pistol shooting for the longest time (not sure if they still do - any active or recently active servicemen care to fill me in?).

Personally, I find much the same advantage in one-handed shooting as the old training films demonstrate, in both methods I've seen.

The first method is where the shooter stands at an angle (usually forty-five degrees or so) to the target with the shooting arm extended and unsupported. The second is (I believe) the USMC's preferred stance - arm extended parallel to the torso, with the shooter head turn ninety degrees and looking over their shoulder and down the arm.

In both, there is a straight line from the shooter's eye, running through the shoulder, arm, wrist, and pistol.

For me, two-handed shooting tends to break that line by moving the pistol off-center and breaking the 'feel' of the stance.

Just my two bits.

 

[52Styleline]

When I received my handgun training in the service (the 1911A1 was still the service pistol at that time) we were trained with a modified Weaver stance. for maximum control, were taught to push lightly with the right (gun) hand and pull lightly with the left (off) hand. This tension gave more muscle stability.

We were also taught two handed shooting technique for firing in the prone position.

After we qualified with this training, the instructors gave us further training in single handed (off hand) shooting with both the strong and weak hands.

We actually spent more time on breathing and trigger control than anything else, and by the time we finished the course we were all fairly competent with the sidearm.

Because true mastery of a handgun of any type requires extensive training and a great deal of practice, that is why the military developed the M1 Carbine in WWII. It provided officers and rear echelon personnel with a weapon that was much easier to hit something with than old slabsides (the pet name for the 1911 and 1911a1) and yet not as bulky to carry as the Garrand.

 

[dhermann1]

When I went through USMC boot camp in 1966 we fam fired the M19111A for just one day. They taught us to use 2 hands. But they also stressed that using the pistol basically a last sitch thing you didn't want to do if you could avoid it.
If my memory serves, the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral, in Tombstone, involved about a hundred or more shots being fires at extremely close range with only about 4 or 5 hits being scored. When you're in a gunfight, with people shooting at you, aiming is not something that happens. Even the Earp brothers were obviously spraying bullets in all directions. And it's really kind of impossible to practice under such simulated conditions.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

IMO....one handed shooting is.."point and shoot". A technique that is very compatable with the Colt single action and other copies with front fixed blade sight. Quickly "sighting" the barrel...and throwing out a large chunka lead.
Two handed modified Weaver grip is more common for handguns with adjustable sights...and,of course..for better accuracy.
However,under stress....I fear two handed barrel sighting may end up more the norm.
HD

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

How 'bout the old movie standby, shooting one-handed with your upper arm straight down and the weapon at belly level?

I've never tried that, and the shelves at the pistol range seem to preclude it.

 

[Fatdutchman]

I shoot the same way my grandfather did. One handed (usually). I've been practicing a bit lately.

I am a big proponent of "point shooting" (even though I can't do it well! ). You SHOULD be able to naturally point a pistol and hit what you're pointing at within reasonable distance. It just takes practice, which I need to do more of. Take a straight shooting water pistol and go out back and see how easy it is to hit the old bucket, the rock, the spot on the wall, etc. without aiming at all, just point and shoot.

If you have a .22 pistol that is reasonably close in handling to your full size gun, this would be good for practice. (of course, shoot other things, not the rock or the spot on the wall!!)

 

[Diamondback]

I usually train in a 2 strings/1 string/1 string ratio, stronghand/weakhand/two-hand. (A "String" to me means one complete cycle through every magazine I have, my usual session's anywhere from 200-500 rounds .)

Working assumptons:
1. There's a good chance a "support hand" won't make it to the party.
2. I may have to shoot weakhand-only.
3. I may not have the luxury of time to get a proper grip or aim, which is why I train using a kind of "coarse aim"--"minute of goblin" is all the accuracy I need, right?
4. If it's a sustained firefight, I may need either a New York Reload or suppression fire. (This is my reasoning for my personal plan of dual fullsize .45s, I realistically don't expect to be dropping BGs left and right both at once. The brain itself is only wired to focus in one sector at a time...)

 

[plain old dave]

One hand only.

They're called handguns and not handsguns for a reason. I'm off to see how many pieces of .45 cal lead I can put through the same hole with my New Service.

 

[DELTA0321]

Some good points. However, it must be considered that the U.S. Military taught single-handed pistol shooting for the longest time (not sure if they still do - any active or recently active servicemen care to fill me in?). ...

The Marine Corps (as recently as 2005) was training a 2-handed pistol technique. This is for your average Marine's employment of a sidearm. I don't know if MP's have different training for situations they may encounter.

Those special units with the highest degree of shooting training use 2-hands, with a suitable mix of weak-hand drills in training.

Match shooters shoot one-handed per NRA rules & for Marines that tends to be close to facing 90 degrees to the target - individual preference.

v/r
Steve

 

[Diamondback]

Shoulda mentioned, my one-hand technique is using a sharply "bladed" stance that looks kinda like throwing a punch, but with a pistol in the punching fist. I'll see if I can get photos next range session.

 

[Nashoba]

I just asked the hubby and he emailed me back saying that the Marine Corps shoots 2 handed. He's a SNCO so that's the standard weapon he has on him at all times.

I learned 2 handed too, but then I'm a pretty small framed gal and the one time I tried to shoot one handed it didn't work out so well. The recoil was more than I was expecting and well, lets just say the round went no where near the target and I wasn't standing in the same location I started in.

 

[AeroDillo]

I guess that's what I get for watching pre-war training films.

Oh well. Old habits die hard, I guess. lol

 

[Twitch]

I used to shoot in the one handed, head at 90 degrees aiming position like everyone did. On the pistol range whether with 1 or 2 hands you get fatigued in the position and either changed hands or changed from 2 to 1 hand position. I did a lot of shooting .45s with one hand in the Marines. I do that today when I'm a bit tired of 2 handing it. The pistol was employed in situations where it was useful by our ouftit regularly and we unlearned it's place as a last line of defense only.

No matter what stance one uses they must feel comfortable using it as practice continues. Getting to the level of comfort with point shooting is nirvana in the pistol ranks. It is so natural and easy once you give yourself over to it. Most indoor ranges don't like you doing it so unless you live where you can get to an outside area you can't point shoot.

There is nothing better than a handgun for indoor defense. The shotgun concept is more of a mental appeasment than actually is feasible. A long gun indoors is handicapped by the fact that it is far more unweildy and less pointable. Traversing your pistol to a favorable firing position with ease is handier than moving a long gun to the same place.

Indoor situations negate the power of the shot spread unless you have an illegally short barrel. Albeit the hit from the shot shell will be far larger than a pistol's, it is confined to a relatively small area at across-a-room range so the ability to aim and put one round into a target is paramount with either weapon. It's just easier with a pistol.

 

[AeroDillo]

Nothing handier than a pistol, but one of these has to be a close second.

 

[Twitch]

I have a carbine and it is totally shootable with one hand even with the standard stock. The M-16 with pistol grip can be fired similarly but has more recoils to compensate for.