Defensive Carry banner

This is why I practice shooting with one hand.

2K views 24 replies 22 participants last post by  Pete 
#1 ·
At the range I shoot mainly with both hands but also do speed drills with each hand individually. Not target shooting but strictly tactical, my accuracy suffers some but I know I can blow out a center of mass with either hand.

Yesterday I was working and I slipped with a tool and punctured my left palm, it went deep enough to need hospital attention, it's now stitched up and bandaged. It's my weak hand but it is still a disadvantage.

However, I have practiced for just this. I know that I can carry today.

If you don't practice one hand shooting then let my accident be a pointer for you.

And yes, I am having a bad run presently. I had to have a root canal done while on vacation in San Francisco last week and now this. Maybe bad things won't come in three this time, but if they do I'm ready for whatever.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Ok I'm not taking you to Vegas, but I will say a prayer for you. Stay safe and no offence but stay away from me. Your right on the shooting. Read Red Cell series, first one is non-fiction. He had his men shoot from all kinds of position's. He did'nt care if they shot sitting down, 1 or 2 handed, hung over, drunk, or sick. as long as they hit a 3x5 in. card. In one year his platoon shot more ammo then the entire USMC. It's hard for me to give a Squid credit, being a former Marine but give the devil his due.
 
#3 ·
Stay safe and no offence but stay away from me.
LOL... too funny.

Thanks for sharing the story 0.02.

I'll make a confession. I am a little nervous about progressing my training. I sometimes feel like I'm not ready and I need to practice more at my level.

I just recently started shooting one handed and off handed and I was really nervous to do so thinking that I would be just horrible. It was a pleasant surprise that I did just fine.

I was also pleasantly surprised that my double taps have been pretty darned good, too.

You really don't know what's going to happen and, yes, you need to be prepared for the time when you could slip with a tool in your hand and impale your own hand and no longer be able to use it.

In fact, what inspired me to break out of my "shell" (for lack of a better word) was a similar story about someone wounding their hand.

Practicing with one hand or off hand is just as important as practicing drawing and shooting in general.

Thanks for sharing. Hope your hand heals well and without incident.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for pointing this out. My father taught me to shoot with either hand, for the same type of reason as you state. I still do, and am almost as accurate with my left (weak hand) as my right.
 
#5 ·
shooting weak hand is a valuable skill. as much so, or maybe more than 1 hand shooting. 0.02, been there with the tool slip/ work injury thing myself. Glad I no longer work on autos for a living(too many boo-boo's)
 
#6 ·
I think one-handed shooting is one of the most 'under-emphasized' methods in defensive shooting. It's not that one-handed shooting should be more emphazised than two-handed shooting, simply a bit more of it.

There's just too many situations that two hands may not be available: controlling a child with one hand, an injury to one hand, using one hand for balance, etc.

And, it's generally true as 0.02 said, accuracy will suffer some; so will rate of fire, but practice certainly helps.
 
#7 ·
Plan ahead

When I injured my strong hand, I didn't have a weak side holster for my CCW. I ended up using something I hadn't shot in a while just because I had a holster laying around that fit. Bad time to be practicing with an unfamiliar gun, holster, and mag pouch. Plan ahead, but don't forget that there's more than just shooting weak handed to consider. That injury was what lead me to the Glock 19. Partly because the magazine capacity meant I didn't have to fumble with a one/weak handed reload. Also an easy gun to find leather for.
 
#11 ·
Last week when trying a shot left handed, I didn't have my right thumb quite low enough and the back knuckle of my right thumb got hit by the slide pinching a small hole on the knuckle. What a pain, but not as bad as the pain of embarassment coming out of the range, bleeding from my hand, and asking for a band-aid. I was probably borderline on needing a stitch or two, but just kept it bandaged. 7 days without shooting now. I can't even dry fire without pain.
 
#13 ·
0.02, don't worry. The third bad thing could be something as simple as a nail in your tire that you can plug yourself! Don't think so negatively!

Heal up fast.

And make sure you wear protective gloves, and don't put your hand in the way of a tool that might slip!
 
#14 ·
I learned off hand supported/unsupported as an SP and still practice every time I'm at the range. I just love watching "tactical" moves like the "strong hand, off side, exposing the whole upper torso" one on the TV cop shows!:scratchchin:
 
#15 ·
Right now if I were to lose my strong hand for a period of time I would switch guns. being my BUG I have practiced off handed shooting (almost exclusivly) with my kel-tec. I need to build my one handed and off handed with my M&P when I get home from college
 
#18 ·
Damn, I thought going to San Fran Sicko and Root Canal was the same thing?
LOL Just kidding.

No, your right, you/we should always be prepared or injuries in a tactical situation. They are a likely thing to happen, and training is what's going to keep you alive.

Good post!
 
#19 ·
0.02, that's what you get for working with tools. We should ban those things to protect you from yourself . . . OUCH! Hope it's feeling better. An injury like that is very frustrating. Been there, done that.

It's a very valid point to make about practicing one hand/weak hand. I always work in some of that when I make a range trip. I've specifically chosen my defensive handguns to be ambidextrous, first of all because I want my young bride, who is a lefty, to be able to handle them easily, but also to facilitate off-hand shooting.
 
#21 ·
I know I tend to practice mostly two handed shooting, since I do it fairly well. Lately, I have been training a lot with strong hand only and weak hand only in prepartion of attending the Roger's Shooting School. My weak hand is definitely my achilles heal, but I have seen improvement in the past month and hope I will see more after the class. The school has computer controlled pneumatic targets that are only up for a second or less each. You run a series of drills with both hands, strong hand only, and weak hand only at targets ranging from 5 to 20 yards. This should be a great learning experience.
http://www.rogers-shooting-school.com/
 
#23 ·
0.02;

That looks very painful due, especially due to the location and constantly being used.

Heal quickly,

In the Pa course I just got back from, students shot 750 rds+/- one handed all day Saturday. One handed skills are covered extensively.

Brownie
 
#24 ·
Same here 0.02.....I work with my hands a lot too in my job and I have in the past cut either hand. When this happens, i still know I can carry.

I went as far as buying a left hand holster for my gun so I would be able to carry even if I broke my right arm.

I practice with both hands when I go to the range. I want to be ready no matter what.
 
#25 ·
Just an update if anyone is interested with how long a deep wound in the palm takes to heal.
Still hurts, still slightly open between the stitches, healed 75% on the surface, feels tender inside. Hasn't gone septic, I'm taking the antibiotics like a good boy, and leaving the dressing off except for driving etc.
I'm hoping to remove the stitches myself, don't see why not.

I changed holsters this week, probably a bad idea, to an IWB weak side cross draw Tuck This. I say 'bad idea' as it's one more change to an already disrupted routine after the injury. But I've practised drawing from it and it's really smooth.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top