One-Handed Shooting

In our Defensive Carry II course, we cover a lot of various presentations and methods for one one-handed shooting and presentation. A lot! To fully master these techniques one must put in time practicing. The chances of a defensive shooter needing their support hand for tasks such as opening doors and ushering innocent people from harms way is very high. Having both hands on the pistol will be a luxury when defending yourself. 

As we teach, empashis is placed on ensuring enough distance is secured from the the threat so you can retain your firearm. We do not step in with the strong foot and basically hand our gun to the bad guy! Remember, we default to our level of training that we have practiced and memorized. Do not allow it to be stepping in with our "chicken wings" spread! And NEVER allow yourself to go to the ground!

We teach, as much as practical, to shoot with one hand the way we shoot with two, Initially, we have the students keep the same sight picture and simply drop the off hand. Square to threat, feet planted in a strong fighters stance. The gun in this position can be pulled back to position two of the draw and indexed on the hip above the holster. From that position, a reasonable level of point shooting can occur simply by turning the torso toward the threat. Remember to roll the gun slightly outboard or flag the thumb against the torso to ensure the slide can move freely and not become snagged on clothing.

Canting the gun while shooting one-handed can aid in speed and accuracy. Remember to align your head with the cant of the gun to ensure you can pick up the front sight. However, when in extreme close quarters, point shooting is the way to go.

When presenting to a threat from the strong side, we strongly advocate a side shuffle backwards. It is one of the rare times in which you will become bladed to the threat and when we advocate moving backward instead of reducing space and closing distance. Target shooting and two handed shooting is great. Just remember to spend some time with one handed shooting, both with your strong and weak hand, You may need the skills someday.

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