Dependency on two hand shooting

[mercop]

Another pitfall of only doing traditional marksmanship training, no matter how fast and accurate you are, is the dependency on having two hands on the gun. It is a handgun and not a handsgun. For those who think you will just be able to effectively shoot one handed without doing so, try hitting a baseball with one hand as someone pitches to you. Sure, it can be done but it takes work because you have wired yourself to use two hands on the bat.

We can see in the picture below that what we have is essentially an arrow pointing at the threat. On many square ranges we don't need to move, but it is not even allowed. There is nothing else we do besides shooting a pistol in which we hold weight extended out in front of us...nothing. It is totally unnatural for us. This not only encourages task fixation and tunnel vision, but it is also not conducive with any controlled movement except for moving forward. And even then the extended weight at the end of our arms is going to be bouncing.



Science also tells us that muscles contract under stress. What we have found is that during force on force training when the shooting is in the traditional two handed shooting position and they are aggressively attacked with edged or impact weapons, instead of moving to their flanks and using their weak hand to defend against the attack, they just hold onto the gun and get slashed or hit.

The reaction side hand is both your rutter and control hand. It may be for judging your distance from cover, opening doors, holding a light, or taking physical control of your loved one. and open hand combatives.

Try walking around your house with a cleared pistol in the two handed shooting position and see how comfortable it is. When you work one handed, you are also likely to find out that transitioning between hands depending on the need is much easier as well. Whenever something is in the middle, it creates mental confusion as to which side is in control. That is why so many balls get dropped in center field. You point equally well with both hands.

This is where owning a Blue Gun that fits your carry holster is worth it's weight in gold.

[Rosco the Iroc]

Ah...What pic?


Anyway I've been shooting NRA/CMP pistol for about 15 years and anymore I'm more at home one handed then 2.

[PeteG]

No matter how we train to shoot, using whatever form, there is a substantial possibility – some say a likelihood – that in an actual confrontation we will be forced to shoot from some “improvised” position. This will occur if we have been hit in the mouth and are on our back, have chased or been chased into some corner and have to shoot around obstacles, or are forced to use some of our hands and feet for purposes other than stance and shooting. These kinds of situations are possibilities, if not probabilities (even if in our imaginary gunfights we are always at the top of the stairs or behind a car 30 feet from the trouble, with both feet on the ground and both hands on the gun).

So what does this mean with respect to our training?

In my view, it does NOT mean that we stop training using correct grip, stance and breathing. First, just because we might not be in a position to use proper grip and stance does not mean we will never be in a position to use proper grip and stance. Second, training with proper grip and stance is the only way to establish a reference point from which to branch out to “improvised” positions. It would be silly to become training nihilists and abandon good form because we cannot be certain we will be able to use good form in an emergency – at least without being able to articulate a good alternative.

It does suggest that we should pick shooting techniques that will be flexible and have maximum utility in difficult circumstances. (Hint: locking one’s elbows and putting the hands together in the center-line of one’s body while crouching is not such a position.)

It also suggests we should devote practice time to shooting one-handed, weak handed, without sights, using the non-dominant eye, without benefit of our eyeglasses, etc. The rub is how much time.

If we had unlimited training and practice time, it would be easy to do all these things. But almost nobody I know has unlimited, or even plentiful, training time. I can conjure up dozens of plausible handicaps one might encounter in a fight. It is clear to me that 95% of us cannot, as a practical matter, train for them all, simply because there is not enough time (if not will). We are, therefore, forced to make choices, which suggests priorities rather than absolute requirements.

Where each shooter will draw the lines will depend upon their individual circumstances. My advice, however, is that people who really can’t shoot very well under ideal circumstances devote all available time to developing an unconscious competence with their chosen grip and stance before worrying about training for other, less structured eventualities.

This might well leave one unable to effectively shoot one-handed or weak-handed in an emergency. But one who can’t train enough to shoot well two-handed won’t become proficient by further dividing his training attention attempting to learn to shoot one-handed, weak handed, with the non-dominant eye, etc. One who chases three rabbits at the same time won't catch any of them.

My belief is that one well-practiced technique is more likely to be of value in an emergency that six different unpracticed ways of doing things.

We hear “walk before you can run” so often it has become trite; but it remains a hard proposition with which to argue. For that principle to operate, however, one has to frankly assess whether they can walk. One who does not have the ability to shoot well on demand using two hands needs to work on that, and either find additional training time or resign himself to luck if circumstances for which he has no time to train should arise.

[wa3ra]

I make it a point to practice one-handed, strong and weak side. I'm not nearly as accurate on the weak side, but I can still put two center mass if I had to. Strong side, i can shoot the same either one handed or two handed, albeit with an excess amount of motion on target between shots. With the heavy XD, I find that I need to lock my elbow to stabilize the gun...advantage is that I am now standing sideways, so I present a smaller target (more or less).

In those few encounters where I have needed to draw on someone, my SA was sufficient enough that I had enough time to present using two hands; I don't have a light on my pistol, so at night I may need the other hand for a light, or to push my wife or child out of harm's way; it only makes sense to practice one-hand drills.

[Rosco the Iroc]

Well Put PeteG!