strong hand injury

**sublime1** · February 16th, 2010, 10:57 PM

i decided to do a routine bone/ tendon check today to make sure my bones/tondons were still there and doing their job up to snuff. they were until the routine inspection.

tablesaw accident(my push stick kicked back and stuck into the palm of my hand, breaking and tearing stuff along the way) not only is it really hard to type more than 6 words a minute,but on the way to the hospital i realized that if i had to, it would be difficult to defend myself b/c my pistol is on my right hip, almost,but not quite out of reach of my left hand if i reach behind my back. I do practice dry/live fire with both weak and strong hand, but until now haven't thought much about carrying on/ more accessible to my left hand. short of buying a lefty rig, has anyone else had any similar situations/ crafty solutions to my problem? also, i carry a 1911, w/a standard safety and haven't figured a way to easily flip it off quickly with my left w/o compromising my grip on the pistol. i may switch to my glock or xd until my hand heals b/c of the ease of operation/ambidexterositerity(made up word of the day) of these particular pistols. still would have to get a lefty holster. practiced shooting w/ both hands for just such an occasion, but was't prepared to carry lefty. lesson learned. any help/input would be awesome. thanks.

sincerely,
lefty out in the cold

**fingers80002** · February 16th, 2010, 11:01 PM

Yeah, that sucks.....
I smashed my trigger finger 2 days before a group shoot....

Good opportunity to practice weak hand shooting......

**Flash** · February 16th, 2010, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by sublime1

i decided to do a routine bone/ tendon check today to make sure my bones/tondons were still there and doing their job up to snuff. they were until the routine inspection........
i may switch to my glock or xd until my hand heals b/c of the ease of operation/ambidexterositerity(made up word of the day) of these particular pistols. still would have to get a lefty holster. practiced shooting w/ both hands for just such an occasion, but was't prepared to carry lefty. lesson learned. any help/input would be awesome. thanks.

sincerely,
lefty out in the cold

Man, that sucks. Like carpal tunnel, done by a 2x4? Bad news. Hope your healing is quick and uncomplicated.

First, we need to get you acquainted with "feather-boards".

Then, Make your push-stick out of OAK, something hard, and round the handle-end so it does not dig into you. IME, sawblades gnaw at harder woods, rather than sling it.

You got the rest right about the Glock, with no external controls that need to be operated before bringing it to bear. But now you have me thinking about reaching and drawing with the weak hand. Young, flexible, and slim are all attributes that are conducive to that weak-hand work, and that ain't me. I hope you find a suitable solution.

Flash

**sublime1** · February 16th, 2010, 11:36 PM

my saw is newish to me, so didn't set up any feather-boards on it yet or make a real push stick. i just got it set it up on its own stand in my shed/shop and was ambitious about putting some miles on it. i was milling a threshold for my sliding door and just grabbed a scrap of moulding(with a mitre on the end) out of the scrap bucket and used that as an improvised internal splint for my hand. good times, good times. the folks at pocono medical center are very friendly, but i could've thought of 1000 ways i would rather spend my day off.

**Karl/PA** · February 16th, 2010, 11:58 PM

Talk to your doc about ordering some occupational therapy.

**gf45acp** · February 17th, 2010, 12:17 AM

Pratice is always good, both weak hand and strong.
If you know something is wrong with your strong hand it allows you time to comp for it, get that weak hand holster, pratice and all.
I do keep a lefty holster around for my 4" Smith K's, as well a crossdraws for the K's and my snubbies.
I tend to look at it in a "what if my hand is injured in the fight". I always carry a BUG, and most of the time it is set up to be ready for either hand. If not, then the primary is for one hand and the BUG for the other.
For the 1911, when I used to carry one on duty I praticed with the safety lefty, how easy it is to do depends on many factors, your thumb length, if you have a beavertail to get around, and your overall hand size for your grip.
I never put an ambi safety on it. Perhaps this is an item for you. Personally, I don't care for them. You still have to deal with the mag release.
Crossdraw may be a thought for you, accessable from either side.
I may also switch to one of your other guns for a while. And add a BUG.

**sublime1** · February 17th, 2010, 12:34 AM

all very excellent suggestions. i will take the advice and use it. as far as the bug, i was already considering a baby glock to go with my g19. its only a 9, but i got it for my wife and she doesn't like it, so its mine and i shoot it pretty good lefty so i'll probably go w/ that for now. Too bad there's not a baby xdm,yet.i really like the full size, but no compatible bug. sometimes, when i walk the dog i'll toss a walther p22 in the front pocket on the left.as for tiny guns, that's my only option as of right now.