Any left-handed revolver shooters out there?

[Wheeler]

I was curious if there were any lefties out there that were as much an anachronism as I am, specifically by being partial to revolvers for carry and for competition. I would love to compare notes.

Wheeler

[randypollock]

Lefty and love to shoot revolvers but I don't carry them.

To make matters worse I'm right eye dom.

[Wheeler]

Lefty and love to shoot revolvers but I don't carry them.

To make matters worse I'm right eye dom.

Do your shoot any competitions with revolvers or more of a casual target type shooting?

How do you work past the right eye dominance?

[randypollock]

I am hoping to shoot some kind of matches this year..that's the goal, but if I do it will still be with a pistol.

I have just learned to move my sight picture to that eye and to be honest it's not that bad...but it did take a long time to get that way.

I also give a lot of credit to playing the piano as a kid (had to take lessons for 13 years) as it taught me to not just depend on one hand as it helped me to develop both hands, right foot and eyes.

[SteveK]

I shot a Smith 646 in IDPA for awhile several years back when I was still active in competitions. I enjoyed the revolver more than any weapon I've ever shoot. In my opinion, trying to master the double action trigger made me a much better shooter overall. I would have zero issues carrying my 625 as a duty weapon if need be. A lefty reload with a moon clip revolver can be extemely fast and efficient.

[turbolag23]

i'm also a lefty and right eye dominant, no formal training so i've probably got plenty of bad habits. i also just try and move the sight picture to that eye. i usually shoot revolvers in more of a casual at the range setting but have done some practice PPC rounds.

[jetfire]

Matt Griffin is a USPSA GM in Revolver and a lefty. He's got some really good videos online about how to overcome some of the challenges in being a lefty wheelgunner.

[randypollock]

I will have to check it out...a random search on youtube showed him shooting but I didn't see the videos of instructions..does he have a website? or did you mean a DVD series?

[Wheeler]

I will have to check it out...a random search on youtube showed him shooting but I didn't see the videos of instructions..does he have a website? or did you mean a DVD series?

randy, here's one of his reload by the numbers;

http://www.ouchland.com.au/Closeup-lefty-reload__7YXtmQjSWEo.html

[Wayne Dobbs]

I'm a lefty, right eye dominant, revolver shooter/lover, too! I have a safe full of S&W (pre-lock) revolvers in many flavors that I shoot, hunt with and carry.

Reviewing the Griffin reload is fun, but is truly oriented towards a moon clipped competition gun instead of a carry gun. That single finger ejection stroke at less than a vertical orientation is a sure way to stick a case in a J frame or to get a case under the ejector star.

For a defensive gun, I push the cylinder open with my right hand thumb, wrapping the rest of my right hand and fingers around the trigger guard and frame. The revolver is then oriented muzzle straight up and the ejector rod is SMACKED with the heel of my left palm. This accelerates the fired cases out of the chambers instead of simply pushing them out and the vertical orientation allows gravity to do its job most efficiently. The gun is then oriented muzzle straight down, the cylinders reloaded by whatever means and then it's closed smoothly and the grip re-established. Not as sexy, but much more dependable.

[Wheeler]

I'm a lefty, right eye dominant, revolver shooter/lover, too! I have a safe full of S&W (pre-lock) revolvers in many flavors that I shoot, hunt with and carry.

Reviewing the Griffin reload is fun, but is truly oriented towards a moon clipped competition gun instead of a carry gun. That single finger ejection stroke at less than a vertical orientation is a sure way to stick a case in a J frame or to get a case under the ejector star.

For a defensive gun, I push the cylinder open with my right hand thumb, wrapping the rest of my right hand and fingers around the trigger guard and frame. The revolver is then oriented muzzle straight up and the ejector rod is SMACKED with the heel of my left palm. This accelerates the fired cases out of the chambers instead of simply pushing them out and the vertical orientation allows gravity to do its job most efficiently. The gun is then oriented muzzle straight down, the cylinders reloaded by whatever means and then it's closed smoothly and the grip re-established. Not as sexy, but much more dependable.

I've had the discussion regarding the tactical ejector rod smack vs a one finger engagement of the rod with several high speed practitioners of the defensive manipulation (vs. competition) of the revolver. Almost everyone agrees with you regarding the smack, vs one finger. However, I do it differently :)

I bring the revolver back to mid-chest level, while doing so I engage the cylinder release with my left index (trigger) finger. Upon release I push the cylinder out with my right thumb, pushing my thumb all the way through and allowing the revolver to pivot on my thumb. I take all four fingers of my right hand and wrap them below and around the trigger guard. Positive control of the gun has now transferred to my right hand.

At this time I will remove my left hand from the gun, retrieve a speedloader or speedstrip (both of which I carry on my left/strong side. AT THE SAME TIME, I use my right index finger to engage the ejector rod, wih a double pump. I then slide my index finger down the side of the ejector rod placing it so that I have my index finger on one side, and my middle finger on the other and rotate my wrist so the gun is pointed muzzle down at about an 85 degree angle.

This all takes place at the same time I am extracting a speedloader/speedstrip. If it's a speedloader in a belt carrier, by the time I have the gun oriented in a muzzle down position, the speedloader is in place to be inserted in the cylinder. After I insert and release the cartridges, I toss the speedloader with a wrist snap while at the same time closing the cylinder with my right hand.

Now I can grip the gun with my left hand, assuming a strong hand only grip, with my right hand oriented fingers under and around the trigger guide, it takes a slight movement to reassume the correct position for a two-hand grip, which is done as I bring the gun back up to a shooting position.

Average time from last shot-reload-first shot is about 1.5-1.75 seconds. I used to be faster but let's not discuss the slowing down that increasing age and lack of practice has brought.

FWIW, I have only had one time where I had to slap the ejector rod to extract a case, which turned out to be split from one too many reloads. I have enough hand strength to push the ejector rod forcefully with one finger. The double pump will clear any cases that hang up, which is also a rare occurance.

It took me a LOT longer to type this than it does to do it! This is the first time I've sat down and wrote out the process step by step.

Wheeler

[Wayne Dobbs]

"Double pumping" should work most of the time. The smack technique I mentioned is applicable to two different situations. One is the .357 Magnum service/carry gun that's been shot with a significant amount of .38 Special and has a "crud ring" from that. When the longer Magnum rounds get fired, they have a tendancy to seize up on that ring and need some energy and effort to get ejected.

The other situation is with a J-frame type revolver with a shorter ejection stroke than is the length of the case being fired in the gun. I find that it's a common occurance for there to be at least one case hanging in the charge hole upon ejection. These two scenarios are almost always solved by the "smack".

Finally, can you really pull off a sub-two second REVOLVER reload?

[Wheeler]

"Double pumping" should work most of the time. The smack technique I mentioned is applicable to two different situations. One is the .357 Magnum service/carry gun that's been shot with a significant amount of .38 Special and has a "crud ring" from that.I solve that problem by making sure if I'm carry .357's I clean the cylinders When the longer Magnum rounds get fired, they have a tendancy to seize up on that ring and need some energy and effort to get ejected.

The other situation is with a J-frame type revolver with a shorter ejection stroke than is the length of the case being fired in the gun. I find that it's a common occurance for there to be at least one case hanging in the charge hole upon ejection. I don't shoot my LCR as much as I should but I have found the double pump and a slight tilt of the gun will make that case closest to the frame and grip go away. These two scenarios are almost always solved by the "smack". I won't disagree that the smack is the better choice, I just don't utilize it.

Finally, can you really pull off a sub-two second REVOLVER reload?

Yes. I'm not Jerry Miculek, never will be, But I can reload my L frame pretty darn fast. I have finally broke down and ordered a shot timer. First chance I get, I'll time the reloads. I'm basing that time on splits from a few years ago. Perception can get us all in trouble, and my perception of time shot to shot might be skewed. If so, I'll own up to it and eat crow. :)

[jlw]

Overcoming cross-eye dominance isn't hard at all. The shooter should simply turn their head to put their dominant eye behind the sights.

My boss is a lefty and a revolver shooter. We both just put together sets of revolver duty gear.

[Wheeler]

Overcoming cross-eye dominance isn't hard at all. The shooter should simply turn their head to put their dominant eye behind the sights.

My boss is a lefty and a revolver shooter. We both just put together sets of revolver duty gear.

Since you're in the area, if you haven't already given it thought, Cherokee Gun Club in Gainseville is hosting the 2011 IDPA WheelGun Championship. If you're not an IDPA member, it's cheap to join and they will be holding a classifier the first Sunday of April.

I for one would love to see more revolver shooters show up, even if it's just to the regular matches.

Here's a link to their IDPA page with links to the match, schedules etc.
http://www.cherokeegunclub.org/HTML52.phtml

Wheeler

[jlw]

Since you're in the area, if you haven't already given it thought, Cherokee Gun Club in Gainseville is hosting the 2011 IDPA WheelGun Championship. If you're not an IDPA member, it's cheap to join and they will be holding a classifier the first Sunday of April.

I for one would love to see more revolver shooters show up, even if it's just to the regular matches.

Here's a link to their IDPA page with links to the match, schedules etc.
http://www.cherokeegunclub.org/HTML52.phtml

Wheeler

I'm an IDPA member and safety officer. I had been shooting the monthly matches there, and I am hoping to shoot the Wheelgun Challenge. However, I have gotten increasingly frustrated at the late starts and DMG grinding the matches to a halt; so, the regular matches are no longer a priority for me. It's a shame because Cherokee is an incredibly easy drive for me.

[Wheeler]

I'm an IDPA member and safety officer. I had been shooting the monthly matches there, and I am hoping to shoot the Wheelgun Challenge. However, I have gotten increasingly frustrated at the late starts and DMG grinding the matches to a halt; so, the regular matches are no longer a priority for me. It's a shame because Cherokee is an incredibly easy drive for me.

It has gotten better. The DMG has finally started to run a lot more efficiently. If I had my druthers, I would run the DMG on two seperate bays and let the IDPA match have the usual four but, I'm not the MD, I don't belong to the club, and I'm pretty sure there are politics involved.

I'm pretty sure they will be having the DMG, Classifier, and the regular match this weekend as well.

Wheeler

[jlw]

It has gotten better. The DMG has finally started to run a lot more efficiently. If I had my druthers, I would run the DMG on two seperate bays and let the IDPA match have the usual four but, I'm not the MD, I don't belong to the club, and I'm pretty sure there are politics involved.

I'm pretty sure they will be having the DMG, Classifier, and the regular match this weekend as well.

Wheeler

I agree. Put the DMG over in one of the other bays, and it wouldn't be a problem at all.

I know there was an uproar with the MD over the match a couple of months ago where only half the shooters finished. Maybe some things got straightened out.

If I can make it on Sunday, I may come classify with one of my wheelguns.

[Wheeler]

Wayne,

Looks like I need to eat a little crow. I had my son time me today with a stop watch during dry fire practice. From snap to snap my best time was 2.83 seconds. I've either slowed down considerably or was never as fast as I thought I was. Either way I have a goal to work towards.

Wheeler

[Wayne Dobbs]

Wheeler,

A sub-three second reload is still very fast. I recall when we thought that five to six seconds with a speedloader was a par time reload (back in the old days of duty revolver carry).

[Wheeler]

Wheeler,

A sub-three second reload is still very fast. I recall when we thought that five to six seconds with a speedloader was a par time reload (back in the old days of duty revolver carry).

Thanks Wayne. My goal is to get as fast as Jerry Mickulek :) I know, I know, I have a loooong way to go.

It's not as consistent as it used to be, comes from only shooting IDPA once a month and treating it as a social event. Gotta get my mindset right again.

Wheeler

[Rex G]

Semi-lefty here, though I usually shoot DA better in right-hand mode, and my default primary carry position is at 0300.

When training with my smaller-framed DA revolvers, I use Michael deBethencourt's right-hand reload. His reload starts with the hands coming together on either side of the weapon, and at that point, if the gun is in the left hand, it switches to my right hand for the duration of the reload. If time is of the esssence, I would come up shooting after the reload with the right hand, unless it was a LH-only exercise.

Two handgun types I shoot notably better as a lefty are the Glock, and the SAA, along with other such SA six-guns. How is the SAA for being anachronistic? This is not to say I tote SA sixguns for defensive purposes at this time; my chief won't let me qual with SA revolvers, and considers off-the-clock defensive encounters to be line-of-duty, and therefore subject to all PD rules.

[Little Creek]

I too have a safe full of S&W revolvers in 357, 40 (not a typo), 44, & 45ACP. I also have some 1911 45s, Glock 17, 19, 26, 22, 20, M&P9 Pro series, etc. A good revolver man can beat most ipsc and idpa shooters in a local match. A good revolver shooter is certainly capable of defending himself. Pistols are certainly easier to conceal, quicker to reload, and many pistols are very reliable. It is the man not the machine that makes the difference. Where have I heard that before. I usually have a S&W M340 in my left front pocket or a pistol on my left hip, depending on the weather and my choice of clothes for the day. I am retired Federal LE.

[Wheeler]

I certainly do not feel at a disadvantage with my Model 12. The best way I can summarize the advantage a good revolver shooter has over a good semi-auto shooter is; A revolver shooter does not have the luxury of make-up shots. I'm not the fastest on the draw by any reasonable stretch, but I always have in the back of my head that with 6 in the gun, they need to count, regardless of the scenario, be it in a match or in a defensive situation. To further reinforce that, and to misquote Cluade Werner; Reloads are not as important as the rounds that are fired.

A blazing fast reload of 2.3 seconds means your gun and your mind are out of the fight for 2.5 seconds. If your reloading to get the gun back into the fight, chances are your shots didn't count for much to begin with.

[Checkman]

Left eye dominant and a left handed shooter with both handguns and long-guns. However I am right handed for almost everything else though I do wear a wristwatch on my right wrist. I am also a big revolver fan especially S&W and Colt DA models though I have developed a fondness for Ruger in the past few years. As a police officer I've had more than a few people express surprise when they observe me writing with my right hand (something officers do frequently) even though I carry on my left and there is that wristwatch on my right wrist.

Over the years I've gotten pretty adept at shooting revolvers. When it's time to reload I put the revolver in my right hand and use my left hand to eject the empties and then reload the cylinder. Over time I've gotten pretty smooth at it, but it's really just academic. I carry a GLOCK 19 both on and off duty. In the case of the G19 I just leave it in my left hand when it's time to reload. I also moved the magazine release button to the right side of the pistol.