When should you begin training WHO skills??

[TGS]

IMO: 1/2 to 5/8 of a range session seems excessive for WHO and SHO skills.

I don't find SHO shooting that difficult, probably because the trigger pull and grip are nearly identical to 2 handed shooting. WHO is not as easy for me, I'm much more likely to snatch the trigger.

At each session, I shoot a mag or two (for each) SHO and WHO.

3 times per week I try to get in some dry fire practice. I keep it simple and focus on technique rather than speed. My drill is normally:

10 x Press Out
10 x WHO Wall Drill
10 x SHO Wall Drill
25 x Reload from Slide Lock

I usually go to the range once a week. With each hand, 10 rounds DA, 10 rounds SA, 10 rounds DA/SA pairs (so 5 pairs) on 2" circles at 3, 5 or if I'm feeling ambitious, 7 yards. I'll usually do that once, and if I'm feeling ambitious or energetic, twice (otherwise I mentally tire too much during the 2nd string for any productivity). My sessions over the past 2 months have tended to be 150-200 rounds total (with 60 to 120 being SHO/WHO, respectively), and the rest being walkback drills and typewriter type stuff. Sometimes I'll throw in a DT or two as an assessment instead of going heavy on SHO/WHO.

Maybe 1/2 is excessive for how much you shoot. If my range sessions were 300 rounds, I probably wouldn't be doing 1/2 WHO/SHO. I kinda like shooting SHO/WHO as well, it's challenging but fun. I like how I can usually hit as well WHO with DA as I can SHO with SA.

[DonovanM]

As soon as you grasp the basics of trigger control, and can for instance put a sub 3" group together at 7 yards or so, I would start working on SHO/WHO. Just as long as you know what you're looking for.

It's also good to start with dry fire, but I think that about everything. I think it's better to learn fundamentals without the distraction of explosions going off a couple feet in front of your face.

[Bob Hostetter]

While I include both SHO and WHO work in any personal training session, I also own a Weak Handed setup (holster, belt, mag pouches, etc) that I use anytime I take a class from another instructor. In other words while I am right handed whenever I attend a class as a student I only use a left handed rig, and shoot left handed both supported and unsupported, as required by the class/instructor.

[ToddG]

It's difficult to establish when you should practice SHO/WHO or how much you should practice SHO/WHO without first defining your goals.

If someone is spending half his range time on one handed skills, there needs to be a well thought out reason. That reason could be:

• it helps me with my other shooting
• I believe that people are often forced to shoot SHO/WHO in gunfights
• a game I play puts a lot of emphasis on SHO/WHO

... or whatever. But don't just shoot x-number of rounds or z-percentage of your practice SHO/WHO for the heck of it.

I'd say I put about 10% of my time into SHO/WHO. If I was practicing half as often as I do now, I'd probably up that number a bit. However, if I was practicing significantly less than I do now, I probably wouldn't put more time into SHO/WHO. When training resources are limited, the smart thing is to put your effort into high likelihood tasks. Getting good enough at SHO/WHO to be legitimately competent under stress -- and if something forces you to shoot one handed, you're probably already a tad stressed -- takes substantial time and rounds.

It's not wrong to train for the worst case scenario, but it's a mistake to ignore skills you're actually likely to need in favor of the one in a hundred problem. People like to say, "Yeah, but what if you're that one?" to which I can only respond, "What if you're one of those ninety-nine instead?"

[JeffJ]

I've been spending signifigantly more time on SHO shooting the last few months, because of my son who was born 1/5 - he causes a situation for me in which I am highly likely to have something in my weak hand that I can't drop to get 2 hands on the gun. Prior to that it was probably around 10-15%

[BaiHu]

It's difficult to establish when you should practice SHO/WHO or how much you should practice SHO/WHO without first defining your goals.

If someone is spending half his range time on one handed skills, there needs to be a well thought out reason. That reason could be:

• it helps me with my other shooting
• I believe that people are often forced to shoot SHO/WHO in gunfights
• a game I play puts a lot of emphasis on SHO/WHO

... or whatever. But don't just shoot x-number of rounds or z-percentage of your practice SHO/WHO for the heck of it.

I'd say I put about 10% of my time into SHO/WHO. If I was practicing half as often as I do now, I'd probably up that number a bit. However, if I was practicing significantly less than I do now, I probably wouldn't put more time into SHO/WHO. When training resources are limited, the smart thing is to put your effort into high likelihood tasks. Getting good enough at SHO/WHO to be legitimately competent under stress -- and if something forces you to shoot one handed, you're probably already a tad stressed -- takes substantial time and rounds.

It's not wrong to train for the worst case scenario, but it's a mistake to ignore skills you're actually likely to need in favor of the one in a hundred problem. People like to say, "Yeah, but what if you're that one?" to which I can only respond, "What if you're one of those ninety-nine instead?"

As always, great points and much to consider. My main interest was piqued by the DOTW 19 and whether or not I've been neglecting an area of training. I try to dry fire at least 4 days a week and hit the range 2 days a week, but that's my ideal. I'm just slowly putting together priorities and standards that I need to meet that are relevant to my current skills.

Thanks.

[Smaug]

Can anyone point to some good video or descriptions of SHO and WHO manipulations, specifically draws and reloads, preferably from AIWB?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCIKH...zB_x4u26E479S4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJQY8...TEYt9BYIyJK4dz

[Jeff22]

It took me a while to figure out your terminology:

SHO = "Strong hand only"
WHO = "Weak hand only"

Okay.

My basic skill maintenance practice drills are either 30 rounds or 60 rounds.

All of my courses involve a 6 round string of strong hand only shooting and a 6 round string of weak hand only shooting, and some of them include a 6 round string of weak hand with support shooting (mirror image -- could be useful if you are a right handed shooter shooting around the left side of cover)

It's worth practicing on a regular basis with one hand only shooting because you don't know what particular set of skills will be required should you ever have to do it "for real". And, if you're an IPSC or IDPA competitive shooter, you will certainly be required to shoot strong hand only and weak hand only on a frequent basis in matches.