My weak hand shooting sucks

[Greg]

But getting a little better.



These are 2.5” target circles, shots were from 7 yards. Left target is my left hand, right target was my right hand.

10 rounds at each target from a Glock 19. I shot 180 rounds left handed today as this is a weak area I’m determined to improve.

It’s not fun to do the stuff you suck at, but hopefully I can come back here soon with a cleaned series of circles, all shot with my left hand.

When I dry fire left handed I don’t notice the sights straying to the right, but it shows up in live fire.

[Greg]

More left handed results.

[CCT125US]

Can you describe your one handed shooting grip? Or a pic is worth a thousand....

[Greg]

Other than curling my thumb down, it mirrors what I try to do with a 2 handed, thumbs forwards grip.

[GJM]

Shooting with just one hand is harder because you have to both support the gun and work the trigger with one arm. Shooting support hand is harder yet because most of us have less experience working the trigger with our support hand and we have to get eye dominance and sight alignment worked out. I would focus on properly supporting the gun before worrying about trigger.

I believe it starts with the elbow, and it is desirable to fully extend your elbow. If you don’t fully extend your elbow, with for example the gun in your left hand, your arm has a natural tendency to move right. You can easily demo that for yourself.

Next, I would focus on the wrist. With the gun in your left hand, you cam your wrist and the pistol to the left to offset the natural tendency of your arm to go inboard.

Next I would focus on initially setting the tension in your small, ring and middle finger to minimize sympathetic movement as you press the trigger.

Setting your elbow, wrist and fingers up to optimally support the pistol sets the foundation for your trigger work.

With the trigger, I make sure to pay attention throughout the entire press, as a support hand trigger press generally takes longer than the same shot freestyle.

[MGW]

@GJM with the straight elbow do you find it more difficult to recover recoil? What are you doing post trigger break to realign the sights? Also, what adjustments, if any, do you make to your stance?

[Greg]

My stance with one handed shooting has been an isosceles stance (with a bent elbow) with my non-shooting hand pulled in tight to my chest as if it were injured.

I'll try extending the arm to lock the elbow.

Lack of trigger time (compared to my right hand) is certainly at play here.

Thanks for the input so far!

[Doc_Glock]

My stance with one handed shooting has been an isosceles stance (with a bent elbow) with my non-shooting hand pulled in tight to my chest as if it were injured.

I'll try extending the arm to lock the elbow.

Lack of trigger time (compared to my right hand) is certainly at play here.

Thanks for the input so far!

I always put same foot forward as the hand shooting. Learned from Tom Givens and Mike Seeklander on YouTube. They do it very similarly.

Accuracy has never been an issue for me weak handed I think because there is less trigger anticipation. Just wobble and squeeze. Speed absolutely is an issue.

[GJM]

@GJM with the straight elbow do you find it more difficult to recover recoil? What are you doing post trigger break to realign the sights? Also, what adjustments, if any, do you make to your stance?

I always put same foot forward as the hand shooting. Learned from Tom Givens and Mike Seeklander on YouTube. They do it very similarly.

Accuracy has never been an issue for me weak handed I think because there is less trigger anticipation. Just wobble and squeeze. Speed absolutely is an issue.

When conditions allow, shooting one hand, I like to put the same foot forward. However, I practice all ways, because the same circumstances that caused you to shoot one hand, may also limit your foot placement.

One hand, recoil control is secondary to accurate shot placement. However, it is possible to use the greater muzzle raise to work the trigger and camouflage the wobble, so the shot breaks as soon as the sights return to the target.

[Gun Nerd]

Have you tried canting the gun slightly? I find it gives a slight advantage - not from putting the gun in front of my dominant eye, but from letting me keep a locked wrist.

I do find I have to be extra careful about trigger finger placement. Without the support hand to keep me from pushing the gun sideways, I consciously sink a little more finger into the trigger guard and focus more on pressing straight to the rear.

I'm following the subject closely because of potential surgery on my dominant side wrist in the near future. My thought is to work on basic progressions like Dot Torture, 5^5, "The Test," Bill Drills and "Press Six" for the draw, etc.