Is it a Good Idea to Practice with your Weak Hand?

[murf]

Teach yourself the same way you'd teach a kid. Safe and slow, fundamentals first.

common sense rules here. push off a wall before you get into full-on pushups, flick a rock before you throw it. dry-fire weak handed 5 minutes and work up to 15, etc.

totally agree, but part of the learning is to feel your body getting sore and improving. everyone is different here, but the same steps are necessary to get your weak side shooting as well as your strong side. first step is to get the weak side coordinated.

luck,

murf

 

[JTHunter]

I am only 7 weeks out from the surgery. I have PT twice a week and home exercises but no weight yet. It really is a drag because I still do (did) triathlons. I will begin weight workouts when the PT fellow says I can, usually around 12 weeks. Car wreck, woman texting ran a double stop sign and destroyed my new car and my shoulder.

3C

OUCH !! Good luck with your rehab.

 

[JohnKSa]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet--you may go INTO an encounter with both hands working, have your strong hand injured at some point in the encounter and have to switch to your weak hand.

For that reason, it's a good idea to not only practice weak-handed, but also to learn to do some basic things like one-handed clearance drills and reloads with either hand. One-handed clearance drills and reloads should be practiced ONLY with dummy rounds since muzzle control can be an unavoidable problem with some of these techniques.

 

[old lady new shooter]

When I first started shooting, I only had to hear once that you have to be able to shoot with either hand in case you get shot in one arm, so I practiced it from the beginning. My first left-handed shot I also used my left (non-dominant) eye and the round hit the outermost ring, so I decided to stick with my right eye and got much better results. Standing sideways to the target comes more naturally to me than standing square and canting the gun.

Similarly, I also started practicing shooting my AR off either shoulder right from the beginning. This is really a necessity for me, it is my home defense gun, I have a single good defensive location that works for any likely point of entry but for the most likely one I need to shoot off the right shoulder to get decent concealment.

 

[AzShooter1]

I still run a few rounds weak hand but not that many. I just want to know I can engage the safety on my S&W EZ 9 every time.

When I shot USPSA and ICORE matches I spend about 30 rounds weak hand because you never know when the MD is going to spring it on you. It pays to practice.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I guess that I',m an odd case.
I started out left-handed, but my mother and the first teacher that I had forced me to primarily use my right hand.
Then I seriously damaged my right eye and have to use a powerful lens to focus with that eye.
So - I can shoot right-handed when I'm wearing prescription glasses but pretty much have to shoot left-handed if I'm caught without my glasses.
-And I usually don't wear my glasses because the prescriptions for each eye are so different that I can only focus both eyes together when I'm looking straight ahead.
So, yes, I practice with either hand as lead hand - I screw up equally well with either hand... .

 

[luzyfuerza]

If you have any interesting practice techniques...please feel free to share.

Suggested practice drills:

Hackathorn's Wizard drill

Learn to safely shift the pistol between hands. Learn to shoot one-handed with both hands. Suggestions here:

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2021/12/6/become-an-ambidextrous-shooter-to-boost-your-scores

The ambi drill:

See (I hate this video but love the drill.)

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

I can't believe this is even a question for anyone that carries a gun.

Yes weak hand practice should be normal.

I'm not John Wayne with my weak hand but I could certainly get hits 7yrds and in if I needed to.

 

[JTHunter]

Not a handgun but a SxS 12 gauge that I have learned to hunt with from both sides, mostly for squirrels. The biggest hitch is feeling for the front trigger as it is on the right side of the gun so my left index finger has to "feel" for the front trigger before I shoot.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Yes. I practice one-handed shooting w/ each hand, each week. And I practice w/ a flashlight, too (2-handed).

 

[Appalachiannative]

I think it's a great idea. I used to be good shooting one handed with my right hand (I'm right handed) standing sideways. The idea being that it makes me a smaller target as I'm a rather thin man. My father is a natural lefty and can shoot one handed with either hand well enough to right his name at up to 25 yds, not even joking there, when he was in school they still tried to force lefties to become right handed, gramps was and FFL, an my ol man used to hand load obsessively so he got more practice than 90% of shooters usually get. Point being if you can pull it off great but it's gonna take a lot of time and lead

 

[Hangingrock]

What's this weak hand stuff? I'm lefthanded in a righthanded world thus I've became ambidextrous. That seems to be a rear occurrence for the major righthanded individual's

 

[golden]

The qualification drills my agency has used for the past 25 years have included weak hand drills.
Last week, however, I was shooting a new S&W EZ .380ACP and after shooting 2 qualifications with it, I did it again with my weak hand. You could see the difference at 15 yards, the groups were much larger. I simply shot as a left handed person would, using 2 hands, holding the gun in my left. When it came to reloads, it was much harder than I remember when using my WALTHER P-99 or H&K P-2000. Both of those guns had ambidextrous lever release of their magazines.

I will do it again, because you never know.

Jim

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I've always tried to do some weak hand shooting in every session. I've not mastered it but I'm not too bad. Lucky thing, too! In March of last year I wrecked my shoulder at work, had it rebuilt in April. Now ten months later I still can't draw from 3:30 yet. When I got out of the gunslinger brace in June I bought a left hand belly band for my Ruger LCR, and that has been my CCW for the last half a year. Been doing PT for seven or eight months now and I'm getting to where I can shoot with my right hand again (although I lack endurance). The issue is that I don't have enough mobility in the right shoulder to draw the gun yet.

 

[golden]

PHAEDRUS,

I tore a tendon almost 2 years ago and went for therapy for about 6 months. It helped a lot, but I still needed steroid injections every 3 months to deal with pain. Sometimes, you can heal only so far, so you have to pace yourself and remember to compensate for the problem in the future. For me, I limit the weight I will try to pick up without help. Good luck.

It did not effect my shooting, fortunately. It is just as bad now and before!
LOL

JIm

 

[JohnKSa]

Here's a good example of why being able not only to shoot with both hands, but also being able to access your carry gun with either hand is important.

Disclaimer: I'm providing this link for those who want to watch the video but I have not vetted it for language. You will see people get shot in the video.


The initial responding officer was injured in his strong arm and was unable to get to his sidearm with his other hand. So his only option was to run away and call for help. Fortunately the suspect was either less mobile than the officer or disinclined to try to chase him down.

 

[old lady new shooter]

When I first started shooting, I only had to hear once that you have to be able to shoot with either hand in case you get shot in one arm, so I practiced it from the beginning. My first left-handed shot I also used my left (non-dominant) eye and the round hit the outermost ring, so I decided to stick with my right eye and got much better results. Standing sideways to the target comes more naturally to me than standing square and canting the gun.

Similarly, I also started practicing shooting my AR off either shoulder right from the beginning. This is really a necessity for me, it is my home defense gun, I have a single good defensive location that works for any likely point of entry but for the most likely one I need to shoot off the right shoulder to get decent concealment.

Edit doesn't show on the original post so I am "replying". When I looked at it because Rexster "liked" it, I noticed a huge typo, last sentence should read "for the most likely one I need to shoot off the left shoulder to get decent concealment."

Aging brain syndrome...