Left handed & cross dominant - speed loader

[lemondrop9344]

I am left handed & right eye dominant. Most left handed people have to make adjustments to a predominantly right handed world & I'm no exception. I shoot handguns & rifles as a right handed person as my right eye is dominant. I also perform other, but not all, things as a right handed person. I am definitely not ambidexterous (spelling?).

My concern is associated with revolver reloading skills. All the instruction I've received stresses the reload is to be performed with the strong side hand with the weak side hand holding the revolver. Despite continuing practice with this procedure, it just seems unnatural to me.

All the revolvers I'm familiar with have the cylinder opening on the left side. After ejecting spent rounds, it seems to me it would be faster to utilize my weak side hand to accomplish the reload. In my case, my left hand which provides more dexterity than my right hand.

I'm looking for others who may be in this same situation and any suggestions they might be able to provide. I'm definitely more proficient in accomplishing the reload task in my Aardvark fashion. What rules would I be violating it I wanted to participate in revolver competitions. I'm just trying to improve my proficiency and most public ranges do not allow the type of activity I want to practice. Consequently I'm looking at competitive shooting.

Sorry to be so long winded.

 

[Double_J]

I don't see where you would be doing anything "wrong" other than having to switch hands after reloading. This might be a question better asked of the officials at one of the events you want to shoot at.

 

[jeepnik]

Techniques as proposed by the "experts" just don't work for everyone. Heck, I'm a lefty and I've seen some right handed "experts" come up with some pretty stupid suggestions for southpaws.

Find what works for "YOU" and go with it.

 

[MrBorland]

I'm the same as you - lefty, right eye dominant and shoot rightie. It's a blessing, IMO, in that shooting weak hand only ought to come more natural to you.

I mainly shoot revolvers, and mainly in competition. The short answer to your question is that both the strong- hand weak-hand reload are viable and acceptable reloads, though the latter can put more strain on the yoke and yoke-screw (the Achilles heel of a S&W revolver).

The ideal is to be proficient with both methods, but one will invariably feel more natural and will likely be your primary method. Unless you break a muzzle safe point, it's highly unlikely either of these reloads will be illegal in competition.

 

[Rexster]

See Michael de Bethencourt's right-hand reload at Snubtraining.com . It is the best reload, for either hand, I have found. Because the hands are brought together early in the process, it is very easy to switch hands, and the left hand is handling the speedloader, strip, or loose cartridges. He has a different technique for lefties, but I prefer to use his right-hand method, as it is so efficient. If there is any hurry, however, such as a real gunfight, to immediately start shooting after the reload, I would keep the grip in my right hand, and resume shooting with my RIGHT hand, because I have trained to be functionally ambidextrous with DA revolvers.

[I could write half a page, but to keep a long story short, I chose, for several good reasons, to carry "primary" on the right hip, even though I am left-handed, and left-eye dominant. The support hand has so many important things to be doing, and pulling a trigger is caveman-simple.]

 

[lemondrop9344]

All,

Thanks for the responses and the opinions and advice on this forum, for me, seem to be the best on the internet.

As long winded as I am, I missed the boat on the rules violation question.... Should have been more specific. I was concerned about the placement of the speed loader/moon clips on the belt. Most rules seem to say 2 in front of the holster on the strong side and one behind. Finding specifics in the various rules books can be somewhat challenging. Also have a follow up question on competition shooting with a revolver and will provide a little background on myself so those more experienced than myself may assist those with suggestions.

With that said, my lifestyle is such (retired and very casual) that I have chosen as my primary carry weapon a S&W 686 Plus Pro (5" barrel - 7 round) carried in a C. Rusty Sherrick, Tom Givens, Range Master holster (well worth the wait). It appears 5" barrels are sort of an unusual size and I just want to improve my practical skills under the induced stress of time and competition. I am also impacted with my ability to stand or move rapidly due to some rather bad back issues. I can work through the back pain, but, pay for it later. I'm looking for something which will allow a 5" barreled revolver. I can load 6 in the 7 range chamber and understand that puts be at a competitive disadvantage (will most likely go with moon clips). I not there to get the best score and the only competition I'm concerned about is with myself, am I improving? What would y'all suggest - ICORE, USPCA, IDPA, ????? More background follows.

Having seen way too many negligent discharges from semi automatic/automatic weapons (smart weapons - dumb operators) and having been under fire (1st Inf. Div. Nam '67 - '68) I can appreciate the stress (we called it 'Pucker Factor' back then) involved when someone is shooting at you. These experiences had a considerable affect on my primary CCW decision.

Most training today is geared towards semi automatics. Living in NC and trying to locate revolver specific training is like looking for a needle in a haystack. A year ago or so, I attended Mas Ayoob's Mag/40 Class. As the lone wheel gunner in the class (spur of the moment decision to use the relatively new revolver - maybe 50 rounds through it) Mas provided an instructor to help with my shooting. My shooting skills improved but the reload technique taught by the instructor impacted me to the point that I was always chasing the clock. I did qualify at the end, but was less than happy with my score. Had I been aware of Clint Smith's & Michael de Bethencourts revolver reload when I took the class, I'm pretty confident the score would have improved.

I apologize for being so long winded & appreciate y'alls time.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Find what works for "YOU" and go with it.

^^^^^ This for reloading.

You know, I am right handed and WAS left eye dominant. As a result one of my semi autos would toss brass on me. I have spent about the last year and a half training myself to aim with my right eye, and as a result, my eye dominance has shifted.

I actually got my eyes checked yesterday and talked to my doc about whether or not this could cause a loss of accuracy. He said no, and that some people are able to shift there vision dominance, and others aren't. You could try shifting your vision to your left eye if you don't like shooting right handed. IT takes time and a lot of dry fire practice, but it can be done.

 

[MrBorland]

Where in NC do you live? In my area (Raleigh/Durham), we have a number of competitive revolver shooters. The owner of Caswell Ranch is a terrific revolver shooter and teacher as well. He's the guy you need to contact for some 1-on-1. Believe me, a little quality 1-on-1, followed by a lot of practice pays huge dividends.

As far as which form of competition, IDPA's got a 5" barrel limit, though local matches might not an issue with a new shooter trying the game out with an "illegal" gun. ICORE (Limited division) is an option, but ICORE matches can be tough to find. You can currently shoot your 7-shot in USPSA Revo division so long as you only shoot 6 between reloads, but it's suspected that USPSA will start allowing 8-shot revos to play as well.

As far as speedloader/moonclip placement in IDPA, you can wear 3 loaders on your belt. 2 can be worn either side, but in front of the centerline of your leg. And they have to be concealed when wearing a vest. That pretty much indicates right in front of the holster if worn strongside, but you can put them weak side if you like. The 3rd loader has to be placed behind the centerline. Loader placement for ICORE/USPSA is much more relaxed, and most just place them across the front.

 

[Rob1109]

In the days I was in the Army there were no left-handed shooters! NONE! So they thought me how to shoot right handed, which I still do.

Gun ALWAYS stays in my right hand.
Press cylinder release with right thumb, at the same time opening the cylinder with two right handed fingers.
"Slap" ejection rod with left hand "ball" just below fingers.
Grab speedloader and load cylinder.
Drop speedloader and close cylinder with left fingers.
GUN NEVER LEAVES MY RIGHT HAND!!!!

I've seen the "accepted" procedure and all I see is the gun going back and forth between the right then left then right again. You're scared, nervous, sweaty hands, panicked? Drop the gun??? Very awkward !!!

I know there's someone who will give me grief....there always is. This works for me.

Best.

 

[Sam1911]

We did a big thread on revolver speedloading a while back -- with lots of pics! -- which you might find helpful: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=718237

 

[Sam1911]

I shoot handguns & rifles as a right handed person as my right eye is dominant.

While you probably aren't looking to change your habits, only long-guns are necessarily better when shot from the dominant side. Handguns can be shot with your strong hand with no loss of performance if you're cross-dominant.

Having said that, I don't think it's relevant to this question as double-action revolvers universally favor the shooter using the right hand.

All the instruction I've received stresses the reload is to be performed with the strong side hand with the weak side hand holding the revolver.

Well...if you mean strong side as in your left hand? Your situation makes the terminology confusing!

There are several perfectly good ways to do a competent revolver reload. Check the other thread I linked to to see several of them.

Some seem faster and more positive than others, but you'll really have to try them to see what works most positively for you.

Despite continuing practice with this procedure, it just seems unnatural to me.

Nothing about shooting is "natural." Whatever you're doing is a learned skill. The best technique for you might not seem "natural" until you have done the sequence 1,000 times or more.

Many of the very best shooting practices are not things that feel "right" to a new shooter their first few months of practice.

After ejecting spent rounds, it seems to me it would be faster to utilize my weak side hand to accomplish the reload. In my case, my left hand which provides more dexterity than my right hand.

It depends what you're meaning by "accomplish the reload." Look at posts 5-7 of that other thread. That sounds like what you're doing now.

It sounds like what you're wanting to try is moving the speedloaders to your left side and working the loader with your left hand. That might work well, but from a mechanics viewpoint, you'll be having to bring the loader in from and angle, instead of directly up and in from straight behind the gun, as you would with the "crossover" style reload where you insert the cartridges with the firing hand.

What rules would I be violating it I wanted to participate in revolver competitions.

I've never heard of a handgun competition that would have any problem with either style of revolver speedload. Some ranges will ask you not to elevate the muzzle, though with an opened revolver there is no real reason to limit the motion of the gun on the "eject" stroke.

I'm just trying to improve my proficiency and most public ranges do not allow the type of activity I want to practice. Consequently I'm looking at competitive shooting.

Look at the IDPA or USPSA websites and find the closest ranges to you that put on those competitions. I'd call their Match Directors and see if they put on practice nights during the week. That would give you the chance to get to know the crew and get some advice about what you're doing before match day -- but that's not critical if you can't do so.

 

[lemondrop9344]

Thanks for all the feedback. Your replies provided some insight at to where I might look and I found videos at Thunder Ranch & Snubtraining sites. Both show techniques demonstrating what I believe would be the best approach for me. Gun never leaves the right hand (strong side or same side as holster) and the reload is accomplished with the left hand (weak side).

As one of the respondents pointed out; The support hand has so many important things to be doing, and pulling a trigger is caveman-simple. In this case the hand with the most dexterity & motor skills is my left hand. Revolver cylinders open to the left, it just seems logical to me the right hand should continue to hold the revolver and the reload is accomplished with my left hand. Just what I wanted to try.

Eliminating two hand switches in the reload process reduces the number of things to be accomplished and worried about. I suspect the hand switching reload came about as the majority of the world is right handed and not cross dominant.

Again, thanks for all the input.

 

[MrBorland]

I suspect the hand switching reload came about as the majority of the world is right handed and not cross dominant.

The hand switching reload (aka the "FBI reload", btw) is a viable reload for 2 good reasons, neither of which involve dexterity (if it were purely a matter of dexterity, this lefty would likely be shooting lefty ): First, it allows one to save time by multi-tasking at a few points, such as grabbing the speedloader while ejecting, not afterward (see 1st pic). Secondly, the charge holes are easier to actually see (see 2nd pic), so it can be easier to quickly line the rounds up. Again, both are viable reloads, and one should do what's easiest, but there's nothing inherently "wrong" with a weak hand reload. Whichever method is used, practice - a metric ton of it - is key.

 

[peacemaker45]

I'm your mirror image. I'm right handed, but left eye dominant, and now shoot left handed. I shot right handed for a lot of years, though, before a hand injury forced the switch.

As such, I agree with you that holding a gun and pulling the trigger is often the easy part, and all the little fiddly stuff can often be left to the "weak," hand. If that hand isn't actually weak, so much the better.

As for the rules, in both USPSA and IDPA, revolver shooters are allowed to wear their ammo carriers over in front of the holster if they wish, but they aren't required to. In fact, in USPSA, you'll likely find yourself with loaders all across the front of your belt. Round counts can be high, in that game. No reason why you can't wear it on the opposite side, like auto shooters do.

As for the techniques themselves, the left hand load is a bit more secure, as it doesn't involve juggling the gun back and forth, but it also makes you do things one step at a time, rather than combining tasks, as you must first open, then eject, then reach for your loader, instead of combining ejection and reaching, as the right hand load allows.