Weak Hand Only.....which gun ?

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David E

David E

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The 'weak hand epiphany' made me think of a topic:

What gun would be best suited for weak hand only carry?

I'll start.

I want high capacity, as I won't be as accurate one handed (especially wrong handed!) and since my primary hand/arm is injured too badly to shoot with, I don't want to worry about reloading with it after only 5 quick shots.

I want shootability. I want a gun that'll be easy to shoot, as I do not want to struggle with levers that are on the wrong side, or to laboriously pull the trigger on any type of DA gun.

I want light kick. Part of 'shootability," I suppose, but I sure don't want to deal with the kick of a .357 in a Scandium S&W weak hand only!

For me, this points to a hicap 9mm, like a Glock, M&P or XD

What about you ?

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That's the coolest thing about being ambidextrous, I don't have a weak hand
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Ok, do you have a holster set-up for your chosen gun ready to go for either hand?

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Besides the Slide release, the Ruger SR9 is a great choice. The slide release is meant for a Righty, but the Mag release, and safety are both ambidextrous.

The gun is light, holds 17+1, and has controllable recoil :)
 
David, I shoot about 1 in 4 IDPA matches "weak hand only", and I use my primary SSP gun, a GLOCK 17. It doesn't matter what gun you choose as long as you can shoot it well weak hand (carefully keeping the same grip, maintain sight alignment, and keep a natural cant to mitigate 'odd' recoil). You can learn to do that with any gun.

One man's opinion,
Dan
 
Hk Dan, in theory I agree. But if my primary hand/arm is next to useless, I do NOT want to carry a 5 shot snubby for weak hand only.

I want a LOT of shots!

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What- you trying to give me an inferiority complex or sumpin? I just got my brand new pair of no-lock consecutive serial numbered 642s back from the 'smith after their trigger/action job, and am busy trying to figure out the best way to carry the left hand gun.

"If you can't shoot good, shoot lots!" - overheard from an instructor during Andy Stanford's Glock Summit in Titusville, FL., October 2006

lpl
 
Ok, do you have a holster set-up for your chosen gun ready to go for either hand?
Click to expand...

Say what? I carry on my right side but I can manuipulate the gun with either hand if I hurt my right hand I'd just get a left handed holster till it healed ( that's what you were asking wasn't it?)the only difference between hands is that on my left i use my index finger to manipulate the magzine release. I don't have a prefference per se for either hand i just find it easier to purchase right handed equipment the only thing I cannot do left handed is shoot a rifle and the only thing I can't do right handed is write
 
Call me narrow-minded, but the best weak hand gun should be the same as your strong hand gun. Carry 2 main guns with different manual-of-arms and magazines? -ridiculous.

Those that aren't praticing with both hands should start.
 
Even at close range, cops who are trained in such matters miss. I had a policeman friend tell me a story that he and two other cops armed with Glocks confronted an armed kid outside a liquor store. They were not in uniform. The kid said something, a cop replied and the kid materialized a .22 pistol and shot one of the cops in his cowboy belt buckle (Lucky!). All three cops, at a range of about 10 feet unlumbered their shoot'n irons and unloaded their guns at the guy.

He was hit once in the elbow.

I suggest therefore, when you consider that you might actually shoot at someone to put it in your mind that you are shooting a single shot. Even if you are not. No matter how many rounds you have in your shooter, you are likely to miss.
 
I suggest therefore, when you consider that you might actually shoot at someone to put it in your mind that you are shooting a single shot. Even if you are not. No matter how many rounds you have in your shooter, you are likely to miss.
Click to expand...

I think this is great advice. If you think that you only have one round to save your life, you are much more likely to aim.

Plus, I subscribe to the principle that if someone's shooting at you, then you may only get one chance to shoot back, so make it count.
 
My buddy's walther pps is both hand friendly, light but you only get 8 chances but it is balls accurate.
 
I think that success in a gun fight is not predicated upon the weapon you are banging away with. Rather it is mental resolution. Wyatt Earp described the formula for success in a gunfight. I'm paraphrasing, but he essentially said, "Make the decision to shoot, or not; immediately. If you have decided to shoot, shoot first and shoot straight.

In a gun fight it's not the time to dilly dally. To quote Kurt Russell in Tombstone: "Skin that smoke wagon and get to work".

If someone is a threat to you, then draw your weapon and shoot him right in the middle of the chest; "Center mass". Be darn sure the guy is a threat. If he's not, then avoid him. Remember if there's any question at all, you will be sued in civil court and you'll likely lose everything you own. So be very darned sure the guy is a deadly threat to you, before you jump on that trigger.

Killing someone is not a game. I know we all (least I do) fanticize about popping someone who has just flipped you off on the freeway. Or who has said an evil thing to you in an alley. While it seems unfair, they have every right to do that. If, however; they whip out a pistol and set up to shoot you, then shoot them right in the middle of the chest. Remember, even if you are justified, it might just ruin your life.
 
My autoloading main firearm lives on my strong-side hip. My snubby belongs in the weak-hand pocket. Depending on dress and situation, I generally carry one or the other.

I practice weakhand-only drawing/shooting/reloading/clearance drills with the autoloader. Lots of ways to accomplish these tasks. Luckily, doing several of these tasks with only one hand are similar regardless of whether its strong-hand or weak-hand.

As I read this thread, I realized that I have limited my thinking to situations where my dominant hand is out of service, so I haven't yet worked on drawing the snubby with strong hand only. I also haven't done as much revolver reloading practice with only one hand as I should.

Always something more to work on!:eek:
 
Same type you use for your strong side gun. Simplify. I don't think there's any sense in having different guns for different hands.
 
Some of you are missing the point. I am NOT talking about "taking your time in a hurry," (Wyatt Earp) and I am not talking about what to do if your primary arm/hand gets neutralized in the opening seconds of a gunfight.

I'm talking about your primary arm/hand is "put out of service" for any reason. Maybe you fell off the roof, had surgery, etc, taking your arm/hand out of commision. What gun do you carry the next day? How do you carry it ?

Even if you're ambidextrous and this happens, that is a poor time to go buy a left/right handed holster.

If you say, "use the same gun," I can see that, but if it's a 1911 or BHP without an ambi safety, you're not ready.

If you think a 5 shot snubby is the way to go, then I wish you much luck.

I'm not talking about carrying two guns with different manual of arms at all time. (altho many .38 snubs back up 1911's) I AM talking about selecting the "best" gun for weak hand only use.

If you think a "different manual of arms" is too much to learn all at once, no kidding! That's why the "serious handgunner" should've been doing this stuff all along.

Glock/XD/M&P in 9mm makes a great weak hand only gun for the reasons I prevoiusly listed.

.
 
Have you had any training to know your true abilities and needs?

If it were me, I'd worry about getting the training aspect down first.

Frankly, any gun that works with your strong hand should work fine with your weak hand if you employ some modified techniques. And frankly, it doesn't matter if your gun is ambi or not. You can't hold a gun and reload it at the same time with a single hand. Read that last sentence again if you think you can.

John
 
I carry & shoot a S&W M&P9 fullsize lefty AIWB normally. If my left hand went down for some reason I'd slap on a right handed holster & carry right side AIWB. I would not move my mags to the left side because it'll be faster to one hand reload with the gun & mags on the same side.

David, you're right, trying to find a holster after your primary side is injured is going to be a very frustrating experience. Especially if you're normally a right handed shooter.
 
it doesn't matter if your gun is ambi or not. You can't hold a gun and reload it at the same time with a single hand.
Click to expand...

Avoiding the reload coming too soon is one reason I want a gun that has a high capacity, say, 15 or more on board from the get-go.

Reloading a snubby weak hand only will be a feat. You'll have trouble ejecting the spent cases with a stubby ejector rod with two hands, much less with one! Most revolver reloads using one hand require sticking the barrel in the front of your pants with the open cylinder hanging on the outside of the belt while you fiddle around with the speedloader. And THEN, after all that (if they haven't shot you dead!) you're only reloaded for 5-6 more shots.

Aside from putting off that dreaded reload by an additional 10-16 shots, it is much easier and quicker to reload weak hand only.

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