Weak side shotgun shooting

[Snarlingiron]

I am taking a defensive shotgun course next weekend at Tac Pro Shooting Center. I know I am going to have to fire the 12ga 870 on my weak side. Any hints or special techniques? Suggestions?

 

[ezypikns]

Define weak side.

Please.

 

[Snarlingiron]

Hmm. I am right handed (strong side) making my left hand/shoulder, etc. my weak side.

 

[crofrog]

You should have neither a weak side or a strong side. And be able to shoot with each side equally.

 

[Snarlingiron]

"Should", being the key word. I pretty much fit the bill with a handgun, but have not practiced with the skill with long guns.

 

[atlctyslkr]

You should have neither a weak side or a strong side. And be able to shoot with each side equally.

Hold on there, are you serious? I think everyone has a natural side, even us crazy lefthanded people!

Sure I have my preferance for shooting and am better with one stance as opposed to another. Am I a bad shooter because I'm not ambidexterous?

 

[sacp81170a]

Being a left-handed shooter, I find that the controls on a Mossberg 590 are easier to manipulate than on an 870. A tang mounted safety is far better than one mounted on the trigger guard because it's far easier to manipulate with either hand.

One note on technique, combat loading is much easier for the left handed shooter, simply dump the rounds in with your right hand instead of all that silly, awkward reaching over or under the receiver to try and get a round in the elevator to be chambered. I understand some SWAT teams are ordering left hand receivers on their shotguns for this very reason. I consistently get my shots off before all the right-handed shooters at qualification time because of this factor. (We *always* practice combat loading during quals with the shotgun.) Rounds on target faster = you alive, bad guy down.

You need to be able to switch hands and shoot equally well at close quarters with every weapon you might use. Corners come in a random mix of left and right in the real world. crofrog has this exactly right. At longer ranges you can use whichever side you're most accurate with.

 

[ezypikns]

I shot off my left shoulder for years.....

it was what felt natural, and I wasn't too bad a wingshooter. Due to loss of sight in my left eye, I've had to teach myself to shoot right handed, and after a couple of years....I'm not too bad a wingshooter. I never would have learned to shoot right handed though, unless I had to.

 

[crofrog]

Hold on there, are you serious? I think everyone has a natural side, even us crazy lefthanded people!

Yes, I was serious. You should invest the time to make yourself ambi.

Sure I have my preferance for shooting and am better with one stance as opposed to another. Am I a bad shooter because I'm not ambidexterous?

I train hard to make my left side close to as good as my right side, and right now after a substational training investment. That's pretty close to true now. You aren't a bad shooter if you aren't ambi, but it's a skill that you should work hard to obtain.

I was more commenting on the fact that the term strong and weak hand, is sorta from the very beginning setting you up for failure. If you call it your "weak hand" you execpt it to not be as good as your "strong hand" ergo what's the point in trying to make them equal. By calling them right and left, you are simply defining what side of the body they are on. You then will mentally be more ready to make them equal.

Words build worlds.

Chris

 

[merk]

Im sure if theyre going to teach weak side shooting, then theyre going to teach you techniques for it.

 

[gezzer]

Think Past recoil pads both sholders under your shirt. You will look like superman. Seriously they work!!!!!!!!!!! Available from Midway.

 

[DTakas]

I was more commenting on the fact that the term strong and weak hand, is sorta from the very beginning setting you up for failure. If you call it your "weak hand" you execpt it to not be as good as your "strong hand" ergo what's the point in trying to make them equal. By calling them right and left, you are simply defining what side of the body they are on. You then will mentally be more ready to make them equal.

Words build worlds.

People use strong and weak not right and left because left and right are relative. Telling a left handed person to practice shooting left handed means nothing. Weak side implies the opposite side as normal no matter if you are right or left handed. Strong and weak are better suited to describe what he is talking about than right and left. Maybe strong and weak are biased, offhand or non-dominant might be better yet, not implying one is inferior and not being relative to the shooters handedness either.

 

[No_Brakes23]

You should have neither a weak side or a strong side. And be able to shoot with each side equally.

Nice fantasy. Too bad genetics often give people one eye better than the other. And many folks with jobs and lives don't have time to spend at the range erasing decades of favoring one side over the other.

Train to diminish the difference between weak side and strong side? Absolutely. Practice to make your weak side as functional as possible? Certainly.

But don't think it doesn't exist or can be easily gotten rid of by some sort of miracle training.