One-handed shooting seems to be a lost art.
It is common to train with handguns using two hands. Two-handed shooting offers stability, increased precision and comfort. Shooters achieve their greatest accuracy with shooting while using both of their hands.
However, there are several scenarios where one-handed shooting is required. One may find themselves protecting a loved one with one hand and defending themselves with the other. Imagine walking down a staircase while standing on an uneven surface. Using an off-hand to grab a rail for stability and defending oneself with the other hand is a real possibility.
Worse yet, getting injured from a shot may leave the defender no choice but to engage using only one hand. The hypothetical defensive situations are endless. Therefore, it is imperative to train and gain confidence when shooting with the use of one hand.
Cant or No Cant
When shooting with only one hand, it is best to model similar mechanics used with two-handed shooting. There is no need to reinvent the shooting wheel; however, there are slight differences worth considering.
Thrusting the shooting hand forward while stepping with the same leg offers a stable, clear vision of the target. Some shooters turn sideways when shooting one-handed. I like to extend my right arm and my right leg while keeping my chest angled toward the target. I also prefer to slightly cant the pistol to align the sights. Some people may find it best to keep the handgun in a vertical position.
With practice, each shooter will determine which works best for them. I find that a slight cant of the pistol feels natural and aligns my sights, which gives me my best one-handed accuracy.
Get a Grip
A strong and tight grip on the handgun is essential for shooting accurately one-handed. While keeping a secure wrist, drop the shooting hand thumb to offer the most support around the entire grip.
This concept goes against two-handed shooting where the thumbs are forward and raised. By dropping the thumb combined with a secure grasp, the pistol is solidly supported. Not only will a strong grip help with accurate shooting, but it will also prevent a system failure.
In a perfect world, we will use two hands to shoot. But, we will use one hand when we are forced to do so. Since we do not live in a perfect world, the last thing we need is a system failure.
Don’t be a Groupie
I think that too many shooters concern themselves with tight groups. I admit that a tight group will boost self-esteem. In defensive shooting, how much does it really matter?
Some shooters believe a 3” group from 10 yards is a successful round of shooting. Although tight groups are great for bragging rights, they are not a necessity for defensive shooting. Any shot impacted on a silhouette target can be considered effective.
One-handed shooting will rarely achieve the same groupings compared to using both hands. Give yourself some grace and work up to precision. For those willing to put forth committed effort and energy, they will eventually see positive results.
Get Close and Personal
Now that we understand that we may never achieve the same accuracy with one-handed shooting, where do we begin? I feel it is best to begin training within five to seven yards of the target.
Without transitioning between targets, begin firing a full magazine at one stationary target. Then, evaluate the impacts and make the proper sight adjustments. Once the shooter becomes consistent, they should back up.
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For Dad’s Day a Pic Dump – N.S.F.W.
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Yankees
There were two issues at play, that saw 20mm weapons deprecated for AA fire late-war.
The first was physical. A single 20mm Oerlikon was an unpowered, free-swinging weapon that one man could point and shoot (with supporting crew to change magazines, point out targets etc).
The US Navy (and others) moved to a twin mount, to free up space because entire galleries of 20mm mounts took up a lot of room and manpower.
The twin mount was was recognised as not being “twice as good” as two singles, but was a better tradeoff for the space and crew needed. The twin guns didn’t fire in perfect synchronisation, so threw the point of aim from side to side with off-centre recoil (worse if one gun stopped firing) which complicated the use of gyro gunsights like the Mark 14, and were considerably heavier – so harder to track crossing targets accurately. Estimates were that three twin Oerlikons were about equal to four singles; but with fewer mounts, it was possible to have them better spaced and positioned, and that replacement reduced the crew requirement by four men (at a point where ships were ramming extra sailors into any available space, to crew their enlarged AA batteries)
The second problem was range and lethality. 20mm fire was quite last-ditch, and hits from 20mm shells – especially head-on – tended to be lethal in “a minute or two” as engines failed, fires took hold, etc. rather than “instantly” as wings blew off. Against conventional air attack this was good enough: a faceful of muzzle flash and tracer didn’t help an attacking pilot’s accuracy, and setting him on fire to crash on his way out was perfectly good enough. Against kamikazes, though, this wasn’t helpful: US ships reported crew saying things like “when the 20s start firing it’s time to hit the deck” because it meant a kamikaze was about to hit, and pelting it with 20mm fire didn’t stop it fast enough.
So, by late in the war, the 20mm was being deprecated in general, and its replacement by 40mm weapons in the short term (and 3″ guns firing proximity-fuzed shells were seen as superior to both).
The 20mm survived because it was small, light, and could keep firing when ship’s power was lost; all reasons why some single, or at most twin, mounts would be kept as last-ditch defence. By the time quadruple (or more) 20mm mounts were being looked at, they were power-operated mounts the size and weight of a twin 40mm Bofors – which was longer-ranged and more effective. The UK fielded a power-operated twin Oerlikon – but by war’s end was replacing the guns with a single Bofors (as the Mk V “Boffin”) and the US had a quadruple Oerlikon that saw very limited use, more for engaging small boats than aircraft.