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.
Art or science? The author discusses developing the skill of one-handed shooting with this Ronin EMP 9mm pistol.
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.
Here the author imparts a slight inboard cant when shooting with only one hand. Some shooters find a cant helps improve control.
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.
The author engages metal targets at 20 yards with his pistol. This demonstrates that hitting man-sized targets is possible at this range with only one hand.
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?
The author demonstrates shooting with his strong hand only. Note his hand position and grip.
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.
This is a close look at the author’s grip when shooting with only one hand. Note the position of his thumb.
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.
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.
This letter was provided to Gun Talk Media by Rocky Marshall. All views expressed are his own. Published with permission
As a former NRA Board of Director, I have an insider perspective of recent events regarding the National Rifle Association. A few observations:
NRA Election of CEO/EVP:
At the most recent NRA Board of Directors meeting in Houston-May 30, 2022, Allen West was nominated to run against Wayne LaPierre for the position of CEO/EVP. As has been reported, Wayne LaPierre received 54 votes, Allen West received 1 vote and 7 board members abstained from voting for either candidate. The overwhelming majority of current NRA Board members reelected Wayne LaPierre and enthusiastically support his actions in the past and present. The re-election of Wayne LaPierre sends a message to the New York court that no action will be taken to remove key management personnel involved in malfeasance and misuse of members’ donations. The NRA Board of Directors have solidified their untenable position which forces the court to review legal actions towards not only Wayne LaPierre but also the NRA Board of Directors.
NRA Board fiduciary failure:
The NRA Board of Directors should have taken a corrective course of action that would be considered appropriate in the eyes of NRA members and the New York Court. For example, in light of so many accusations and supported evidence of blatant wrong doing, the Board could have suspended Wayne LaPierre and appointed a temporary/interim CEO until the trial was fully litigated. Suspending a CEO or Executive of a large company or charity accused of malfeasance is a fairly common practice and reinforces to shareholders or members that the Board is acting responsibly. Unfortunately for the NRA and the members, the actions taken by the NRA Board of Directors appears to be complicit with the misdeeds of NRA management.
NRA in Decline:
The NRA continues a downward spiral as revenues, total members, and members’ dues continue to decline as reported in the most recent financial data for 2021. At the NRA Board meeting on May 30, 2022, Sonya Rowling (NRA Treasurer) reported that members’ dues and donations were down due to economic inflation according to NRA phone solicitors. Contrarily, comments by NRA members to articles or videos posted about the NRA is overwhelmingly negative towards Wayne LaPierre. The often-repeated comment is “I will not donate another dime until Wayne LaPierre is gone!” With record setting first time gun buyers purchasing firearms, the explanation that paying an additional $45.00 to the NRA is due to inflation pressure appears disingenuous.
New York Court Action:
The New York Court is witnessing the failure of the NRA Board of Directors and consequentially is forced to take action that should have been directed by the board. If the NRA Board of Directors had replaced Wayne LaPierre (temporarily or permanently) the New York Attorney General claims against the NRA would be significantly diminished and would position the NRA favorably to negotiate a settlement. Aside from the NRA, individual Claims would continue to be litigated for Wayne LaPierre, Woody Phillips, Josh Powell, and John Frazer. In my opinion, the best possible outcome for NRA members at this time would be if the New York court took action immediately to suspend Wayne LaPierre and replace with a court appointed administrator. This is obviously not ideal, but would be an improvement over allowing current management (who has admitted wrong doing during the bankruptcy trial) to continue to direct the NRA. Hopefully the New York court will recognize it is in the best interest of NRA members to have an overseer to protect the NRA members assets and resources. The NRA members deserve to have an organization that they can trust and believe in to support the goals of the NRA. Unfortunately, the current NRA management and Board of Directors have violated the trust of all NRA members. In order for trust to be restored, Wayne LaPierre must be replaced sooner rather than later.
This was the end result of an exceptionally productive morning on my rural farm. The big one stretched out to 37 inches. The bottom is 29.
I have had need of a gun when facing two-legged predators but twice thus far. However, I have had cause to wield a firearm for real numerous times against malevolent animals capable of killing me. This week was one for the books.
I absolutely despise these things. It makes my skin crawl to write about them. This particular moccasin is attacking a GoPro camera fastened onto a stick out in the middle of a lake. Water moccasin and cottonmouth are both appropriate names for these ghastly animals.
In the interest of full transparency, I really hate venomous snakes. There are doubtless those who feel that water moccasins are our pals whose irreplaceable contribution to the great circle of life is what keeps us from being utterly overrun by vermin. Whatever. Something else can eat the mice. It’s not like they’re endangered rhinos or federally protected snail darters. According to the WHO, venomous snakes typically kill between 81,000 and 138,000 people per annum worldwide.
It’s easier to step on these guys while out walking through the woods than you might think.
I live in the Deep South. I stepped on a really big one once while out walking in the woods with my kids. It felt like I had trod upon Arnold Schwarzenegger’s forearm. I had that one ventilated with a .22 pistol at a slant range of three feet before my 7-year-old son walking behind me knew anything was amiss.
This was the sight that greeted me when I snatched my little girl up as she was walking barefoot on the back patio.
We have a lake on the place, and that attracts them like locusts. I killed thirteen moccasins the first year we lived here and nine the next. I snatched my precious daughter up one time when her little bare pink foot was about to come down on one coiled up on the back patio. In my corner of heaven they’re literally everywhere.
Know Your Enemy
The Eastern Coral Snake is a relative to the krait, cobra, and mamba. Thankfully it is a reclusive docile creature.
There are four venomous snakes endemic to the US, only three of which are common. Coral snakes employ a neurotoxin akin to that of a cobra that is unimaginably lethal. However, coral snakes are by their nature docile and also fairly rare. I’ve never seen one in the wild. I’m told they have to gnaw on you a bit to do any real damage. The day I sit still and let a snake gnaw on me will be the day I vote Democrat.
This Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is the very living embodiment of “Don’t screw with me, dude!”
The real players are the pit vipers—copperheads, water moccasins, and rattlesnakes of sundry flavors. These animals employ a hemotoxin that breaks down tissues and disrupts blood clotting.
A proper snakebite can be breathtaking to behold.
Around 25% of poisonous snake bites are dry, meaning they do not involve envenomation. However, bites from pit vipers can produce some truly hideous wounds. I’ve seen a few as a physician, and snakebite is high up on my list of medical things I don’t want.
You think your job sucks? At least you’re not the poisonous snake milker. Imagine going to work and doing that every day.
Antivenin is trade-named CroFab, and it costs $3,198 per dose. CroFab is made by milking poisonous snakes and synthesizing the nasty bits out of the venom. This stuff is injected into sheep, and the subsequent antibodies are harvested, cleaned, and tested. These antibodies are then dehydrated and packaged as a powder.
CroFab works fairly well, but it costs a holy fortune.
CroFab is polyvalent. This means that this one drug treats bites from all three pit vipers. As a result positive identification of the snake in question is not necessary.
This is admittedly an extreme case of a young lady living in a third-world country without proper medical attention. However, left to their own devices snakebites can get plenty nasty.
Treating a snakebite can require a single dose of CroFab or quite a few. An article I read recently concerned a nine-year-old bitten on the big toe by a copperhead while at summer camp in Illinois. She kept the toe. However, her entire hospital stay cost $142,938. A friend bitten in the hand by a water moccasin ultimately shelled out $36,000 for the privilege. Did I mention that I really hate venomous snakes?
The Engagement
Little will cure what ails you faster than a vigorous stroll through a pretty stand of woods. I never strike out without a firearm.
My bride and I walk around my rural farm about five days a week. I invariably carry a gun. This particular day I chose a really nice suppressed .22 rifle from TacSol. I slapped a ten-round magazine in place and called it good.
In my experience water moccasins typically swim with their bodies high in the water and their heads extended. They are fairly easily distinguished from the harmless water snakes that share much of their coloration.
We struck out around the lake and saw a real monster as soon as we got near the water. He was swimming across the lake with his head held unnaturally high. Moccasins do that. He was heading away from me at a slant. If he got to the far bank I’d likely lose him. I’d conservatively estimate his size as breathtakingly gigantic.
A moving cottonmouth doesn’t offer much of a target.
I ran around the lake but could only get within about fifty meters before the brush got thick. I stopped, took a few deep breaths to steady my heart, and drew a bead off-hand. The snake was moving so I had to lead him just a hair.
Water moccasins have a characteristic speckled belly. This 5.5-foot beast is six inches short of the world record for a cottonmouth. Sheesh.
The first round was right off his nose. The second was a bit behind. The third centerpunched the monster’s head. It sounded like I had hit a side of beef with a boat paddle. The massive snake rolled, showing me its cream-colored speckled belly. I jogged over close, found a small hole in the brush, and hit him with a single round of insurance amidships. A stream of bubbles erupted, and he headed down to meet Old Hob.
Trust me, this stuff shoots straight. However, turns out I needed more than ten rounds this particular day.
I caught my breath, suddenly feeling really good about being me. My beautiful bride had that “My hero!” look in her captivating eyes. One less water moccasin meant the world was now a better place. However, I needed some more ammo.
This top notch TacSol rifle fed quality ammo is a snake-slaying machine.
I jogged back to the house and dropped a box of fifty Federal Premium Hunter Match hollowpoints in my pocket. As I headed back to meet my wife I saw number two.
This particular day there was a bit of an infestation.
This one was almost but not quite as big as the first. He was heading across the lake at a leisurely pace. This time I could quietly slip around to roughly where the serpent planned to make landfall. He stopped about twenty-five meters out, curled his head back, and stared at me all hungry-like. I popped him between the eyes with a single round. My security shot pithed his gut, but he still floated.
A water moccasin actually has a fetching hide once it is properly prepared. I soak mine generously in glycerin and alcohol before stretching them on a board.
If the hides aren’t terribly perforated I like skinning these things. The entrails smell like rotten fish, and you want to mind the pokey bits at the front. However, soak the skins in a 50/50 mixture of glycerin and rubbing alcohol and then stretch them out on a board and they’re quite pretty. The last couple of nice ones I had got eaten by something in my workshop. This would make a splendid replacement.
Number three made his debut as I paddled out to fetch number two.
I ran over and mounted the canoe to fetch the demised beast. About halfway there number three broke cover and started trekking left to right. I paddled like a madman on an intercept course. Once within about twenty meters I swapped my paddle for my rifle and judged the geometry of the engagement.
This is the Goalkeeper CIWS (Close-In Weapon System). This automated close-range anti-aircraft/anti-missile system has got nothing on the human brain.
The snake was moving left to right, while the canoe was slowing down of its own accord. I was about to launch a 40-grain bullet at about 1,000 fps from a moving platform at a moving target. Churning through all that math would have been a Gordian chore for a computerized fire control system. However, the system God designed that perches atop my homely shoulders managed it all in an instant. I blew this guy’s head off with a single round. Three up, three down, all in the span of ten minutes.
The Gun
This is a simply magnificent .22 rifle. It costs a holy fortune. However, you get what you pay for. The gun is just stupid quiet, and it shoots like a laser.
A brace of c-notes will land you a fabulous base model Ruger 10/22 from your local Walmart. This gun shoots straight and well. Many’s the burgeoning shooter has cut his or her teeth on such an entry-level smoke pole. However, the suppressed TacSol X-Ring Takedown rifle is the .22 rifle for professionals.
The oversized charging handle can be arranged on either side.
Everything about this gun is literally perfect. The extended charging handle is reversible. I keep mine on the left so I can run it with my weak hand.
The TacSol X-Ring Takedown rifle breaks down and then snaps together for handy storage or portage.
The Magpul X-22 Backpacker furniture is indestructible and nicely executed. Lock the bolt to the rear, pull forward on a spring-loaded stud, give the barrel a twist, and the gun breaks in half for storage. The front half snaps into the bottom of the stock to make a nice compact package. Assembly takes less time to undertake than to describe.
The extended magazine release is handy and easy to use.Three standard ten-round rotary magazines ride comfortably inside the Magpul stock.
The 6061-T6 aluminum receiver has a built-in 15-MOA Picatinny rail for optics, and there’s a rear port for cleaning access. The Ruger BX trigger breaks like a prom queen’s heart, while the extended magazine release makes mag changes fast and painless. The all-up weight of this gun is a paltry 3.7 pounds, so it is easy to tote.
The fiber optic front sight mounted to the suppressor is both easily accessed and patented.
My X-Ring Takedown rifle also sports a TacSol TSS integrally-suppressed barrel. This suppressor is the same diameter as a bull barrel, so it fits the Backpacker stock perfectly. It also includes a top-end set of fiber optic sights mounted both front and rear.
TacSol offers a full line of .22 suppressors. The Pac-Lite IV integrally suppressed upper (left) is a drop-in upgrade for the Ruger 22/45 pistol. The Aeris micro rimfire suppressor is proper 007 kit.
The can is aluminum, while the entrails are titanium. It is just stupid quiet. I can shoot this thing all day long without plugs in complete comfort.
Ruminations
A rifle this awesome deserves a nice piece of glass. This Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25-4x20mm scope drives this remarkable rifle out to its max effective range.
I topped my Rolls Royce rifle off with a Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25-4x20mm optic. All up this rig is just crazy expensive. However, it carries like it’s not there, shoots like a laser, and lets me leave my muffs at home. I can consistently hit a target the size of my thumb on the move at fifty meters so long as I do my part.
The cottonmouth water moccasin is a simply horrible creature. While I’m a pretty live and let live sort of guy, I don’t care for these things infesting my backyard.
Thanks to my TacSol rig there are currently three fewer deadly creatures wandering around my world waiting to poke me with poison. I’m stoked. That and my wife now thinks I’m kind of awesome.
This DIY Form 1 cut-down side-by-side 12 gauge loaded with Aguila minishells used to be my primary counter-snake weapon. My TacSol X-Ring Takedown rifle has lots more reach.
