Train That Weak Hand
IN CARRYING A handgun every day to protect the lives and safety of your loved ones, you also carry the responsibility to properly prepare for such an eventuality. Most handgun owners merely punch paper and I rarely see one on a range practising with the weak hand to engage targets. The ability to use your weak hand has numerous advantages. It will ensure that you remain in the fight even if your strong hand/arm has been injured during the attack. It also opens your mind to learning new techniques and helps you to identify weaknesses.
An example of such a ‘weakness’ might be your choice of pistol or revolver. Let, I try to fire at least a few rounds from my weak hand; I have found that most handguns do not perform similarly when fired from opposite hands. Your weak-hand grip will probably not be as firm as that of your strong hand, and this can cause problems, the most common being the pistol ‘smoke-stacking’ or failing to feed. This is because your weak hold offers less resistance to the recoil, so the pistol frame moves back almost as rapidly as the slide, which therefore does not cycle with sufficient alacrity. In the case of a handgun with a very small grip, such as a J-frame revolver (snubby), a weaker hold can result in your inability to properly control the weapon when using full-power loads. During recoil, the grip shifts in the hand, leaving the barrel pointing upwards, thus requiring you to correct your hold before firing a second shot. If you are unable to control the small-gripped revolver with your weak hand, you must change to a larger aftermarket grip or perhaps replace the revolver with something more appropriate. The same goes for pistols.
