The Importance of Shooting One-Handed

One of the most important consideration in choosing a defensive handgun should be your ability to run it effectively with one hand. There are two main reasons: 1) You might not have both hands available due to an injury before or during the fight and 2) You may have to fire before the support hand can reach the strong hand.

Here’s a checklist for evaluating the suitability of a handgun for one-handed use:

Can you handle the recoil? With revolver, do you lose the grip with every shot? With a semi-auto, do you get stovepipe jams regularly?
Can you reach the trigger, especially in double action position? In the picture below, the shooter can pull only with the pad of the finger, resulting in insufficient leverage and poor accuracy.

cz-P01_DA_0425 — CZ P01 can be fired in single action mode even by shooter with small hands. It is not suitable for them in double action mode.

Can you manipulate the essential controls without altering your grip? Sig P210, an otherwise excellent pistol, has a safety that’s too far froward to be reachable by most people.

Although it is possible to reach the safety with the fingertip, most people don't have enough leverage to engage or disengage it. — Although it is possible to reach the safety with the fingertip, most people don’t have enough leverage to engage or disengage it.

Can you hold up and balance the gun to aim accurately? Very front-heavy weapons can be problematic.

While two-handed firing is more effective, do check how one-hand friendly your handgun would be. It may be important for real-life uses.

Oleg Volk

Oleg Volk is currently a writer for AllOutdoor who has chosen not to write a short bio at this time.