Aiming for weak hand shooting?

[abq87120]

I've shot several IDPA and USPSA stages where weak hand shooting was required. Weak hand is left handed for me. Does anyone have any tips for where to aim on the silhouette to get close to the sweet spot? Left shoulder? Right shoulder? Most of my shots were completely off the silhouette. Not good, lol.

[3gungeezer]

Practice shooting weak hand. There should be NO point of impact change due to change of hand.

[ProGunGuy]

for me i have to aim at the C area to have them fall into the A when shooting weak handed.

[toothguy]

Your point of aim should be the same. It's really important to get a moderately firm, consistent grip. When you transfer the gun to the weak hand get it as high as possible and in the same place each time. Find a high grip position that points naturally so you don't waist time searching for the sights. Grip the gun firmly with the two middle fingers, the trigger finger is independent and not part of the grip. Since your weak hand is your left, shift your weight forward on your on the left leg. lock your elbow joint and concentrate on pulling the trigger straight back, keeping the grip constant. Some shooters tilt the gun slightly in towards the body, for a more natural wrist angle.

It takes a lot of practice. Rest a lot, the shoulder gets tired pretty quickly.

Edited April 14, 2013 by toothguy

[Hi-Power Jack]

Most of my shots were completely off the silhouette.

I've found that left hand shooting, my shots tend to move a little to one side,

but if you're missing the entire target - it's not the aim point that's the problem,

IMHO.

It's trigger control. You have to squeeze the trigger slower than usual, and

make sure the sights stay on the target until the sights rise (shot breaks).

Try some dry firing - you'll see the gun twitch and leave the target when you

first start shooting weak hand. Have to slow it all down for weak hand - but

practice makes it easier/more consistent.

Good luck.

[old506]

I dry fire it every single day. I also like to tuck my elbow under the gun so the sights recoil up and down. When you cant the gun gangsta style the gun recoils at an angle which will give you a very inconsistent return of the front sight. I also like to shoot at 50 yards every once in awhile, it gives you a pretty good perspective.

[WrxGuy90]

+1 for tilting the gun inward. This helped me a lot. A RO told me that trick after I shot a stage that required it. After the match was over since it was a local event I asked if I could give her a shot one more time and they agreed. First time I hit 6/6 shots and two each in a,c, and d. Not consistent at all. second time, 6/6 four of which were in the a (granted one bc it broke the line) the other two c

[Not-So-Mad Matt]

Does anyone have any tips for where to aim on the silhouette to get close to the sweet spot? Left shoulder? Right shoulder? Most of my shots were completely off the silhouette. Not good, lol.

You should be aiming at the same spot as always, the middle of the "down zero" ring or the the "alpha" box. If you're missing the whole target, you really need to dry-fire one-handed. Also, when I was first starting out, I found that one-handed dry-fire gave me a lot more feedback than two-handed, because the gun moved so much more.

[GmanCdp]

Practice bringing the gun over more towards your dominate eye,then just shoot like you do strong hand..Try it!

Read this thread basically same thing..

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=170697

Edited April 17, 2013 by GmanCdp

[ChuckB]

If I shoot week handed with my dominate eye my shots are way off. I just close my right eye. I actually close it as soon as possible (usally before "shooter ready") so that my sights are on as I index just as if I was shooting right handed (well except that I have an eye closed). If I close it after or during the index I have to search for the sights.

I'll have to try shooting with the gun further to the right.

[ryanbanks]

i just shake a bunch and hope the bullet goes where i want it to go

[my00wrx1]

i just shake a bunch and hope the bullet goes where i want it to go

How's that working for you?

I have started dry firing this last week and I have already seen a significant improvement is speed and accuracy.

[bill o]

I have a similar issue. I have to aim at the left edge of the target at 10 yards to get A's. The gun recoils straight to the right.

[frag316]

*shrugs* Most of this is due to pure inexperience. Take some off-the-clock live fire time. Figure out how to hold the gun and aim it CONVENTIONALLY with your off hand. If your dominant hand and eye are on the same side, experiment with canting the gun about 45 degrees (not gangsta, which is 90) or tucking your chin into your offside shoulder (brings the eye into line with the sights). You need to figure out how you're going to hold the gun when you shoot this way.

Once you get that down, do dry practice to draw and transfer the gun to your off hand. You need to establish the same grip and stance from the normal starting positions (downrange relaxed and surrender, up-range relaxed and surrender, loaded from table, unloaded from table).

For my part, when I shoot in my off (left) hand, I generally put my left foot forward and lean a little more into the shot(s). My right hand is about the center of my chest. I cant the gun about 10-15 degrees and turn my chin into my left shoulder to line up the sights. I establish as high of a grip as I can and ensure I'm riding the safety (I shoot 1911s primarily).

This may or may not work for you. You'll need to experiment and establish what works best.

[pjb45]

Strong/weak hand shooting can be brutal, even if you practice it a lot.

Taran once told me to aim at the A/C edge because invariably you will push the trigger and the hit will drift into the A zone. This is pretty good advice.

I followed up with Taran and set about learning to shoot S/W equally well.

I practice with a .22 on a 4 inch plate rack. I may start at the 15 yard mark and move out to the 23 yard mark. This practice really lets you know what is right and wrong with your technique. Visual patience was an issue for me in the beginning. Now I pretty much align my sights in the A zone-POA is pretty close to POI

Now, when I come to a stage with S/W shooting I smile, I know I will rock the stage. The 1000s rounds of .22 has greatly enhanced my skill and confidence.

I strongly recommend using a .22 for practice. You can use paper plates in lieu of an actual plate rack.

As a side note, I use a TS upper so the trigger and grip are exactly the same as my Limited/SS/Open gun. My skill did improve when I first started using my Buckmark but the TS is awesome for training.