Weak Shoulder

[Moltke]

How much does anyone on here practice weak shoulder shooting (rifle or shotgun)?

I hardly ever see it in local or major competitions, and as a result I hardly practice it.

[Bryan 45]

I practice SUPPORT shoulder for rifle a decent amount because I see it as a beneficial skill to possess. Shotgun not so much. I got to shoot with Bennie Cooley a few years ago in Texas and on one particular stage, he went support side because he's so freaking fast doing it, while the rest of us held way back in the shooting area to squeak a few rounds past the barricade using strong side.

From a match director and stage building standpoint it's tough to force. Guys my height have to go to support side more often than guys that are 6'+ just due to body mechanics. It's always an option to use the WSB to force support side shooting, but I really don't like mandating a position just by the stroke of the keyboard.

You make a good point though and I think we'll build something for our next match that's really lefty friendly.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Bryan 45

[D.Hayden]

We had a match this weekend, one stage was long guns were weak side, pistol was weak hand

Shooting wasn't that bad, but getting into position and reloading, etc.. definitely threw a lot of people off.

Shotgun slugs, weak side, were probably the worst

[LoganbillJ]

I am like Bryan when it comes to mandating shooting positions. Most generally I force things without writing it in the WSB. That said I did make an exception for our last monthly match where the theme was awkward positions. Stage 1 had each target array split down the middle, 7 shots on each side of the wall. Right side from right shoulder, left side from left shoulder. Was interesting to see how people handled it.

https://youtu.be/M86NgXK4owk?t=5s

[7.62mm]

I practice weak shoulder shotgun shooting all the time. Also loading with my right hand and gun in my left/weak hand. It doesn't get used very often in matches, but it can be a significant advantage when I am able to capitalize on it. I see shooters doing all kinds of acrobatics trying to shoot around a wall/obstacle off their strong shoulder, more often than not they take multiple shots at a difficult to get target.

Being right eye dominate, i have to close my right eye while shooting weak shoulder.

[AFguywhoshoots]

We had a stage that we had to shoot all weak hand a couple of months ago. I was glad I had put some practice into weak hand shooting. That was my best stage all day. I was practicing it pretty frequently in anticipation of the Ironman, but they dropped that stage.

[Moltke]

So far in a match I've only switched to rifle weak shoulder once when I wasn't mandated to, and there's been a few times when I've forgot the weak shoulder mandate altogether taking some ridiculously high penalties.

If you're practicing weak shoulder as a regular thing how much time do you spend on it and how slow are you on it compared to strong side rifle / shotgun?

Edited July 28, 2015 by Moltke

[CJW]

I have rarely (maybe twice, total) seen support side rifle required for a stage, though I have also seen a few stages that offered the chance to avoid moving down to an extra shooting position if you wanted to take some shots farther uprange form the support shoulder (i.e., stages that were actually left-hand advantageous, so go figure...). That's rare enough I haven't practiced it.

I have seen rather more support side shotgun required stages—especially at shotgun only matches—but I've done well enough at those I haven't felt the need to put extra practice in with it. For what it is worth, I can already deuce load either strong or weak hand (I only quad load strong hand), so when I had to shoot the shotgun off my left shoulder, it actually worked out that I could do roll-over "support" hand (meaning my actual strong hand) deuce loading without any problems. I think loading a shotgun from the wrong side would be worth trying to see how much you need to practice it.

Now, if somebody told me I had to shoot aerials with a support side shotgun, I might feel the need to get some practice in with that.

[Matt in TN]

Every time I shoot around the left side of a wall, I shoot from the left shoulder - because I agree that it's a good skill to have. I used to think it was awkward, slow, and less accurate - but after watching some videos of myself I found that it only FELT slow and awkward. I actually made better hits faster than my strong side shoulder. Go figure...

[Jadeslade]

All the time. Necessary skill set.

[Bryan 45]

How often do I practice it? Enough that it doesn't feel funny and I feel reasonably comfortable with my accuracy shooting support side.

[TonytheTiger]

I will shoot my rifle left handed around a barrier if it saves me from finding another position or doing some wild contortions, so I do occasionally practice close stuff with the rifle. But I will almost certainly engage any long range hard to see targets lefty because my left eye is way better than my right, so I practice getting into lefty positions frequently, but the shooting aspect feels the same as right handed. So far I have avoided shooting shotgun lefty and I intend to continue doing so at all costs.