When’s the last time you wrote with your non-dominant hand? How about brushed your teeth that way? Maybe ate a bowl of soup? If you haven’t used your less-preferred hand for some fine motor tasks, perhaps you should consider doing so sometime. In fact, research shows that if you utilize your non-dominant hand to accomplish even mundane, everyday tasks, you’re activating your brain in new and unique ways — and that’s good for overall brain health. Of course, using that not-as-coordinated appendage to engage with a smartphone app or mix the chocolate chip cookie dough likely won’t make you any smarter, but challenging your brain to make a few changes or to try something different can be beneficial for just that reason: It’s a challenge.
If your brain is ready for that challenge, then it’s time to put in some shooting practice with your non-dominant hand. In the firearms world, many people call training with the non-dominant hand “weak-handed shooting.” However, let’s not completely dismiss or underestimate the appendage we don’t typically favor for most tasks. Your support hand is very useful. And while your dominant hand may be more proficient at precision, your non-dominant hand may be better suited for strength and stability. So, for our purposes, we’ll just call it “wrong-handed shooting” since it will definitely feel a bit off to your brain.
How to Shoot With Your Non-Dominant Hand
All that being said, you never know when there might be a situation that would require you to use your wrong hand. For instance, you might be injured, you might be carrying or holding something, you might be shielding or protecting a loved one, or you might be attempting to shoot around a barrier. These situations — and more — could make a typical two-handed, dominant hold of your firearm (or even a one-handed dominant grip) less efficient or even impossible. For this reason, be sure to try both supported and one-handed shooting with that lesser-used hand. In other words, if you are right-handed, use your left hand to properly grip the gun and then add in your right hand as the support hand. This can feel very weird, but it’s a great way to activate the brain in new ways while working on shooting fundamentals.
You can also drop the support hand altogether and work on one-handed shooting with your non-dominant hand only. Just be ready to make any necessary adjustments to manage the recoil with only one hand. Without a support hand helping with your grip, stabilizing the gun and helping with recoil management, the gun will move very differently. So be prepared — especially on the first shot. Make sure you have a firm grip on and control over that firearm. You may also need to adjust your stance a bit for more stability.
For instance, you might move your lead foot forward for better control and balance. You might also find it helpful to slightly cant or tilt your gun for better control. Turning the gun toward your thumb side may help provide better control and absorb recoil better. Also be sure that the hand and arm that are not in use are not in the way. For this, you could imagine your arm is injured and hanging close to your side, you could hold onto something, or you could simply press your unused hand into your side or your chest to ensure it’s out of the way while you’re shooting.
Practicing ‘Wrong-Handed Shooting’
As far as targets and distances are concerned, challenge yourself appropriately for your abilities and skills. If this is something new, feel free to start out with closer distances (about 3 to 5 yards) and a larger target (such as an 8-inch high-center-chest area). If you’ve done this wrong-handed shooting activity before, try a smaller target or greater distances. Begin with one round at a time, then add in strings of fire. You can also start out with your non-dominant hand supported, take a few shots, then drop the support hand for a few more rounds with the non-dominant hand only. If you feel especially up to a challenge and would like to test your skills against statistics surrounding gunfights, work your way up to getting three rounds at 3 yards in three seconds with that non-dominant hand.
No matter what targets or methods of timing you employ, be sure to look at your shots and groups. If you’re making hits and your groups have started to reliably tighten up, you can speed up or incorporate other drills into your shooting practice. And make sure to have fun. Being “wrong” has never felt so right!
