Did Jesse James ever shoot w a 2 fisted grip ? Wyatt Earp ? Clint ?

[georgepittenger]

Billy the Kid , Wild Bill Hickok , Pat Garrett , John Wesley Hardin ?

Well did they ?

Sadly , only one of them fellas was ever recorded on film , so we'll never REALLY know ( unless David Lapell can chime in ! ) .

But I suspect that they did not .

And what's good enough for them is good enough for me . The heck w conventional "wisdom"

Not too long ago I acquired a well used Colt Police Positive .38 Special . The gent that I got it from suggested I try shooting it one handed .
Not only is it a small gun , but the grips are very small .

So being the ever dashing duelist that I am , I gave it a whirl . And that lil' gun just continues to amaze . It is very , very , accurate - even w me shooting it !

Now I have shot semis for quite a spell . But this six-shooter game is still somewhat new to me .

After always following the herd and practicing good aims-man-ship I got competent w semis .

But shooting my revolvers I -
* have not shot as well as I would like to
* have been somewhat inconsistent from session to session
* have never felt TOTALLY comfortable shooting w a 2 handed grip .

So today I visited the range w an assortment of revolvers and shot them all 1 handed .

And I shot better than I ever have w revolvers . Yahoo !

So I do believe that the one handed duel stance will be my standard approach .

Perhaps we have some "cowboy" shooters that can chime in w their insight ?


Regards ,
George

[DocZeus]

Two-Handed Shooting is great for targets....Not so much for targets that shoot back or try to otherwise physically assault you.

Practicing one-handed is a must, especially if one carries concealed......Your other hand may be busy fending off an attacker, or at least holding them back until you can "clear leather". The trick is, not letting them get that close, if possible.....but seldom are things that happen on the street "textbook"; they usually happen VERY fast, and are violent, so plan (AND TRAIN) accordingly. It's also a good idea to train shooting with your WEAK hand, in case your strong one is injured. Revolvers really SHINE in this area, no pesky safeties/mag catchs to manipulate with the "wrong" hand, in a pucker situation, no less.

Good Post.

DocZeus
AKA
David

[MOONDAWG]

Nope...

Two fisted gunfighting didn't take off till the mid to late 60's outta Big Bear California leather slaps with the likes of Jack Weaver (of Weaver stance fame), Ltcol. Jeff Cooper, Ray Chapman Thell Reed et al.

[Waidmann]

George, "two-handed" shooting is the post WWII product of Messrs. Jack Weaver (initially) and Jeff Cooper in the ecliped Southwest Combat Pistol League. I know of no pedecessors.

While the "Weaver stance" seems to dominate today, wasn't always so.

Per usual Doc has some excellent points.

Bill

[Oldgungeezer]

Hi All:

I grew-up shooting single actions...........one handed (except serious target work and often even then).

It wasn't until the 1970's that I began to frequently use two hands (Weaver) as I made the transition from single action to double action shooting.

Nowadays, I shoot both ways (depending upon how I feel at the moment and how badly I want to kill/mutilate those nasty BG aluminum cans).

If I'm shooting rapid fire double action, invariably I'll use two hands..........slow fire, either one or two hands will suffice.

I'm not the only one here that has been shooting lots of handgun rounds for many years and most will agree that at this stage of our lives, much of our shooting/plinking (either with one or two hands) has become mostly "instinct". If I'm sighting something in, or otherwise shooting for precision (such as punching paper), I'll take measures to shoot as accurately as possible........thus using whatever best stance suits the situation. On the other hand (for most plinking scenarios), I'll shoot instinctively, with a quick sight acquisition and trigger pull........when the can jumps, I'm satisfied.............I might be holding the gun with one or both hands.

Besides, the old eyes ain't what they used to be.......so to me at this stage, rapid accurate sight picture acquisition isn't quite the same as it used to be........I now practice instinct shooting, one or two handed (which ever is more comfortable and makes sense at the moment).

Yes, these days it may be harder for me to shoot the eyes out of a buzzard, but I'll still hit him in the head........with one or two hands.

It just dawned on me, I've been Blessed with steady hands.........and if someone has "the shakes", it would probably be better for that person to use a two handed hold.

Best Regards,

Geezer

[Injunbro]

In his old age Wyatt Earp wrote of some of his escapades & said he rested the long barrel of his Colt over his left arm to steady his aim during some of the shooting scrapes he was involved in. This has led to a bunch of speculation whether he used a Buntline Special (one was given to him by Ned Buntline). That's not truly a two-hand hold but he did steady it w/ his weak hand. Jesse James & Wild Bill Hickok used a revolver in each hand so it's a moot point.

[Iggy]

I practiced both methods with an unloaded gun daily before going to work. I fired at least a dozen draw and fire drills on my days off. It got to be almost instinctive and got me home more than once.

I got so good that one night on a prowler call I was going through a vacant house and bumped a door. There was an ironing board behind the door and it started pushing the door toward me.

I jumped aside and shined my light behind the door, and saw an man with a flashlight and a gun aimed at me. It was a tie. The city replaced the full length mirror and patched the wall.

[FLETCH3913]

one hand, two hands,strong hand, weak hand you need to work with all of these to be prepared for what is comeing at you. the only constant in this life we have is that you do not know what is waiting around the next corner. all we can do is practice and try to prepare as best we can.

[FlaRon]

Jesse James using a two handed grip.......

Sons of Guns - Jesse James - YouTube

[georgepittenger]

Jesse James using a two handed grip.......

Sons of Guns - Jesse James - YouTube

Ron ,

Not that loser , you idjit .

Anybody that would cheat on sweetie Sandra Bullock , must surely be out of his mind .

Though her choice in mates must also be called into question ..............


Regards ,
George