There is more than one way to skin a cat, perform a task, or fire a gun.  Over at Armory-Life, you can find a series of four articles I wrote on two-handed shooting stances.  

The first part explains the rationale of knowing different stances and being able to apply them to different situations.

Part 2 focuses on the classic Weaver stance.

In Part 3 I went into the most popular and proven of the “modified Weaver” stances, the Chapman method.

And finally, in the last installment, I discussed the Isosceles stance in its various interpretations.

How do you prefer to shoot a handgun?

36 COMMENTS

  1. I’m not sure if it was you who published the results of the OPOTA video reviews, but the use of the isosceles turned out to overpower the Weaver they taught in training in their shoot house tactical exercise. Or at least it did over 4 yards. Under 4 yards everyone shot one handed. That would seem to make practicing strictly 2 handed shooting problematic. One doesn’t always have 2 hands available to dedicate to the gun. The advent of soft body armor also caused a lot conversions to isosceles as it maximized the protection.

    I taught-and still do- a lot of isosceles after we abandoned Weaver, but included isometric tension in the stance. It seems to help a great many folks. As you’ve noted, sometimes you have to adapt to physical abilities or your tactical situation.

    The arrival of heavier rated hard armor caused me to alter the isosceles slightly. When you can’t get your hands together with locked out arms, the best solution seems to be flexing the elbows. Doesn’t seem to matter much if you’re flexing vertically or horizontally, either work. Recoil control seems marginally better than with the arms locked out. Tactical Police Competition showed me that the flexed elbows and a vertical lift to eye level is much faster than the bowling for dollars rotation of extended arms and less likely to be blocked. Also the way to go should you follow the trend to optical sights on your handguns.

  2. The Isosceles, just like you taught me and I have taught others for years.
    Stronger stance, better accuracy.

    Great article !!

  3. I tried to learn the Weaver stance in your course. Did not seem at all natural to me. When in the relatively calm space of a range in a training I couldn’t remember how to do it. In a life/death emergency I wouldn’t even think of trying it.

    There may be something to be said for the Weaver stance for the professional who can train to adopt this stance as second nature. But for the average carrier, if it doesn’t seem natural, I don’t see how it serves a useful purpose.

  4. Unless I consciously decide otherwise, my go-to is isosceles. When I am thinking about stance I may bend my left elbow a bit and put my left foot a little ahead of the right, but I’m not sure my best shooting falls into what any would call Weaver or Chapman; it’s more like a modified isosceles.

  5. I use a Weaver Stance, myself. My stance is bladed (one foot forward of the other) and I don’t lock either of my arms straight.

    The Weaver Stance is a natural “fighting” stance as used in boxing and martial arts. The “Push and Pull” action works to tame recoil. Especially, with more powerful handguns like the .357 Mag., .44 Mag. and .45 ACP caliber pistols.

    However, the main reason that I use it is because it feels “natural” to me. I grew up shooting long guns (Air Rifles, .22 Rifles, Shotguns, etc.). The Weaver is, basically, the same stance that you would assume in shooting a long gun except adapted to hold a pistol.

    All that “muscle memory”, built up over years of long gun shooting, makes the Weaver a natural fit for me.

    For someone without such extensive “long gun” experience, the Isosceles Stance has a lot to offer. Especially if one wears body armor. The Isosceles is not bladed and so offers maximum protection from a frontal armor plate. So, one understands why the Isosceles is popular with law enforcement agencies and the military.

    None of which applies to me. I would seldom wear armor so would prefer a bladed stance to minimize target area to an opponent. Plus, I have been doing the Weaver so long that I would automatically do it under stress. As we all know, under stress, you will automatically do what you have trained yourself to do. For years, I have trained myself to automatically go to the Weaver.

    I am too old of dog to change now.

  7. Mas, thank you for your input on Shooting Stances. Your participation and range championships over the years help make you the Real Deal.
    I am proud of my recent prediction that Mr. Putin would be dismissed shortly. Our President just concurred in calling for Regime Change in Russia. Bound to gain momentum. Mr. Biden may remind one of Forrest Gump, but never mind that if Putin is shortly retired. Do not argue with success, eh? Just focus on the results. Maybe Biden will remember to give Trump a little credit, instead of blaming him for the Great Flood, the San Francisco Earthquake, etc. I imagine that Putin considers himself another Abe Lincoln. Maybe he will remember what happened to Honest Abe, too?

    • Hey, don’t badmouth Vladimir “Ras” Putin about his nefarious deeds. The little Russian dude only acted on the bad advice of his good friend and subordinate, Donald Trump who was his roommate at the KGB academy when they were young fanatical Communists.

      But don’t worry. Crooked Joe with some help from Aunt Kamala, and doctors Biden and Fauci will eventually lead the free world to victory over “Ras” Putin and his evil sidekick Donaldmir Trumpolov. The Donald is so envious of Crooked Joe’s press secretary Jen “Pumpkin Head” Psaki whose hair is a more pronounced orange color than his. 🙁

      • Thanks Roger. I will remember to thank all the little people (my writing staff) who made this possible when I accept my award in Follywood next week.

      • @Tom606 – Just be careful not to slap anybody when you pick up that Follywood award.

        Although it does seem to be an excellent method to draw the attention of our worthless Anti-American Media. So, if you prescribe to the theory that “all press is good press”, then slap away. Most everyone in Follywood, and in the media too, deserves to be slapped IMHO! 🙂

      • TN_MAN,

        It’s OK to slap people now, or do most anything to them, as long as you are in an American city. Crime is now legal in American cities. I know this idea takes some getting used to. Outside US cities, one should still obey the law, for now.

      • Hey, at least the slapper and slappee were of the same race in this case.

        Imagine the mass hysteria if a lighter hued guy struck a darker one? Michael Jackson doesn’t apply in this situation. What would happen if a gorgeous white actress like Kate Beckinsale sucker punched an ugly ebony princess like Whoopi Goldberg? All freaking Hell would break loose and there would be immediate demands to burn Kate at the stake. My Johnny Cochran imitation here.

    • Was your comment on Biden giving Putin the “heave-ho” meant to be “tongue-in-cheek”? Sometimes, I can’t tell. Certainly, Biden does have the IQ of a Forrest Gump, at least on his good days, but comparing Putin (even in his own fevered mind) to Abe Lincoln is hard to visualize even as sarcasm.

      This article gives a more accurate appraisal of the current American leadership class. It details and identifies the behavior of the “Swamp Creatures” quite well:

      https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/03/the_hostile_takeover_of_the_republican_party_will_continue.html

    • Strategic Steve,

      I’ve been trying to guess what RasPutin might do if he feels threatened of losing power or losing the war in Ukraine. My guess is that he is not crazy enough to go nuclear, or even chemical, but he might try to do us a lot of harm with cyber attacks. Could Russia really shut down our whole power grid by computer hacking? I don’t know, but he could create a lot of havoc by hacking government sites and businesses, I suppose.

      For some reason, America never seems to suffer as much as other countries do. The people in Mariupol have been going through my worst nightmare for the past three weeks; no electricity, no food, no water, and Russian soldiers trying to kill them. It reminds me of the suffering during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII. In America, I see September 11th, 2001, Hurricane Katrina and SuperStorm Sandy as real disasters, but they didn’t affect the whole country. Our whole country is suffering from bad leadership, high prices and inflation, crime in cities, and some minor shortages, but our suffering is bearable right now. Will it get worse? It might, but America always seems to triumph. I don’t know what the future holds, so I prepare for the worst, as far as my budget allows. But societal collapse, zombie apocalypse, economic meltdown, civil war and Mad Max scenarios never seem to materialize.

      • The Book of Revelation seems to be the most reliable prophecy. Tells what will happen, but not exactly when. Cool water seems to be what people will be looking for. One solace might be that things could always be worse. Not so good, though, if we don’t know exactly how bad. Just amazing how badly corrupt politicians and propagandists can mess up a perfectly good country. Divine inspiration has produced the best results in the past, but keeps getting pushed to the back burner. The immanence of God is the most powerful possible solution to all problems. Yes, what is it, and what does it mean?

      • I see some rough times ahead for us in America and it all leads back to Crooked Joe and his hidden puppeteers. Vladimir “Ras” Putin would have never invaded Ukraine if Donald Trump was still in the White House. The problems with crime, inflation, illegal invaders, supply chain issues, worker shortages, etc. would probably still be present under Trump, but nowhere near as bad as it is with Crooked Joe in the Oval Office.

        Concerning the situation in Ukraine, Russia will employ cyber attacks on the U.S.A. and could cause serious problems for us with the power grid and anything that depends on computers. Our food supply could also be greatly affected as much of the fertilizer we use on farms is produced in Russia and a shortage of that would lower crop yields, which in turn would affect livestock and the production of ethanol. Crooked Joe’s cutting back on domestic oil production affects everything as numerous items are based on petroleum products and gasoline/diesel fuel is needed to transport those items to factories and markets.

        I would advise my friends to lay in a good supply of non-perishable foods (don’t forget grub for pets), some water and a way to purify water, such as bleach or iodine tablets. An extra week or two supply of prescription medications wouldn’t hurt either. A gas/propane or solar powered generator would come in handy if there’s a problem with the power grid, which in America should be fairly short term. Also, don’t forget saboteurs may be busy setting fires or blowing up stuff when they are directed to. Remember, there are many thousands of people who have been allowed to invade our country and we have no idea who they are or what their intentions are. I don’t need to mention acquiring more guns, ammunition, and related supplies to anyone on this blog but a decent stash of precious metals in various types would be comforting to have in case things go very bad or last longer than expected.

        A disruption or shortage in the food supply will really cause havoc in America, especially in urban areas. Expect normal people to transform into ravenous savages when they have little or nothing to eat. Bad people will became even more vicious than usual and prey on their neighbors first, then spread out to the suburbs and farms in armed hordes to loot and cause mayhem wherever they roam. There will not be enough police to enforce the law and many of those cops will be looking out for their own families instead of going to work. It’s every person for themselves, so be prepared.

        Also for you physically lazy bums out there, start exercising and get in better shape. If things do go really bad, you will need the stamina to fight or move quickly and running out of breath or suffering a heart attack during combat is not a good thing.

        Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. God help us all (or the good folks anyway).

      • Tom606,

        Spot on! I heard Joe Fox of Viking Preparedness say Russian hackers could attack targets here in America, or other hackers could attack us and make it look like Russia is doing the hacking. Lots of deception out there.

      • While BLM, Antifa and Company are given a pretty free hand to riot and burn in the “Blue” States and Cities, it is sometimes a different story in the “Red” States where a residue of respect for law and order still exists. For example, see this story:

        https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/03/man-sentenced-to-five-years-for-trying-to-burn-down-nashville-city-hall-during-george-floyd-riot/

        This despite the fact that Nashville (along with Memphis) represent ugly blue stains on an otherwise deep red Tennessee.

      • Memphis may be a deep blue metropolis (just look at the makeup of the population), but it’s still a Holy City, a Mecca of the western hemisphere, the location of Graceland, home of The King who rumor has it, still wanders the hallways as a benevolent poltergeist wearing blue suede shoes made for spirits. The scent of his favorite peanut butter, fried egg, and banana sandwiches still permeates the air inside the revered mansion, which is just a shack compared to Oprah’s 100+ room palatial French style compound.

  8. Way back in the Army with my first 1911 I tried the classic Weaver because, well, Cooper. Couldn’t ever get comfortable with that so evolved into something like the Chapman. Further along in the Stone Age, the police academy instructors required an Isosceles with the non-dominant thumb crossed over the top. Hated that thumb placement so never used it again. Now it’s Isosceles with bent elbows & allowances for whatever joints are hurting worse at the time.

  9. I don’t have all that much experience, but I’ve found that sometimes the gun I’m using dictates the stance.

    With a little gun, like one from the Kahr P9 family, a variation of the Isosceles seems to come naturally.

    But when shooting the too large H&K P7 M13, putting the fingers of the support hand around the fingers of the dominant hand simply didn’t let me get the heel of my support hand far enough back to hold the gun straight out. I’d have to go to a thumb-tip over thumb-tip grip for a both-arms-bent Weaver.

    (Your last article gave reasons women tend to do better with Isosceles. Considering my difficulty using Isosceles with a big fat gun, perhaps women should also seriously consider looking at the flatter, single-stack guns with shorter trigger reach. That could be a single-action 1911, or a double-action Kahr.)

    BTW, your last article mentions muzzle flip with modern Isosceles when arms are bent with elbows outward. I think the solution for that style is to rotate the support hand downward before grabbing on, i.e. with the support thumb pointed way forward. This rotates the wrist down as far as it can go, stopped only by hand bone against forearm bone. You try to rotate even further as hard as you can, but the bones won’t let you, thus creating isometric tension completely within the support wrist.

    As long as that tension remains and the support hand is able to hold on, that isometric tension resists wrist-rotating muzzle flip when the gun fires. Instead of the gun bucking in the hands, the entire arm structure goes straight up-and-down, rotating a little bit at the shoulder. That way, in recoil it seems more like the entire gun is rising straight up and down. When the gun does come back down, the barrel is already pointing forward towards the target.

  10. Great comments, as usual. WR Moore makes a great point on arms length stuff, you really need to test this stuff out in environments like that to master shooting to live. I see too many people adopt one stance or technique on a square range and then things start to fall apart once you start adding stressors of life and death fighting. I see alot of people using fiber optic front sights and now electric optics that work great on a daylit range in comfort, but they seem to lose their magic under postural and environmental stressors. Mas offers a reliable and versatile system where he guides the student thru these stances and adapts them to the individuals body, gear, and even eye and medical conditions. I recently took MAG-40 after barely recovering from a dual shoulder injury and basically had to relearn how to shoot. I’ve also recovered from debilitating injuries to both sides of my body in the past where i was glad i had previously done some single and non dexterous hand work but nothing has worked as well as the StressFire system. Now I shoot about 1/3- 1/2 non dexterous and/or single handed. I also no longer try to square myself or spend time getting myself “comfortable” before i shoot. I also like to base my range practice off of the recent minimal ammo drills on wilson combat youtube channel and study up on practice session logistics principles by the late Todd Green and Louis Awerbuck, which compliment Mas’s curriculum very well, every shot means something, every shot is the world when it’s time to send it.

  11. My regular stance with a heavy handgun when dealing with an aggressive animal like a mean bear can be described as pretending that I am shooting a short rifle. Feet similar to a baseball throwing position with the back foot at about 45 degrees out, balancing between both feet. Front foot pointed at the target. “Shouldering” arm elbow comfortably bent, using the large muscles of chest, shoulder, and upper arm to steady the hands. I believe we decided it was a Chapman, or maybe a modified Chapman stance stance. Whatever you call it works for me.

  12. I got my first handgun, a S&W model 19 with 4″ barrel at age 17 and had only shot a S&W model 66 once previously. The only range at the time was one no longer used by the local sheriff department and open to the public just on Saturdays from 9AM to 4PM and run by an off duty deputy. The range was good for 200 yards, but everyone had to shoot at the 25 yard distance only.

    I watched the other shooters fire their guns and saw various stances being used, mostly the target stance and Isosceles, so being the more popular, I decided to try that too. It didn’t feel right as I had moderate experience shooting a Ruger 10/22 rifle (my first gun). Also with a martial arts background, it seemed odd to me to place both feet together as one can easily be pushed off balance by the recoil. Playing with the revolver at home, I tried different stances and came up with what I later found out was the modified Weaver which felt very natural for me.

    Also about that time the book Cooper on Handguns came out and I absorbed every word of Chairman Jeff religiously. Before getting this book, I was trying to decide whether my first pistol would be a Browning P-35 or a Colt 1911. After reading the wise words of Colonel Cooper, it was the Colt 1911 in .45 ACP hands down, without a doubt.

    I knew the deputy sheriff who ran the range fairly well and asked for his advice. He was a bullseye shooter and recommended the one handed target stance with weak hand in pocket. For combat, he showed me the low crouching position, point shooting with one hand with the other held over the chest. Fortunately I did not take his advice and within a couple of weekends, out shot everyone on the range, both in accuracy and speed. I still have that old dog eared copy of Cooper on Handguns on my book shelf and consider it the bible of combat shooting and will use the modified Weaver stance (when possible) forever.

  13. For the sake of hilarity, I will mention two other combat stances. The first I call the “Jihadist Stance.” With one hand, you lift the gun over your head, turn it sideways, so the side of the gun is parallel to the ground, pull the trigger repeatedly while sweeping from left to right, and let Allah guide the bullets.

    The other stance is a modification of the Jihadist Stance. I suppose it could be called the “Drug Dealer Stance,” or the “Gang-Banger Stance.” It is the same as above, but you don’t put the gun over your head, you simply thrust it straight out, while rotating it sideways. Doing this will enable you to hit other things and people than the gang-banger you are “aiming” at, and it will make you look cool while doing so.

    • Roger, you need to understand that holding a handgun horizontally makes it easier to shoot an opponent who is laying down or have gone prone. Shooting a gun held in the vertical position is preferred for hitting a standing target. Once you know these principles, you will quickly became a master gunfighter like most inner city gangsters and punks.

      I’m having some of my pistols modified with front and rear sights mounted at the 9 O’clock and 3 O’clock positions in addition to the normal 12 O’clock position so I can shoot them with either hand. I also need custom made holsters for them.

  14. Hi Mas,

    Thank you for publishing these four articles. When we spoke at Nebraska Shooter’s last September, this is exactly what I was seeking. It is nice to have something solid to refer back to before going to the range to practice.

    The most important thing that I learned from your classes, these articles about shooting stances, as well as your Stress Fire book is that it is not a question of “or” but rather of “and”. Each of these stances has a place in one’s shooting repertoire since each has a use for a particular situation. I am now in the habit of practicing each of them at range, regardless of the funny stares that I receive from time to time!

    I hope the Stress Fire series of videos will soon be available! Until then, thanks for the articles and the Wilson Combat videos, which are also “must see TV”!

    Thanks!

    Rich Boll

    • Richard+Boll,

      You mentioned practicing different stances, being flexible instead of using only one stance. When shooting a revolver, I shoot it two-handed, one handed, right-hand dominant, left-hand dominant, single action, double action, and I practice loading from either hand. Same idea, flexibility, not dogmatism. If I practiced one way of doing everything, I might be just a bit quicker, but I’d rather have flexibility (plus accuracy, of course).

      When I shoot a semi-auto, I use two hands, then one hand, and switch hands as well. The controls make it hard to be ambidextrous, and frankly that is true with a revolver as well. But, I still try to be ambidextrous both shooting and loading. Using my left hand will never be as good as my right, but by practicing, it will become acceptable. If I don’t practice shooting and loading left-handed, then it will be useless. I may never need to shoot left-handed, but the skill is there just in case.

  15. > How do you prefer to shoot a handgun?
    —
    I usually stick it out in front of me with one hand and fire, as I learned from the old Army training manuals.

    I shoot *slightly* better with a two-handed grip, but if I wanted to shoot a two-handed firearm, I’d be shooting a rifle. Plus it gets all the Range Karens worked up as they attempt to proselyize whatever this year’s One True Way is.

  16. My arms and shoulders want to go into Chapman, but that causes problems getting the gun on target in a consistent location based on the position of my legs, hips, chest and head. It’s only when I fully thrust out my arms into Isosceles, that things stabilize.

    • Dear Christine, as someone may have mentioned above, women may generally tend to prefer the isosceles stance. I believe that kinesiologists will confirm that ladies have somewhat of a different angle to the elbow, adding to a preference for the isosceles. Just be sure that some thug doesn’t grab your outstretched arms. The Stessfire principles that Mas teaches can help with practicing one hand wield. NRA instructors will point out that a free hand may be needed to fend off an adversary at close quarters while getting the the gun hand into a safe position for firing. Also a reason not to carry at cross-draw. The upper chest is not the only effective target, either. Abdominal aorta (see the apparent shot made into Lee Harvey Oswald), groin, and hips can all have big advantages as targets.

  17. Off topic but i just checked in on our fellow commentor Justin Opinion’s youtube channel. Everyone in our community should go check it out and watch his latest video titled channel news and updates.

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