Why did people only use one hand when firing pistols up until the 20th century.

Question

I’m pretty sure it’s not just Hollywood, I’ve seen old drawings and paintings of people in battle or duels and they always only use one hand to aim and fire pistols, even after multishot revolvers and pistols are developed.

Why? It’s not like using two hands only became more supportive and stable after 1910.

In: 557

Answer 1

Handguns are referred to as such because they can be fired one-handed; that was their initial design, and other techniques are fairly modern, having only reached prominence in the 1950s. They evolved from hand-cannons which required another hand to light, and evolved into single-shot pistols (typically carried with a sword) and eventually cap and ball revolvers (typically carried by officers and cavalry units, requiring a hand free for horsemanship.)

While stability is a major factor in today’s pistol marksmanship, traditional methods were instead focused on achieving a faster draw, and minimalizing the target presented to one’s enemy. This eventually evolved into the stance you’re referring to: body roughly perpendicular to the weapon, and the weapon held in the single hand.

Generally, the modern pistol stance can be traced to the Shanghai Municipal Police Department. There, officers Fairburn and Sykes would pioneer a two-handed grip. These two officers would go on to teach British, American, and even Dutch and Canadian forces their techniques during World War 2. Around that time period we see the first training materials suggesting the usage of a two-handed grip. For example, [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP7J-JNSUu4&t=194s) showcases WW2 era American pistol techniques, which featured a combination of one-handed and two handed grips (the two handed grips were used in prone and kneeling positions, where greater accuracy was required, and the one-handed grip was for standard use. To the best of my knowledge, the Axis powers continued to utilize a one-handed grip entirely).

In the late 1950s, a competition shooter by the name of Jack Weaver would develop this further into the “Weaver Stance,” the basis for modern pistol techniques. Notably, in addition to a standardized, two-hand grip, it focused on proper footwork, to improve accuracy further. The FBI would adopt this technique in the 1980s, leading it to become standard nation-wide, alongside the alternative “Isosceles Stance,” both of which are still used today.