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.
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1. Guns back then were just weaker. Before cartridged bullets were invented in the late 19th century, you had to physically pack the gunpowder and very spherical bullet yourself, and there just wasn’t as much room for gunpowder as there is now.
2. Back then, duels were seen as a high-class activity. The upper classes – those who engaged in duels – valued physical strength and stoicism. Being able to shoot a gun with just one hand meant you were stronger than if you needed two hands. “But then you might miss your shot!” yes, because…
3. The goal of a duel usually wasn’t to kill your opponent. You’d expect duels to have a fatality rate of 50%, but very often those engaging in duels would intentionally miss their pistol shot so that their opponent didn’t die. Duels didn’t happen because you are so angry at the other person that you just might kill them if given the chance, duels happened so that you could prove your honor. This is even more blatant in the case of sword duels. Since the rules of a duel are just whatever you and your opponent agree on, sword duels often had the rule of “first to draw blood wins”. This meant you never tried to kill your opponent, just lightly strike their flesh with your blade.
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