Southpaws rarely get quality pistol instruction. Why? because most instructors are
right-handed. Thankfully, I had an
opportunity to work with a terrific, knowledgably and skilled instructor for
several years. His only flaw: he was
left-handed.
Seriously, though, working with my friend and fellow
training instructor, Matt, was an incredible learning experience. He taught me a lot more about how to operate
all types of weapon systems bi-laterally and with the other hand in ways that I
had not previously known.
I recall years ago—before working with the aforementioned
southpaw—teaching a left-handed shooter in a pistol course. The shooter, who had been shooting for many
years (but lacked skill in some areas) just put the semi-automatic pistol in
his right hand whenever he wanted to lock the slide to the rear. Obviously, because speed matters in gun
fights, that’s not a smart thing to do.
Besides, switching pistols from the right to the left hand under stress (or
not) can be unsafe (e.g. muzzle awareness, finger on the trigger, dropping the
weapon).
So, how does a lefty lock the slide to the rear?
With the weapon in the left hand, the shooter puts his right
hand forward like he going to shake hands with the top of the pistol
slide. The thumb of the right hand
should be near the index finger of the left hand, while the four fingers of the
right hand are on the opposite side of the slide (the right side).
Being careful not to cover the ejection port, the shooter will
grip the slide using their four fingers and the palm of their right hand. When the slide is extended backwards, the
shooter will then use the thumb of their right hand to activate the slide
lock.
Locking the slide to the rear left-handed is actually a lot
easier for new shooters than doing the same thing with inexperienced
right-handed students.
Just remember, practice with the weapon unloaded. Keep your finger straight and off the
trigger, and be safe.
Until next time, continue to hone your skills and keep
adding to your tactical toolbox.