Off Hand Shooting  by Jim Krueger © 2011, All Rights Reserved During the past few months a number of customers have said they couldn’t do this or couldn’t do that as it involves shooting with my “off” hand.  My reply has always been “so learn how to shoot with your “off“hand.  They inevitably reply “To difficult”, “oh I couldn’t do that” or “…My mother called me late for supper “or some other lame excuse. As the old saying goes necessity is the mother of invention.  Many years ago when Kate and I first got into shooting semi-auto handguns we didn‘t have the money to put ambidextrous safeties on our 1911’s. So the only thing I could do, being left-handed, was to learn how to shoot with my “off” hand. By the way, besides being left-handed I am legally blind in my right eye, which makes me left eye dominant as well and I had to make it work.  When I could afford the equipment and training I was taking an LFI l class with Massad Ayoob and Rick Devoid and they both stated how they would exchange gear so one month Mas carried left-handed and Rick carried right-handed and the next month it reversed. Sounded like a good idea at the time (about 1992-1993) and since then I have done the same … carried left-handed one month, right-handed the next month.  Even while taking classes or shooting matches the month has determined which hand I would shoot the class with or the match. Also if the primary gun is on the left side then the backup gun is on the right. About 1997 Kate and I were preparing to take a 250 class with some friends at Gunsite. But as we had taken a special class that included most of their 250 curriculum and some of the 350’s Kate was not sure it would be of any benefit to repeat the same stuff.  My response was “you have always wanted to learn how to shoot left hand, have them teach you”. So up to Paulden, AZ we went to the 250 class both with left hand gear, no right hand gear at all. As I told her if you don’t have it with you they can’t switch you back. About Wednesday at lunch one of the instructors noticed that Kate did everything else right handed. He asked her then “… are you right hand?” And of course she replied yes. They had a little conference and said to her they would let her go on as long as she continued to be safe. Results were she beat her right hand score from the year before and did it as safe if not more so then any of the other students in the class.  In closing I would say, take a chance, shoot off hand and learn a skill that may someday save your life.