Shooting Stances in the Old West

My dad was a Bullseye shooter and taught me to shoot. When I qualified in the Military, the instructors were laughing at me. I qualified expert and they stopped laughing and just shrugged. Same instructors when I qualified for rifle, but after years of shooting high-power, I just told them to shut up and let me shoot expert. They shut up.

Mike, I would like to add some food for thought. When old film, photographs, or drawings from the 19th century are interpreted as natural behavior, I have to wonder…how much was really natural, and how much was staged for the camera, or artist? Since photography became a way of archiving history, staging behavior and actions has been a staple of that medium, that is still used today. The photographer or artist might stage the scene he wants to project, to make it more dramatic or interesting, or to reflect his personal preferences. Pictures don't lie…but the photographer or artist will. They can embellish or altar the subject matter to suit their needs. Something to think about…

Mike has proved that even in the 19th century, had the internet existed, the debate of the best stance would have also existed.

Something just occurred to me: The shooter's dominant eye. The "duelist's" stance is going to be more difficult for a cross-dominant shooter to make work. The Bisley style will be better for the cross-dominant shooter because he or she can shift the gun and its sights over to the dominant eye's side easily; trying to get the left eye to line up with the sights on a gun in the right hand in the duelist's stance would require some uncomfortable twisting/craning of the neck.

Well done Mike. You've just done more honest historical research actually seeking answers than 1000 randomly chosen Youtube vids put together.

I think the most important thing is that you have the the bones of the arm are supporting the weapon. This is something I learned from researching saber fighting. The idea is you rely on the bone aliment to support the weapon. With saber you have to withstand the impact of the other saber, in gun fighting you are absorbing the recoil. By advancing the shoulder you lock the arm into a more stable shooting platform.

Wow, you got me thinking on this subject. I am starting to work on mastering the Bisley grip and as a senior citizen I am finding it makes me more steady and gives me a clearer sight picture. Funny as a child in the fifties all we saw on TV westerns was the quick draw and shoot from the hip. Well done young man.

Your videos are always enthralling, even when they're on topics as obscure and otherwise mundane as this... Thanks!

I referenced the same book when I was researching history for my review of the Uberti "Bisley" and totally agree with what you presented. When I am firing my other single-actions, I usually find myself in the "Duelist" stance - shooting arm extended and wrist locked (as best I can). The first time I have ever seen a 'two-handed" grip was in a Cowboy Action Shooting match. While realizing this was for speed, using the support hand thumb for cocking, I discounted the grip for not being true to form, so to speak, as I do for "fanning."

I recall reading in “Our Southern Highlanders: A Narrative of Adventure in the Southern Appalachians and a Study of Life Among the Mountaineers” by Horace Kephart which was written more than a century ago him mentioning the use of a two handed stance for pistol shooting. He noted that it was more accurate than the one handed stance that was more common in other parts of the US at the time.

Just an observation; you mention that the Bisley style had more muzzle flip, however looking at your video, the Bisley style allows you to keep a good grip on the gun after each shot because the flip/recoil looks to naturally be taken up by your bent arm, whereas with your arm straight, the gun’s grip moves a lot in your hand as the flip has nowhere to go, and you have to find your grip again after each shot. Never tried the Bisley grip myself, but I will next time out. Great video, thanks.

The bent elbow stance or Bisley stance is one that I use when slow fire target shooting. I feel that it gives me more support.

The Bisley stance makes a lot of sense when you consider how tiny (crappy by modern standards) revolver sights were. Especially the smaller frame ones. I think it was generally understood that at bad breath range pistols would be fired from the hip.

I have always used the straight arm style because that's the way my dad taught me to shoot his Colt 1911A1 when I was 9 yrs old. He was taught to use that stance in the Army in WWll and carried it on to my brother and I.

i had never thought about stances - thanks for this.

Mike, I love your videos. I'm a retired US Army senior NCO and I know a lot about firearms; I use to teach firearm marksmanship and have shot competition. You always teach me something new. Thanks, and Merry Christmas.

Mike, you knocked this one out of the park! Great historical research and very informative! Thank you!

This is a really interesting discussion. I can see where it might be valid when you're target shooting, but when you're in a gunfight where someone's shooting at you I really don't think you're going to be paying attention to what kind of stance you're using. You do what you need to do to survive.

I’ve always laughed at the western movie stars holding the pistol with the Bisely style thinking it was really just a actor thing but now I know better. I can see that it might be preferable when shooting off a horse since the arm functions as a spring giving to the motion of the horse. On the other hand I’ve never tried it but I have talked to guys that have and they all say it’s very difficult to hit anything while riding. Great job as always Mike!

Mike it is always good to see and hear what you have for us.