What is the “Right” Shooting Stance for Dominant Hand Shooting? A Question Worth Answering
Dana Cerbone • August 2026
I want to share something with you all, because I recently got a terrific question from one of our A Girl & A Gun chapter members — one so good I think it’s worth answering publicly, in case it helps others too.
The question was about stance for dominant-hand shooting. During one of our informational sessions, I demonstrated a few different stances for learning to shoot with your dominant hand only. Later, out on the range, one of our fabulous Range Safety Officers directed a shooter a little differently. Naturally, she wanted to know: which one was right, and which one was wrong?
I love this question. It comes up constantly, in one form or another. So, before I answer it directly, I want to share my own personal take on instruction and learning in general — as someone who has spent three decades as an educator.
Learn From Many Sources
I’m a huge proponent of learning from a variety of people about any topic you want to master, and firearms are no exception. Over time, you’ll get input from friends, RSOs, and instructors — individuals with backgrounds in the military, law enforcement, civilian training, or competitive shooting and coaching. Each of them brings their own perspective, their own objectives, and their own school of thought. Add in a range of teaching styles, and you end up with a whole smorgasbord of information to draw from.
That’s a good thing. But it means it’s your job, as the shooter, to know thyself.
That means getting clear on your specific purpose and intention at any given time. Are you working on foundational skills as a beginner? Trying to improve your defensive shooting? Focused on competition? Returning to the basics for troubleshooting? Do you have any physical limitations that call for certain adaptations?
In my opinion, there isn’t necessarily a single “right” or “wrong” way to do things with firearms, as long as what you’re doing is safe and doesn’t put you or anyone around you at risk. As learners, we’re really looking for the most efficient and effective approach that matches our goals AND our current skill level. That second part matters, because your goals and skill level will shift over time — not always upward, either. They can fluctuate due to many things such as injury, diverted attention, or simply a lack of practice. Shooting is a perishable skill. Dry fire and live fire practice as often as possible.
Why I Teach the Way I Do
With all that in mind, I personally teach mostly from a defensive standpoint. That’s largely because it is the reason most people start shooting in the first place, and I believe it gives you a solid foundation upon which to build other, more advanced and specialized skills later. My main focus is, of course, safety first, then consistency in postural stability, grip, sight picture, and trigger control.
One of the best things about the shooting world is that once you understand and can apply foundational skills, you can branch out into more advanced defensive tactics, short- and long-range marksmanship, hunting, practical shooting, and more.
Back to the Question: Dominant-Hand Stance
So, let’s get back to the specific question about dominant-hand shooting.
In our session, I demonstrated and had the group practice in dry fire using different approaches: dominant-foot-forward, dominant-foot-backward, and isosceles stance (with feet should width apart under the shoulders). The idea behind this was to stay as close to your own natural shooting stance as possible — keeping your shoulders and torso facing the target, with just a slight twist toward your dominant hand and target.
The advantage of these stances is that they keep your field of vision wide open in front of you, and they give you a solid base that you are already comfortable shooting from. You also retain the ability to move in any direction if needed.
The other stance presented to some of you in the range is blading — turning the body more perpendicular to the target. This can be genuinely valuable when firing from behind cover, and it’s often used by champion bullseye shooters, the kind you might see competing in the Olympics. For them, repeated precision is paramount, and they’re typically holding that stance for a longer stretch of time than you’d spend in a defensive or competitive scenario. The drawback of blading is that it limits your mobility.
No Right or Wrong — Just Trade-Offs
I believe the postural positions I presented allow you to train single-handed and become comfortable and proficient enough to stay flexible in your stance depending on the situation — all while remaining accurate. If you train fully bladed, you gain precision but sacrifice mobility. If you train with a more forward-facing stance, you can more easily learn to move into or out of positions as needed.
There isn’t a right or wrong method here. Just benefits and drawbacks to understand and weigh what is best for you. Hey, why not train them all? Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire!
Dana Cerbone • August 2026
Thisis an excellent article on an excellent question, Dana. My comment would be that, while the bladed position presents a smaller target to one's assailant, it requires one to overcome the natural defelsive instinct to face one's assailant and square the hips against them. In fact, it might require that one have to step out of such a position, thereby losing valuable time in a situation where one is reacting to a threat. So personally, I would teach against the use of such a position. As you dioscuss at the beginning of the article, the best single-handed shooting position is one's natural two-handed position, but using only one hand.