Dual Handguns vs Single Pistol

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 6/25/2016 | J Hines

[w1n1]

Which is faster and more accurate? Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical and his buddy Dave Royer were out testing a firearm myths whether dual-wielding versus using sight alignment with a single pistol is better. Seen all the time in the movies Dave and Larry are out to show you what really happens when you fire two pistols at the same time. So they set up a couple of test drills one is stationary and the other shooting on the move.
Stationary Drill
They start the test with stationary shooting at multiple targets. (5 targets) Dual shooting (using H&K .45 Compact and a custom Colt 1911) was going from inside targets to outside targets. Single pistol shooting went from left to right. The result for dual shooting was at 2.8 seconds and 3.73 seconds for single pistol. Dual shooting was faster but not as accurate as with single pistol. However, for this test single pistol shooting with good sight alignment wins the accuracy test.

Mobile
Starts out at a walk towards the target from 30 yards out and at the sound of a buzzer. Shooter engages the target while still moving forward. Dual pistols will be alternate shots between left and right. Single pistol lay down some lead rapidly. The verdict single pistol wins with accuracy and speed on this drill. See it at full speed here.

[LambSlave]

The shooters likely spend the vast majority of their time shooting a single pistol, so of course their performance would be better doing this... it is like saying shooting right handed is better, when the shooter who does the test is right handed! Not that I dispute the results personally, because I shoot with one pistol nearly all the time also, but there are trick shooters who are very good with two pistols. The correct comparison would be a sample of shooters who excel at each method and have sufficient training directly related to the task being measured (walking approach to target from 30 yards).

[\/\/ayne]

Hey, it's just fun to shoot two pistols as rapidly and accurately as possible! But - could there be a reason?

As I learned in Basic, usually the time to use full auto is if you find yourself in an ambush - keeps their head down while you get out of the kill zone and back to the rendezvous point.

So that might be a good reason to use two pistols. If you were expecting a possible ambush, have the two pistols out and ready to fire.

[Mr. Douglas]

I was confused by the title so I had to look it up.

Generally speaking, a pistol is a handgun and a handgun is a pistol.

http://www.differencebetween.net/object/difference-between-pistol-and-handgun/

You have to get into the weeds to really come up with a difference. i.e. this is not the “clip vs magazine” sort of thing.

[Fido969]

All pistols are handguns, but not all handguns are pistols. Technically, a revolver is not a pistol.

[Mr. Douglas]

Yes. I think a better title would have been two revolvers vs one pistol. Scratch that. I KNOW it would have been a better title.

[Little Ray]

It isn’t one or two guns. It is the level of practice and training on the part shooter.
I have seen some people load and fire shells one at time from shotgun faster than I can cycle them through using a pump.

[T-Bone Texan]

Used to be in TX when a person got their CHL that if they qualified with a wheelgun they were only authorized to carry a wheelgun but if they qualified with a semi they were authorized to carry either a semi or a wheelgun.

I say wheel gun instead of revolver just because it’s a cool word.

[Mr. Douglas]

“Wheelgun” does sound pretty cool. :-)

[stockpirate]

I think the person firing the weapon determines accuracy. Rate of fire only applies if you’re dealing with multiple targets in a short time span.

One shot in the chest with a .45 does wonders to discoursge an attacker.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

What revolvers? Says they used an H&K .45 Compact and a custom Colt 1911.

[Gaffer]

You’ll notice that the shooter in the ‘dual pistol’ case extends and retracts whatever arm is up on line. Of course this takes a lot of time. In the single shooter’s case I bet the extension was always the same. I’d like to see a test of both arms extended against a single shooter in that case.

[TalBlack]

I’d guess that the dual pistols thing was more of a single action era likelihood.

[Mr. Douglas]

What revolvers? Says they used an H&K .45 Compact and a custom Colt 1911.

---

Exactly. The best title would be “Dual handguns vs single handgun.”

The title confuses the reader. The inference is that the two handguns are not pistols. Otherwise they would have said “pistols.”

It’s only a pet peeve of mine because I’m a black and white thinker and actually have syntax errors sometimes. I read the headline and say, “well, since a pistol is a type of handgun and the single gun is a pistol, then the other handguns are not pistols, or the author would have said “dual pistols”. And then I get wrapped around the axle about why two “non-pistol” handguns are different than one pistol.

[PapaBear3625]

As I learned in Basic, usually the time to use full auto is if you find yourself in an ambush - keeps their head down while you get out of the kill zone and back to the rendezvous point.

NYPD used to practice the "New York Reload" (grab your backup gun when your primary runs dry). This was more prevalent in the revolver days.

I should practice reloading my pistol while also holding backup gun in other hand (it can be done -- use pinky and ring finger to grab and insert spare mag, while holding backup gun with other fingers)

[MosesKnows]

Rate of fire

Rate of fire has little to do with accuracy. Rate of fire is important when covering someone's movement. It is more important to cause the threat to seek shelter than to hit the threat.

[outofsalt]

Or...

[JamesP81]

I’d guess that the dual pistols thing was more of a single action era likelihood.

Those guns were harder and slower to reload. Having two in hand reduced the need to reload. Unlike how Hollyweird portrays it, I suspect the method used with single actions was to fire one gun at a time, probably starting with strong hand, until the ammunition was exhausted, then switch to weak hand pistol.

So, still that's really shooting one at a time even though you've got both drawn at once. Kind of the wild west version of a New York reload.

[\/\/ayne]

I should practice reloading my pistol while also holding backup gun in other hand (it can be done -- use pinky and ring finger to grab and insert spare mag, while holding backup gun with other fingers)

I remember a guy in the book "Blackhawk Down" in the escape convoy was in the back of a truck and could not stop shooting for any reason. So he shot his 9mm pistol while he reloaded his rifle and vice versa. Later that guy became an ICE agent, I believe.

[TalonDJ]

“I’d like to see a test of both arms extended against a single shooter in that case.”

To so that you have to be firing both eyes open and with the weapon(s) not in line with the eye. Otherwise they get so close together you can scrap up your hand with the opposite side pistol recoil.

Firing two at once as fast as one can be done, I think, but would take a LOT od dedicated practice. You have to be able to point shoot with either hand out of line of your head.

And even if you COULD do that, you lose your speed advantage as soon as you have to reload.