Monday, April 13, 2009

A Great One Passes

Via The Shooting Wire, we learn of the death at age 80 of retired Los Angeles County Deputy Jack Weaver, developer of the Weaver Stance.

It was a radical concept in the days when law enforcement officers typically fired one-handed from the shoulder or hip. It took Jeff Cooper three years of losing to Jack Weaver in pistol competition to convince him of the value of this new at the time concept. Ultimately he incorporated it into his Modern Technique.

I've heard people say the Weaver Stance is dated, and Isosceles is the only way to go. Maybe, but when actually shooting on the move, using cover, and especially when the targets are shooting back, I find it's nowhere near that clear-cut. What seems to get the best results is flowing smoothly between Weaver, Chapman, Isosceles, and Whatever's Working Right Now, as conditions demand.

No matter what two-handed stance we use, I think we all owe Jack Weaver a debt of gratitude.

UPDATE: Read Massad Ayoob's tribute to Jack Weaver here.

1 comment:

Tango Juliet said...

The ultimate stance is "running, running as damn fast as you can."