Weaver stance is more traditional at this point and has been taught forever. I first started shooting this stance in the 90’s when I first started to learn handgun fighting. It was easy to understand, got me good and steady, and allowed for good hits on targets. It worked well.
The Isosceles stance I learned in the early 2000’s and dismissed it as something other people do and didn’t really work for me. I tried it and couldn’t get it. Besides, the rifle was more of a weaver stance and it made it easier for me to go from long gun to handgun and use the same techniques.
Enter body armor. I worked for an armored company around the LA area of California. Some of the routes I was on probably didn’t need a gun. Others, I was afraid daily and would point my gun at someone almost once a week.
I wore body armor religiously, like everyday, anytime I was out of the truck. It started with soft concealable armor, we were issued by the company the same thing that cops wear. As my routes changed and a crew started working my area and using rifles to hijack armored cars, I got myself some hard plates and started wearing an outside carrier with soft and hard armor in it.
As my armor changed, so did my shooting platform. With soft body armor, I could get into a good weaver stance, but it was hard. I had to push in with my left/support arm on the armor and get it to fold a little to get into the correct position.
When I started wearing hard armor, there was no getting into a good weaver stance, the armored plates were in the way. I started working on alternatives and started shooting an isosceles stance. At first it was a modification of both stances and then moved to what you would think of as a traditional isosceles stance.
As I continued to train, get training, and get better, I shot the isosceles stance more and more. Today, I use it almost exclusively.
I don’t teach it in my classes but demonstrate it. By the end of the first day of Beyond Concealed Carry, you would be shooting it, too. The reason is simple, the isosceles stance lets you move and shoot more efficiently.
Don’t believe me? Try this little test. Do it dry fire first, of course (but once you see it dry you won’t have to shoot it). Get into a weaver stance and aim in at a target 10 or 20 yards away. Now, move straight towards your target, keeping the gun pointed at the target. You will be crossing your legs in a weird step to do it. The weird cross over will make you move slower, take more energy, and make the gun bob left and right as well as up and down in an unpredictable way.
Now, do the same test with an isosceles stance. Make sure you square up your hips and shoulders to the target. Now move forward and you can watch the gun move in a more predictable manner.
In the end, the movement was the biggest reason I went with the isosceles shooting stance. Then I found that I could shoot the rifle the same way, control recoil better, shoot faster at closer distances and move better with the rifle, too. I explain the rifle in the video you can find on the front page of the Shooter’s Club Web site. Check it out, this video is free.
Last reason I continue to use the isosceles stance is that all the top speed shooters in the world use the stance. Try it. You may like it.
Stay Safe,
Ben