History Main / FiringOneHanded

* Invoked and subverted in ''ComicBook/QueenAndCountry'': Russian gangsters hired to kill Tara Chace fire their guns one-handed; most of their bullets hit nothing, and one unlucky goon catches a stray bullet from his ally.

* Justified in ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'' due to this being the 'correct' way of shooting a handgun for the era. Elliot Ness also fires a shotgun one-handed at the beginning of the staircase shootout, but he's still holding onto the {{baby carriage}} with the other -- he has to let it go to pump the action and chamber another shell, sending it careening down the stairs.

* ''Film/TheUntouchables''
** Stone is introduced at the police shooting gallery, where the recruits are using the one-handed side-on technique of the time. Unlike the other recruits he practices his QuickDraw as well.
** Less justified with the opening shot of the Union Station gunfight, where Elliot Ness kills the first mobster with a shotgun that he fires at one-handed at arm's length, not braced against the shoulder. That's a great way to break your shoulder or face with the recoil, or at the very least have your shot be wildly inaccurate.

* In ''Franchise/Halo'', Flood combat forms have their non-dominant hand disfigured into a massive claw for mêlée combat, and thus wield whatever weapon they carry with just one hand--even sniper rifles and rocket launchers--with no apparent disadvantage.

Often [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in [[TheWestern Westerns]], for any of several reasons -- for example, a character might shoot one-handed because they need their other hand for holding the reins of their horse. Or they might hold the gun with one hand while "fanning" the hammer with the other. Also justified for any media made prior to TheSixties -- in those days, firing a handgun with one hand while presenting a relatively small part of one's body to the enemy was the conventional wisdom among shooting instructors and taught in military manuals. It was thought that aiming one-handed whilst standing sideways-on to your opponent presents a narrower target and thus makes you harder to hit; whether this makes up for your own increased difficulty in hitting anything was (and still is) a matter for opinion. In any case, in recent years the one-handed stance has given way to more stable two-handed stances such as the Weaver stance and the isosceles stance.

* Pre-release images for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' typically showed Snake wielding an M4 carbine one-handed, his other preoccupied with using a knife for CQC; it's the same manner as Big Boss held his M1911 in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater the previous game]], just [[ExaggeratedTrope taken to ridiculous extremes]]. In the released game, this only happens in one or two cutscenes wherein Snake is clearly intending to use the knife rather than his rifle if he encounters trouble, and in regular gameplay, while he ''does'' hold the foregrip of the M4 or any other longarm with a knife in hand that he could quickly swap to if needed, he still holds the rifle with both hands and instead uses [[PistolWhipping the stock of the rifle]] for CQC.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', Kiritsugu holds his Contender thus, despite the whole "[[HandCannon firing rifle bullets]]" thing.

{{Justified|Trope}} in most westerns, as the single action triggers used at the time made it more popular to fire with one hand and fan the hammer with the other, although films depicting one-handed use of revolvers will often not show the hammer being fanned at all. There's also a school of thought that says aiming one-handed whilst standing sideways-on to your opponent presents a narrower target and thus makes you harder to hit; whether this makes up for your own increased difficulty in hitting anything is a matter for opinion. Before a few decades ago, one-handed pistol shooting was TruthInTelevision; firing with one hand while presenting a relatively small part of one's body to the enemy was conventional wisdom among shooting instructors and taught in military manuals. It was not until TheSixties that more stable, two-handed stances such as the Weaver or isosceles stances became popular.

* Film/JamesBond frequently fires one-handed, which is justified due to the fact that his preferred weapon for most of the films is a [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Walther PPK]], the .32 ACP version in earlier works and the .380ACP or "9mm Short" model as of ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''.

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', the Freelancers are occasionally shown firing such things as shotguns and sniper rifles one-handed. The show seems to justify this with CharlesAtlasSuperpower, as most of the Freelancers are simply highly-trained yet ordinary human beings.

** Many characters fire ''assault rifles'' one-handed, particularly in cutscenes, but are rarely shown hitting anything this way. Krogan, meanwhile, sometimes use shotguns singlehandedly (such as in "Eve"'s EstablishingCharacterMoment, where she goes from an IllGirl in a containment pod to {{One Hit Kill}}ing two Cerberus {{Mooks}} with Wrex's shotgun in a couple of seconds).

** Nero in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' fires a double-barrel revolver in which the caliber is almost that of a Smith & Wesson Model 500 revolver with ''one hand''. Revolvers of that size are normally shot with both hands to brace for recoil. Can be justified by him being a quarter-demon with [[SuperStrength superhuman strength]], much like Dante.
*** Then again, a look at the modifications shows that both barrels are ported, which would greatly counteract the muzzle-flip and recoil of the gun.

** Of course, being [=40K=], this trope has to go [[UpToEleven to 11]] somewhere. Enter Terminator Armor, which is a rare form of power armor that is nothing less than a hulking mass of thick armor plates and artificial muscle fibers that weighs about as much as a large car, wrapped around an [[SuperSoldier Astartes]]. The most commonly issued ranged weapon is a Marine-scaled Combi- and Storm Bolters, one handed, and both of which are essentially two strapped-together small-scale heavy weapons when in the hands of a normal human. ''And then,'' anybody in Terminator Armor can switch those out to wield a heavy weapon that usually gets put into a vehicular hardpoint or a firing team, like {{Plasma Cannon}}s, [[GatlingGood Assault Cannons]], [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter Autocannons]], [[AbnormalAmmo Psycannons]] (noticing a pattern?). And they also have a melee weapon in the other hand, unless they've been equipped and a dedicated melee unit. It's also worth mentioning that they can also "no-hand" if given a Cyclone Missile Launcher, but that's [[ShoulderCannon another trope]].

* Pre-release images for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' typically showed Snake wielding an M4 carbine one-handed, his other preoccupied with using a knife for CQC; it's the same manner as Big Boss held his M1911 in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater the previous game]], just taken UpToEleven. In the released game, this only happens in one or two cutscenes wherein Snake is clearly intending to use the knife rather than his rifle if he encounters trouble, and in regular gameplay, while he ''does'' hold the foregrip of the M4 or any other longarm with a knife in hand that he could quickly swap to if needed, he still holds the rifle with both hands and instead uses [[PistolWhipping the stock of the rifle]] for CQC.

** And in almost every VR exception (where the in-game controllers map to hands which can attach to multiple points on a two-handed weapon, allowing it to be aimed and steadied with both hands at once), nothing is actually enforcing that a two-handed weapon be used two-handed and the lack of realistic kickback makes it perfectly possible to fire sniper rifles and the like one-handed (and [[NoScope scopeless]]... although it really does impede accuracy.

* The lever-action 1887 shotgun featured in the page image from ''Terminator 2'' doesn't have the same problem as pump or semi-auto guns do, but it comes with its own drawback to one-handed firing: It ''hurts like hell'', because it's nearly impossible to get a tight enough grip on the weapon thanks to its angle and thickness of the combined pistol grip and handguard. With live shells and no grip on the forend to steady it, the recoil drives said handguard straight back into the shooter's fingers.

** Despite the ability to fire the AA-12 one-handed as mentioned above, most semi-auto shotguns don't have it much better. Without a tight grip on the forend to control the recoil, the kickback is severe enough that you'll frequently catch the ejected shell halfway and cause a stovepipe jam.

* ''Film/TheProfessionals''. When facing off with a machete-wielding bandito, Creator/LeeMarvin's character is standing side-on, as per the correct technique of the time. He's shown to have consistant accurate shooting using only his .38 revolver.

* Likewise with the introduction of Stone at a police shooting gallery in ''Film/TheUntouchables''. Unlike the other recruits he practices his QuickDraw as well.

When a hero carries a handgun, he or she will tend to wield it and sometimes fire it in one hand. Perfect for still photo opportunities where the shooter's arm is bent above and behind their head and the gun is brought down to aim and fire. [[GangstaStyle Even more cool is firing a gun sideways.]] And some heroes are badass enough to fire ''shotguns or rifles'' (normally two-handed) this way.

The exception is if they are military or police officers, where they will use two hands. Unless they've gone rogue and/or are desperate.

{{Justified|Trope}} in most westerns, as the single action triggers used at the time made it more popular to fire with one hand and fan the hammer with the other, although films depicting one-handed use of revolvers will often not show the hammer being fanned at all. There's also a school of thought that says aiming one-handed whilst standing sideways-on to your opponent presents a narrower target and thus makes you harder to hit; whether this makes up for your own increased difficulty in hitting anything is a matter for opinion. Before a few decades ago, one-handed pistol shooting was TruthInTelevision; firing with one hand while presenting a relatively small part of one's body to the enemy was conventional wisdom among shooting instructors and taught in military manuals. It was not until TheSixties that more stable, two-handed stances such as the Weaver or isoceles stances became popular.

For really big melee weapons being used in one hand, see OneHandedZweihander.

!!Examples:

And then there are cases when someone is using a longarm one-handed. These weapons were never even meant for one-handed use, but it happens for some reason. Submachine guns are popularly shown this way, as they often look good in one hand, but they are still intended for two-handed use. This is the only way rifles and such can be used GunsAkimbo, but doesn't exactly look realistic.

!!Examples:

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'': The Boss's gun, the Patriot, is a modified XM16E1 with a shortened barrel and the stock removed, effectively making it a sawed-off version of an an automatic rifle. Sigint notes that due to its modification, the gun generates a massive amount of recoil, but the Boss is able to fire it accurately one-handed, which shows just how strong it is.

* Justified in ''Film/TheUntouchables'' due to this being the 'correct' way of shooting a handgun for the era. Elliot Ness also fires a shotgun one-handed at the beginning of the staircase shootout, but he's still holding onto the {{baby carriage}} with the other -- he has to let it go to pump the action and chamber another shell, sending it careening down the stairs.

* None of the many Desert Eagles in the ''Film/CharliesAngels2000'' movies is ever fired two-handed. And yes, this does require the RuleOfCool to keep those {{Hand Cannon}}s from spraining people's wrists or knocking out their teeth like they would do in RealLife.