Isosceles vs Weaver – The Right Stance for You

Isosceles vs Weaver – That is the question.

Which stance is always a question that comes up on the range.  Two of the most popular are the Isosceles and the Weaver Stance. Now before anyone gets upset let me say both are good stances and you can shoot really well with either.  Of course with everything, each one has its pluses and minuses.

Weaver stance

The Weaver stance was developed by Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver and publicized by Jeff Cooper in several of his books, as well as in articles published in Guns & Ammo magazine.  Basically the stance is the non firing side foot forward with the firing side foot dropped back.  The firing arm is straight with the non firing hand elbow bent. Watch the video below for a demonstration of the stance.

You can be extremely accurate with the Weaver stance.  You will see a lot of people doing one shot competitions using the Weaver stance.  I find myself when I have to take a precision shot drifting into a Weaver.

Isosceles

Now I was trained in the Isosceles stance in the military. An isosceles triangle has two equal sides equaling your arms.  That’s what body forms in this stance. The shooter is directly facing the target and both arms are extending out to form the triangle.  Watch the video below for a demonstration.

You will see a lot of police and military using the stance for a few reasons. It is easy to move in either direction with the Isosceles.  You have a very stable platform to fire off of and if you are rushed by a threat you can react well.  Another reason is protective gear. When I did my missions in the military we wore a ballistic vest with a front ceramic plate. The Isosceles stance places that plate right in front so if you did get shot you might take in the plate instead of a less protected area.

Which is best for you?

Now I am taking the easy way out. Go with what works for you. There are a lot of very good shooters that use either one.  The point is that you need to get training so you are doing the stance correctly and then practice, practice, practice with it.

What stance do you use and why?  Let us know in the comments.

Check out the nice video below for a demo of each of the stance.

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