Knowing how to manipulate a handgun with one hand is an import skill, which involves more than just hitting the target. In a self-defense situation, knowing how to clear a jam or reload using only one hand could save your life.

Over the next few blogs, I’m going to be suggesting a few drills that could be beneficial if the unthinkable happens and one hand is taken out of the fight. We’re going to start with the full reload drill with a semi-automatic pistol as it’s probably the easiest to master.

As with any new drills, the first step is to make sure your gun is completely unloaded and all live ammunition is removed from the training area. After that is done, load a magazine with dummy or inert ammunition and put it wherever you carry your spare ammo. Then, place an empty magazine into the unloaded gun and pull the slide to lock it back.

The scenario is that one hand unusable and you have just run your gun dry. How do you drop the empty magazine, obtain a full magazine, insert the magazine into the gun and put the gun back into battery, all with only one hand?

Dropping the empty magazine may require twisting the gun in your hand to reach the magazine release button. Next, put the gun in a position in which you have control over it, but can still reach for the spare magazine—I prefer sticking the gun in my waistband, but other options including putting the gun backwards in the holster, into a pocket or even placing it on the ground. When inserting the fresh magazine, make sure it goes all the way into the gun. If you have any concerns that the magazine isn’t fully seated, give it a sharp tap on something hard before releasing the slide stop to put the gun into battery. From here, you’re ready to continue the fight. Once you master one-handed reloads, try it with the weak hand.