Though variations of the Weaver stance exist, the Weaver stance is more of a method than an exact pose. It is paramount that shooters are comfortable in their stance and, since we are all physically different in many ways, we should expect some variation in how each of us employs the Weaver stance. It’s maybe easiest to describe the Weaver Stance one body part at a time:
Feet—About shoulder width apart with your left foot (right foot for left-handed shooters) slightly leading. This places your feet in the best position to move, manage recoil, or maintain your balance if you suffer a forceful blow from an attacker.
Legs—Your legs should be slightly bent, with your knees just above or just behind your toes. If your legs are straight, you lose the ability to move or change locations quickly. Straight legs also hinder your ability to control recoil.
Head—The head is held erect, just as you would normally stand. You bring the handgun up in front of your eyes; you do not lower your eyes (head) to the handgun. Do not lean your head to one side. A head held erect allows your peripheral vision to work better, and overall it’s a more comfortable position. A slight bending of the neck is not considered inappropriate, but avoid the tendency to do the “turtle,” hunching or pinching your shoulders.
Back—Your back is straight, but angled slightly at the waist so that your shoulders are about directly above or slightly behind your knees. This ensures your ability to effectively deal with recoil and helps maintain balance.
Shooting Hand—The handgun is gripped as high as possible so that the barrel is in line with the bone in your arm. This helps with recoil control and allows you to keep the handgun orientated towards the threat with as little muzzle rise as possible between shots. The thumb of the shooting hand is held upwards, tucked down along the grip of the handgun or pointed towards the target. With a revolver, the thumb is most often held in a downward or tucked position.
Support Hand—The support hand wraps over the shooting hand, knuckles over knuckles, fingers over fingers. The support hand is positioned high on the gun. The support hand thumb can be held over the shooting hand thumb. This is almost a necessity with a revolver. Alternately, both thumbs can be pointed up or towards the target.
Arms—Ideally, your shooting arm will be straight. However, both arms can be slightly flexed if that is more comfortable for you. Regardless, the support arm should be bent at the elbow at something between a 45- and 90-degree angle. Essentially, the shooting hand exerts forward pressure on the rear of the handgun’s grip, and the support hand exerts rearward pressure. The arms essentially form an isometric equilibrium, holding the handgun solidly in place.
There are indeed arguments against the Weaver Stance, and it’s true most who compete in combat-style pistol matches either do not use it or they use a radically altered version of it. However, based on my training experiences, the Weaver Stance is the easiest stance for most new shooters to learn. It is the most natural to assume, because everyone has, at one time or another, stood in some sort of a boxing stance. Too, the Weaver Stance integrates very well with other handgun manipulation and shooting exercises.
It is suggested that, when you start shooting, you try to use the correct Weaver stance. As you become more comfortable shooting and as your skills develop, it is very likely you will allow this position to evolve into your own comfortable version of the Weaver Stance. This is acceptable as long as the basic form or premise of the stance is adhered to.
Handgun presentation is the delivery of the handgun from a holster or place of rest to alignment with the target. Although presentation is a single fluid motion, it is made up of five sequential steps. When done properly, and with a smooth blending of each step into the next, a presentation looks fluid and unencumbered. Here is the presentation as it is taught at Gunsite but with comments about integrating a laser into the procedure.
Grip—Your shooting hand goes to the handgun and you establish a firing grip with your trigger finger straightened outside the holster and parallel to the handgun’s barrel. If the handgun has a manual safety, your thumb should be placed in position to disengage the safety, but the safety remains on at this time. At the same time your shooting hand is establishing a grip, your support hand should be moved to the center of your torso. The palm of the support hand should be flat against your body and the thumb should be extended and pointed towards your head.
Clear—The shooting hand lifts the handgun from the holster until the muzzle has cleared it. The trigger finger remains straight alongside the frame. The support hand does not move.
Rotate—The shooting hand rotates the handgun so it is orientated towards the threat and the safety can be disengaged. This rotation occurs primarily at the shoulder. At this time, your handgun should be on target. Advancing the presentation into the world of the modern handgun — which should be equipped with a laser — at this stage the laser should be shining brightly on the target. Should the need arise, the handgun can be fired from this position. When do you put your finger on the trigger? When your sights (laser) are on the target.
As a matter of fact, if you are engaged in an extreme close quarters situation, it may be most desirable to shoot from this position. You may be using your support hand to keep your attacker at a distance or to fend off blows. You also may be close enough to the threat that you do not wish to fully extend your handgun at arm’s length for fear your attacker might grab it. If this is the case, the support hand can move to the handgun to establish a two-handed grip, or it can be used to fight off an attack.
Ready—Now move your support hand to the pistol to establish the two-handed grip you will use to fire the handgun.
Engage or Look—This step completes the presentation with full assumption of the Weaver Stance, your primary shooting platform. The sights should be aligned on the target and your finger should be on the trigger. Here you should be looking for visual confirmation that it is indeed time to pull the trigger.