Jack Weaver

John Harold Weaver (November 1, 1928 – April 7, 2009) was a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff and the developer of the Weaver stance, a popular shooting stance for firing handguns.

Biography

Weaver was born on November 1, 1928, in South Gate, California. (Weaver's World War II draft registration card lists his place of birth as Huntington Park, California.) and briefly attended Glendale Community College, but left when he was drafted into the United States Army. It was around this time that he met Joy Moniot, whom he married on August 30, 1952, in Glendale. He joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 1954.

Weaver was a member of the Southwest Combat Pistol League, In 1955, the team and individuals won the national championships at the Toledo, Ohio, combat range using both one-handed and two-handed stances. The team defended the trophy for most of the following decade at practice matches in preparation for the National Pistol Matches, held shortly thereafter at Camp Perry in northern Ohio.

Weaver retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 1979, and resided near Carson City, Nevada, until his death.

Weaver's approach to handgun technique is reflected in a 1994 letter he wrote to Handguns magazine: "Practice, experiment, shoot in competition, stick to one gun, one style (no last-second decisions) and don't wait until you're in a shootout to find out what works and what doesn't."