Different methods of Police training back in the day. Dirty Harry would use the "weaver" stance to make yourself a narrower target. (No body armor) Today's cops are trained in whats called a "Combat Isosceles" stance. Basically squaring up to the target, using their body armor to maximum effect while also having better firearm control using 2 hands.
Many of your better police pistol marksmen back in the day were also competitive bullseye shooters. Standing off-hand position, with emphasis on x-ring accuracy, fired one-handed from a bladed stance.
Frankly what we have learned the hard way over the years is that there is no "magic bullet" when it comes to pistols. Statistically speaking, if you look at actual ER results, pistols are a terrible way to try and kill somebody. Right up there with nunchucks and ninja throwing stars. That's why nobody that does it for a living knowingly goes to a gunfight these days armed with just a pistol.
An increased analysis of actual shootings, a better understanding of wound ballistics, coupled with cross-fertilization from competitive IPSC style shooting for the last several decades has placed an emphasis on multiple rapid hits in the upper thoracic region. If each shot represents a roll of the dice, then you start rolling them as fast as possible till you roll lucky 7, and they go down. And stay down.
That means increased emphasis on recoil control for firing fast, accurate strings of rapid fire.
Oh, had no idea, come to think of it when I was growing up in the sixties I don't remember and cops using two hands (at least not on TV lol).
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