I think dual-wielding pistols isn't that impractical, as long as you're not trying to aim both at the same time. But you're definitely going to hit a lot more things shooting one gun with both hands.
Also, shooting with any precision whatsoever with your non-dominant hand is basically impossible.
You make a mistake there my friend. You forget about the magic that is called shotguns. Pick one up and you are a marksman. Doesn't matter if you are out of practice, shooting with the wrong hand or have the shakes.
Large spread != accurate
Sure, you may hit targets at very short ranges, but at anything beyond ~25 feet you'll still be useless. Source: have fired shotguns.
Also, shooting with any precision whatsoever with your non-dominant hand is basically impossible.
Depends. What sort of scenario are we talking about?
If you're talking going out to the firing range and offhand shooting a pistol into a target at 30 yards...yeah, that's going to be tough. If we imagine combat taking place inside an office or home, where distance to target is unlikely to be more than 15-20 feet at most, I think offhand firing is realistic. If we're talking a zombie apocalypse, or the previously mentioned "soloing the Mongolian horde" scenario, with potentially dozens of targets all at close range...yeah, I absolutely would want the second weapon.
Zombie apocalypse you don't want them getting close enough for your off-hand to be accurate because then you're close enough to catch whatever it is from the gore, and if you're "soloing the Mongol horde" by the time they get within off-hand range you won't be able to shoot them as fast as they can close on you. You might get a couple, but you're head's coming off regardless.
I've never fired a shotgun with one hand, but I think if I saw somebody dual wielding a pair of sawed-off shotguns...I'd avoid that guy regardless of my estimates of his chances of hitting me.
Always avoid shotguns, the wounds they leave are almost untreatable. even in World War One they were trying to ban them, but had no problem with Chlorine Gas.
I'm a bit late, but the trouble with gauntlets is that it's nearly impossible to effectively armour the palm of the hand, and such plates would be too small to appreciably reduce the force of a blow.
I have seen large plates that strap onto the palm for blocking blades, but taking the full force of the bow to your palm sounds like a one-way trip to a broken wrist. Using it to deflect blades is much more practical, and I have seen videos of various martial arts masters doing so.
