highmeh
12-11-2007, 12:22 AM
So, you want to keep various chunks of your leg?
Well, you're in luck! This guide will show a simple, effective, and snazzy looking draw from the holster that can be easily replicated for use in competition, concealed carry, or any other situation that requires you to bring a gun to the ready in rather short order. With practice, you should be able to go from holster to sight picture in a bit less than two seconds.
Step One: FINGER AWARENESS
Before you even think about putting your gun in, pulling your gun from, or even looking at your holster, stop and ask yourself where your finger is. Everyone has had this drilled into their heads from the first day they picked up a firearm, right? Well, guess what; today your gun is going to be pointing in the general direction of your leg and foot. Take a long, hard look at this picture. If your finger isn't like this, see Step One.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/230indexfinger.jpg
For good measure, lets go over the four rules again:
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/230s_safetyrules.jpg
Ok, ready for step two? Put your holster on your belt in roughly the 3:30/4:00 position, or 8:30/7:00 position for lefties. Insert your unloaded gun into the holster.
STEP TWO: OFF-HAND AWARENESS
Back in the good ol' days, police officers were taught to bring their 'off' hand to cover the holster when drawing. In some 1950's brain out there, this made sense. However, what you're doing is potentially exposing your off-hand to your pistol's muzzle. This, combined with adrenaline and anxiety of drawing your gun (presumably to end a life-threatening situation), can cause you to negligently discharge into your own hand.
On the other hand (No pun intended, Fang), some schools of thought suggested putting the off-hand out to fend off incoming advances, and to balance yourself. Again, your hand is potentially going to get swept by the muzzle.
So how do we safely draw a pistol while keeping use of Ol' Lefty? The easiest solution is to practice balling your off fist, and putting it on your chest (think "Tarzan tapping"). the effect is twofold; for one, you know where your hand is. It's close to your body, it's out of the muzzle's way, and most importantly, it's clenched. Why is clenching important? Muscles tend to move sympathetically; Under intense pressure, balling one hand sometimes causes the same reflex in the other hand. Imagine drawing on your target, realizing that it was not a direct threat, and for some reason balling your other fist. There is a very high potential that your gun-arm is now going to squeeze the trigger.
So, ball your fist, Tarzan-tap your chest, and wrap your strong-hand around your pistol's grip, being careful to index your finger OUTSIDE the holster.
Let's watch:
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/230step1.jpg
Step Three - LIFT and ROTATE
So far, so good. Your weak-hand fist is clenched on your chest like you've been eating Bacon for a week, your strong-hand has a strong grip around your pistol, and your index finger is, well, indexed along the outside of the holster.
Now we lift the gun - And i use this quite literally. Lift the gun STRAIGHT UP, out of it's holster, until you're chicken-winging your strong arm. Your gun will nearly be in your armpit.
Now rotate your elbow down, so that the muzzle of the gun is pointing straight out. Why lift and then rotate? If you had to, (And it's not recommended at this point), you could fire off a point-shot from this position. The gun is close to your body but is not a danger to you. If your target had closed the position quicker than expected, a pull of the trigger could be easily achieved. Let's see our High-Speed Low Drag Model:
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/step2.jpg
Reminder: At this point, you only have one hand on your pistol.
STEP FOUR - GET A GRIP
Now that your pistol is aimed at your target, begin to extend your strong-arm. As it extends, bring your clenched-fist to it, getting a proper grip while continuing to extend to arm's length. AT THIS POINT, AND THIS POINT ONLY, IS IT OK TO PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER. As your arm fully extends, keep your head and neck where they are: looking at your target. Bring the gun to your eyes, not your eyes to the gun. As you practice this, you'll notice that your "sight picture" becomes almost a muscle memory.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/step2.5.jpg
Here, our HSLD model is in the process of extending his arms, and has brought his weak-hand to the grip. His right-trigger finger is now on the trigger.
STEP FIVE - CLICK!
As this is a tutorial on holster work, I'll leave out the obvious trigger/sight picture work, but suffice to say: Keep focused hard on the front sight, keep your target in the sight picture, and evenly press the trigger until it breaks. If you've done all of this, your bullet will go where it was aimed.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/step3.jpg
Bang.
STEP SIX - USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM
Now that the target has been taken care of, it would be a good time to make sure no other threats exist. Index the slide of your pistol (Read: FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER), drop your arms about 20 degrees, and move your entire upper-torso (gun included), left and right about 45 degrees. Scan the area. You're in the "Low-Ready" position, where the pistol can quickly be brought to bear if needed, but is not going to sweep any innocent people or property in the process of scanning.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/lowready.jpg
Gtab scans for additional baddies.
STEP SEVEN - RELOAD THAT SUMBITCH
No further targets present? Got a spare mag? Perform a tactical reload (Guide coming soon) to remove the partially spent magazine and insert a fresh one. Better safe than sorry, and the only thing worse than bringing a knife to a gun fight is bringing too little ammo.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/tacreload.jpg
HSLD CHP Officer TacReloads
STEP EIGHT - REHOLSTER
You have accomplished what you set out to do; eliminate a threat, hit an IDPA target, whatever. To reholster, we're going to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what we did before. Bring your gun back into your armpit, muzzle out, while bringing your clenched off-hand to your chest. Rotate your elbow up, pointing the muzzle straight down. With your finger indexing the frame and way off the trigger, lower the pistol into your holster.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/reholster.jpg
While this all may seem overwhelming, with practice it becomes very quick and looks impressive as hell. This is a very SAFE way to draw, and makes sure that none of your flailing limbs will be ejected from your body at 1000 feet per second.
HEY LOOK HERES A VIDEO OF NITROGEN FOLLOWING THE ABOVE STEPS! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6445194125111552120&hl=en[/url]
Praise the lord and pass the ammunition!
*Disclaimer: This is the Front Sight method. I am open to discussion and critique; however this is what Front Sight teaches their students.
Well, you're in luck! This guide will show a simple, effective, and snazzy looking draw from the holster that can be easily replicated for use in competition, concealed carry, or any other situation that requires you to bring a gun to the ready in rather short order. With practice, you should be able to go from holster to sight picture in a bit less than two seconds.
Step One: FINGER AWARENESS
Before you even think about putting your gun in, pulling your gun from, or even looking at your holster, stop and ask yourself where your finger is. Everyone has had this drilled into their heads from the first day they picked up a firearm, right? Well, guess what; today your gun is going to be pointing in the general direction of your leg and foot. Take a long, hard look at this picture. If your finger isn't like this, see Step One.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/230indexfinger.jpg
For good measure, lets go over the four rules again:
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/230s_safetyrules.jpg
Ok, ready for step two? Put your holster on your belt in roughly the 3:30/4:00 position, or 8:30/7:00 position for lefties. Insert your unloaded gun into the holster.
STEP TWO: OFF-HAND AWARENESS
Back in the good ol' days, police officers were taught to bring their 'off' hand to cover the holster when drawing. In some 1950's brain out there, this made sense. However, what you're doing is potentially exposing your off-hand to your pistol's muzzle. This, combined with adrenaline and anxiety of drawing your gun (presumably to end a life-threatening situation), can cause you to negligently discharge into your own hand.
On the other hand (No pun intended, Fang), some schools of thought suggested putting the off-hand out to fend off incoming advances, and to balance yourself. Again, your hand is potentially going to get swept by the muzzle.
So how do we safely draw a pistol while keeping use of Ol' Lefty? The easiest solution is to practice balling your off fist, and putting it on your chest (think "Tarzan tapping"). the effect is twofold; for one, you know where your hand is. It's close to your body, it's out of the muzzle's way, and most importantly, it's clenched. Why is clenching important? Muscles tend to move sympathetically; Under intense pressure, balling one hand sometimes causes the same reflex in the other hand. Imagine drawing on your target, realizing that it was not a direct threat, and for some reason balling your other fist. There is a very high potential that your gun-arm is now going to squeeze the trigger.
So, ball your fist, Tarzan-tap your chest, and wrap your strong-hand around your pistol's grip, being careful to index your finger OUTSIDE the holster.
Let's watch:
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/230step1.jpg
Step Three - LIFT and ROTATE
So far, so good. Your weak-hand fist is clenched on your chest like you've been eating Bacon for a week, your strong-hand has a strong grip around your pistol, and your index finger is, well, indexed along the outside of the holster.
Now we lift the gun - And i use this quite literally. Lift the gun STRAIGHT UP, out of it's holster, until you're chicken-winging your strong arm. Your gun will nearly be in your armpit.
Now rotate your elbow down, so that the muzzle of the gun is pointing straight out. Why lift and then rotate? If you had to, (And it's not recommended at this point), you could fire off a point-shot from this position. The gun is close to your body but is not a danger to you. If your target had closed the position quicker than expected, a pull of the trigger could be easily achieved. Let's see our High-Speed Low Drag Model:
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/step2.jpg
Reminder: At this point, you only have one hand on your pistol.
STEP FOUR - GET A GRIP
Now that your pistol is aimed at your target, begin to extend your strong-arm. As it extends, bring your clenched-fist to it, getting a proper grip while continuing to extend to arm's length. AT THIS POINT, AND THIS POINT ONLY, IS IT OK TO PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER. As your arm fully extends, keep your head and neck where they are: looking at your target. Bring the gun to your eyes, not your eyes to the gun. As you practice this, you'll notice that your "sight picture" becomes almost a muscle memory.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/step2.5.jpg
Here, our HSLD model is in the process of extending his arms, and has brought his weak-hand to the grip. His right-trigger finger is now on the trigger.
STEP FIVE - CLICK!
As this is a tutorial on holster work, I'll leave out the obvious trigger/sight picture work, but suffice to say: Keep focused hard on the front sight, keep your target in the sight picture, and evenly press the trigger until it breaks. If you've done all of this, your bullet will go where it was aimed.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/step3.jpg
Bang.
STEP SIX - USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM
Now that the target has been taken care of, it would be a good time to make sure no other threats exist. Index the slide of your pistol (Read: FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER), drop your arms about 20 degrees, and move your entire upper-torso (gun included), left and right about 45 degrees. Scan the area. You're in the "Low-Ready" position, where the pistol can quickly be brought to bear if needed, but is not going to sweep any innocent people or property in the process of scanning.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/lowready.jpg
Gtab scans for additional baddies.
STEP SEVEN - RELOAD THAT SUMBITCH
No further targets present? Got a spare mag? Perform a tactical reload (Guide coming soon) to remove the partially spent magazine and insert a fresh one. Better safe than sorry, and the only thing worse than bringing a knife to a gun fight is bringing too little ammo.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/tacreload.jpg
HSLD CHP Officer TacReloads
STEP EIGHT - REHOLSTER
You have accomplished what you set out to do; eliminate a threat, hit an IDPA target, whatever. To reholster, we're going to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what we did before. Bring your gun back into your armpit, muzzle out, while bringing your clenched off-hand to your chest. Rotate your elbow up, pointing the muzzle straight down. With your finger indexing the frame and way off the trigger, lower the pistol into your holster.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/reholster.jpg
While this all may seem overwhelming, with practice it becomes very quick and looks impressive as hell. This is a very SAFE way to draw, and makes sure that none of your flailing limbs will be ejected from your body at 1000 feet per second.
HEY LOOK HERES A VIDEO OF NITROGEN FOLLOWING THE ABOVE STEPS! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6445194125111552120&hl=en[/url]
Praise the lord and pass the ammunition!
*Disclaimer: This is the Front Sight method. I am open to discussion and critique; however this is what Front Sight teaches their students.