Drawing under pressure... rookie question...

[Snake Doctor]

So I find I'm having trouble acquiring a balance between a fast draw and a steady draw. I find that in order to draw quickly, I must risk a mediocre grip on my gun--at one point I even bobbled it (glad they do drop tests on these new guns ). But, in order to draw securely, I must risk not getting my gun out quick enough. Thoughts?

[Charles L. Cotton]

Practice the draw stoke slowly and smoothly and speed will come. It is very important that you get a firing grip on the gun before it is pulled from the holster. I recommend that students practice just the "firing grip" part of the draw stroke, until that is perfected before moving on. Learning to draw is something that should be done at home with an unloaded gun. Once you are confident with that skill, take it to the range and do it live. By confident, I mean handling your gun safely, not that you are lightening fast.

Chas.

[propellerhead]

Find a local IDPA club. We shoot from concealment so you get to practice your draw over and over again.

[M9FAN]

Practice the draw stoke slowly and smoothly and speed will come. It is very important that you get a firing grip on the gun before it is pulled from the holster. I recommend that students practice just the "firing grip" part of the draw stroke, until that is perfected before moving on. Learning to draw is something that should be done at home with an unloaded gun. Once you are confident with that skill, take it to the range and do it live. By confident, I mean handling your gun safely, not that you are lightening fast.

Chas.

Thanks for the always-useful information, Chas!

[boomerang]

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

[Kerbouchard]

You can never miss fast enough to win a gunfight.

Good grip and a good first shot. You may never get another.

[longtooth]

All the above is so good I will not try to add anything.

[Wildscar]

All the above is so good I will not try to add anything.

[fm2]

So I find I'm having trouble acquiring a balance between a fast draw and a steady draw. I find that in order to draw quickly, I must risk a mediocre grip on my gun--at one point I even bobbled it (glad they do drop tests on these new guns ). But, in order to draw securely, I must risk not getting my gun out quick enough. Thoughts?

Remember, you want a ROBUST drawstroke. The off/support is placed flat on the chest at the midline. The #1(establishing a fighting grip on the pistol) is the cornerstone movement of the combative drawstroke. Make sure the web of your hand is deep/high in the tang and fingers wrap around the gun. You can practice the #1 with the gun in the holster. As always, visually & physically inspect the pistol to insure it is unloaded.

[Snake Doctor]

Practice the draw stoke slowly and smoothly and speed will come. It is very important that you get a firing grip on the gun before it is pulled from the holster. I recommend that students practice just the "firing grip" part of the draw stroke, until that is perfected before moving on. Learning to draw is something that should be done at home with an unloaded gun. Once you are confident with that skill, take it to the range and do it live. By confident, I mean handling your gun safely, not that you are lightening fast.

Chas.

Consider it practiced. Thanks!

[Deaf Smith]

As Bill Jordan said, "Speed is fine, accuracy is final."

Do as Cotton says. And do go to IDPA matches.

Your skill will not increase cause you went to the IDPA matches, but it will increase from all the practice you will do so you can win some of those matches!

[flechero]

Consider it practiced.

Be sure to continue to practice with some regularity...

[KBCraig]

The first priority is not to get the gun out of the holster.

I'll say it again, because people tend to ignore or overlook it: "The first priority is not getting the gun out of the holster."

The first priority is getting the gun safely on target. To do so you have to draw it from the holster, but you also have to establish a good strong hand grip, use a smooth draw stroke, add your support hand, and establish sight alignment.

All of those other things are as important as actually getting the gun out; without them, jerking the gun out quickly is useless.

There is very little motion in a fast/smooth draw. Once you practice (practice... practice... practice... ) your properly smooth draw, there will come a day when you're astonished that the gun is in your hand and on target so quickly. And by "there will come a day", I don't mean that it takes years. With a week or so of consistently practicing a smooth slow draw, you'll find the truth of "slow is smooth, smooth is fast".