Developing the Draw | Easy Steps You Can Take to Build Consistency
Regardless of where or what you carry in order to protect yourself and the innocent, developing the draw is one of the most important skill sets that you can focus on. What habits do I need to build on in order to feel confident in my ability to get the gun out of the holster?
At Force Frontier, we set aside a large portion of our limited training time to the draw. Having the confidence to retrieve the gun from the holster when we REALLY need it is vital, not only for potential survival, but also to be able to make better decisions. Let me explain.
Confidence in any skill or knowledge base is something that gives a person ease of mind. Knowing you know something or knowing you can perform a skill on demand allows for us to focus on the task at hand as opposed to reemptively drawing our gun when the situation doesn’t require it.
At Force Frontier we believe in being well rounded protectors. What that means is you are or strive to be in shape, proficient with your firearm, a capable martial artist and you think through situations and utilize effective tactics. Now the truth is no one is a true master in all of these areas. However, being aware of one’s inefficiencies is half the battle. Recognize where you are capable and where you can use some work and try to address it. Simply reading this article could get the ball rolling for you as it pertains to improving your proficiency with the handgun you trust your life with.
NOW LET’S BREAK DOWN HOW WE DEVELOP AN EFFICIENT AND CONSISTENT DRAW
DRY FIRE
1. Develop a purposeful training session (10 mins or less)
You want to have as much mental focus as you can during a dry fire training session. Once you fatigue during a training session it’s best to revisit it later in the day or even the next day or two. If not you may have diminishing returns or even bad training habits.
2. Focal Vision
The first step in developing an efficient draw is to hard focus on a small object in your house (lightswitch). We want to focus to the point we develop a sense of tunnel vision on that object. Just like using a mouse on a computer, we don’t stare at the mouse, we stare at the icon we want to press and we bring the cursor to the icon. When dry firing this is the most overlooked step during our session.
3. Clearing Clothing
In order to clear clothing out of the way effectively we must first practice in our normal everyday attire. I typically wear t-shirts and sweatshirts, depending on the time of year. Because of that it is much easier to slap my support hand near my holster and grab a handful of my shirt. I focus on grabbing with the index finger and thumb, pinching the clothing in between the two. I then pull the shirt up to the center of my chest to ensure I am able to clear the gun.
4. Slamming the webbing of your dominant hand into the beaver tail
If you bought a decent holster and reliable handgun, we would encourage you to slam the webbing of your dominant hand into the beaver tail violently to ensure a consistent grip. Grabbing high on the beaver tail is a non-negotiable for us, so ensure you get high on the gun to mitigate recoil more effectively. Slamming your hand into the beaver tail ensures a high grip but also allows for you to bounce the gun out of the holster. By bouncing the gun out of the holster you will see more consistent draw times and in most cases faster draw times.
5. Karate Chop with the Support Hand
The support hand lets go of the shirt once the gun is out of the holster and begins to marry up with the dominant hand once the muzzle is parallel with the ground. It is vital to keep all four fingers together and to feel with the support hand index finger for the dominant hand middle finger. Once the support hand is in place, create a finger-to-palm pressure like you’re opening a jar. As you present the firearm I want you to focus on pulling with the support hand vs. pushing with the dominant hand.
6. Prep the Trigger
You can’t shoot faster if you don’t shoot sooner. The goal would be to have the trigger prepped upon presentation so you can break the shot when your sights or dot align with the intended target. Make sure that trigger is prepped so you’re ready once the sights meet your eyes.
7. Raise the Dot/Sights into view
The last thing to focus on is to raise the gun into view. Take your hand from your holster to your target with the most direct route. It is not raising the gun to your eyes and then “punching out”. The most direct route is like a flight of stairs from your holster to your eyeline. Simply stare at your intended target, establish an effective grip on the firearm and raise into view out in front of ou. Your dot/sights will land where you are looking, making it easier for them to settle. You will be able to process this information much faster, allowing for you to be able to shoot sooner on presentation.
WHAT EQUIPMENT SHOULD I INVEST IN?
Given it is 2025, there is a plethora of viable holsters, belts, and firearms to purchase. So how do we know we’re making the right decision?
All you can do is do your research and try to make the best decision FOR YOU. Just make sure you are purchasing a rigid belt, quality holster with a good reputation and one of the many mainstream gun manufacturers (Glock, S&W, Ruger, Walther etc. Notice we didn’t mention Sig 🙂)
My current (because it has changed many times over the years) is the following:
Final Thoughts
Understanding the final result can help us walk back the process. Speed an accuracy are the basic skills we are trying to balance in shooting, however the draw has a much bigger emphasis on the speed aspect. So if we know the specific steps we need to take (illustrated above), then we can talk ourselves through the process to get the very specific result we are seeking.
At the end of the day, all of us could improve in this area and the job is never finished. So go out there and crush it!
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