Presentation from the Holster

[Grant Tactical Training]

From all of the training I have done over the years, I have seen many ways of presenting or drawing your handgun from a holster. They were all pretty much the same. It was a choppy step by step method. I never liked this to begin with. The draws always seemed jerky and never seemed really smooth. Some could say I was doing it wrong. That wasn’t it. Because of the motion required and so many reps to get down, it is difficult to have everything
flow together. It required stopping or having a designated spot for your weak hand to grip the gun. I believe this method is an inferior method.

With the help of empirical evidence, we have seen time and time again that people who have trained with a designated spot for their hands to meet are shooting one handed. Subconsciously they are realizing it is more important to get the gun out on the bad guy then stop to get a two handed grip. Because of this, they are shooting one handed. This is mainly seen with the Weaver Stance.

Combat Focus® Shooting’s method, which I am a certified active instructor, is the best method. Here is the method.

1. Grip the gun and beat any retention devices.
Attachment 13226

2. Pull the gun straight up and out of holster.
Attachment 13227

3. Orient the gun to the threat.
Attachment 13228

4. Extend the gun into and parallel with your line of sight and at some point as you are pushing the gun out, establish your grip with your weak hand.
Attachment 13229

This requires less time, effort, and energy to perform. Starting out it will be a little jerky as you learn the new skill. Only after a few reps, people are able to smooth the presentation out. This makes it the most efficient draw I have seen. I am open to the idea of a better way. If there is a better way, I want to see it and try it out.

[Moltke]

I usually just come out of the holster shooting wildly. By putting a few into the dirt as I raise the muzzle to presentation level, you really let the bad guy know that you mean business...
-----------

No but seriously, the draw looks good. I notice that you are going very high with the gun before orienting it towards the target (at least in your pictures). Are you really doing a 90 degree turn with it and driving it towards the target, or is the gun following a curve to eye level as you raise it and drive it towards the target at the same time?

What I mean is - once you've cleared your holster, why wait to start driving the gun?

[Grant Tactical Training]

And, as Rob Pincus, has pointed out in his ground breaking work on the topic, by training to bring the gun up to the side and orient it towards the threat consistently, the start of your draw stroke is the same for threats that you will engage at extension and while in contact. Furthermore, you will not be in the habit of pushing the gun forward as part of your raising up from the holster, should you need to orient the gun in a direction other than to the front (for example: when seated with a threat to your strong side).

[Moltke]

So was that a yes to my question of what you are doing? You are going straight up then straight out?

[Grant Tactical Training]

Sorry about that. Yes, straight up then straight out.

[Moltke]

I think that drawing is situationally dependent and that it's good to practice different methods, this looks like a decent method. I wasn't knocking it when I was asking, I was just curious about what exactly was happening and the reasoning behind it. I think you could be faster for a forward threat if you drive the gun on a curve instead of at a right angle. Have you tested this on a timer?

[Grant Tactical Training]

You have to look at effective and efficient. Effective is achieving a stated goal. Alone it is irrelevant. Effective takes least time, effort, and energy. The method you are describing might be faster in isolation by a tenth of a second or whatever number it is. It may not be. We need to look at it within human error. Your method also runs the risk of seesawing the gun, either canting the muzzle backwards or forwards. This requires controlling more unnecessary movement to the gun. Remember we are not robots that can magic the gun in our hands when we need to shoot a threat. So if it’s faster to bring the gun to our face, but takes more time to insure the gun is parallel with our line of sight. It makes it slower. The CFS method mitigates all of the stated issues.

[Moltke]

Both methods would be effective because the end goal is going to be met both ways when the target is shot accurately. So by what standard will you measure efficiency if not by time?

[Grant Tactical Training]

All of these technique are well within the same time frame taking human error in account. And correct, both ways completes the stated goal. It's all about what is efficient. Pulling the gun straight up and extending the gun straight out into and parallel with your line of site is efficient because it is more consistent. Consistency increase our efficiency. Consistency is the standard. By limiting the movement on the gun, it will be more consistent, which will increase our efficiency, thus making it the preferred technique.

[Arctic1]

For some context, is this technique superior regardless of holster/carry, or specifically for concealed carry?