Blog #185 – Practice your Draw Stroke

Concealed carry is not only a popular, pop culture topic within the firearms community at-large, but it has been very popular here at Tyrant Designs and we will be exploring another facet of it here today. The art and practice of carrying might not be foreign to many of us, but the element of drawing your firearm might be. This almost sounds nonsensical. If you are carrying a firearm concealed for the defense of yourself and loved ones, you might need to present it in order to protect yourself, right? It seems like a Homer Simpson “Duh'' kind of moment because of course it is true. Sadly, how frequently do people practice what is called their draw stroke? This entails clearing garments (moving any necessary clothing out of the way such as lifting up a T-shirt or brushing a coat out of the way); getting a firm grip and dexterity of your firearm; and then extending it out to a target; albeit, a paper practice target or a legitimate threat. The draw stroke sounds simple enough, but it should absolutely be practiced. The 1st act in this 3-part play is clearing your garment and this can be the most troublesome. We all carry firearms in different ways – AIWB (appendix inside the waistband), SOB (small of back), hip, shoulder rig, ankle – and all of these various positions about our body are going to require different methods of “clearing a garment.” The most important thing in clearing your garment is to get it out of the way. Not sort of out of the way, but really out of the way! The reason for this thinking is once you become stressed in a real moment of defense you might not do practiced movements to their full completion. So, practice like you are giving 110%. Lift up your T-shirt way out of the way so you can grab your AIWB pistol and present it on target. Clear your garment with the same rigorous nature in all other carrying positions as well. Next, is grasping your firearm. Make sure you always have strong dexterity. Whether it is because you are authentically a strong individual (but check your ego at the door and be honest with yourself), or do small “cheats” like stippling your firearm or adding grip tape to improve your dexterity. The worst thing you can do in a self-defense situation is clear your garment, reach for your firearm, and “fumble the football” right in front of an assailant. Now, you not only do not have your firearm for defense, but the attacker might be able to take it from you. So, a firm grip on your firearm is very important. Finally, the 3rd step is presenting, extending, and shooting your firearm while having been drawn from a holster. The act of shooting might be the easiest part for many people, but it again, should still be practiced. You could do dry-fire draw stroke practice at home to increase the speed of your draw stroke. You could also do life-fire practice at a range with a buddy. In fact, tell them to heckle you while you do it. It is nearly impossible to replicate the real-world stress of a self-defense situation, but if one of your shooting buddies is josh-ing you and heckling you, then being loud, boisterous, and annoying could be enough to get you to really focus (and feel some stress) while out at the range. So, while many of us carry firearms all the time it is important to do dry-fire, live-fire, and practice our draw stroke as much as possible. Until next time, continually check out our blog, join our newsletter, and watch the website for new and exciting updates! As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below. We love it when you participate in our articles and keep the conversation going!