Proper draw stroke?

[SpookyPistolero]

On my draws, I feel I am good at bringing the gun up to my chest to my weak hand, then driving it forward. But I also tend to lean forward, drop my head a bit, and roll my shoulders in 'tight'. I've only just learned that the latter group of actions might be wrong. Is this the case? How should your shoulders be during shooting and on the draw? An issue with keepig my head 'up' is that it feels like once the gun is in position, my wrists must necessarily break and bend forward a bit, in order to level off the sights. Does that make sense?

And when you extend your arms, do you 'fully' extend to the point just before your elbows lock? Or do you leave some bend?

[sdm74]

There are lots of diffrent styles..just try to be in the position you shoot before you draw. You don't want to be moving head to much at all.

[mlmiller1]

As you draw, if anything is moving besides your arms, you are wasting movement & that equals time. Also if your head is moving, you are changing your perspective on the target which means you now need to reacquire the target, again that is time & or accuracy. Bring the gun up into your line of sight. If you absolutely have to have your head down & shoulders out of position to shoot, do all that before you begin the draw or before the buzzer goes off. Get into the position you intend to shoot from while it isn't costing you time. Best advice, learn to bring the gun up with no other body movements besides your arms. As far as arm extension goes, some shooters do better fully extended, some with elbows bent but pointing down, some with elbows bent, pointing outwards. Find out which way you control recoil best by trying each position with multiple shots. See how accuracy & time are, then build that into your draw. A video camera is your friend when training for draw & form.

MLM

[SpookyPistolero]

Thanks for the thoughtful and speedy replies. I think I just need to get in front of a mirror for a couple of hours and look for inefficient motion. The good news is it looks like I'll be attending my first uspsa match thursday and the talented folks there can hopefully point out my deficits.

[Wild Gene]

Saul Kirsch has a very good series of videos on You Tube. That is a great place to start.

As everyone stated, your head and shoulders should not move.

Try to find a video of Jessie Abbate drawing. Her draw is a bit unique in the sense that she trains to do the following steps. From a very aggressive "fighting" stance. 1. BOTH hands go to the gun, strong hand is placed ON THE GUN (do not scoop the gun, put your hand on it). 2. Gun is "rocked" out of the holster, support hand comes up under the gun, safety clomes off. 3. support hand (keep it open) lifts the gun up under as if to "hook" her nose with the rear sight. Front sight is aquired at this time, note that it is between your eyes and the target. 4. While focusing on the front sight, extend and prep the trigger. This is when your support hand starts to grip the gun. It actually "builds" your grip as you are extending and prepping the trigger. 5. At extension (not locked elbows) everything should be lined up and ready to go, and your shot should break. She does un upside down "L" shape on her draw. Prepping for the draw is very important too. She goes into her aggressive stance, both hands go to her gun (don't draw), when she is asked "shooter ......" her support hand goes to its required starting position, then the strong and goes to it's starting position, then the buzzer goes off. Same moves every time.

I use her as an example because what a woman may lack in strength, they have to make up with PERFECT technique. As when she is on, no one is going to beat her. She has the, IMHO, best coach in the world, her husband, Billy.

Good Shooting.

WG

Edited March 30, 2011 by Wild Gene

[lumpygravy]

I'd add:

If you have a video camera (or access to one), take some video of yourself doing your dry draws. Seeing your draw repeatedly on video really helps isolate all of the extra "stuff" that you may be doing that doesn't help your draw.

I didn't intentionally "crunch/hunch" down with my head and shoulders, but the video proved that I did and seeing it third person gave me something to focus upon for improvement. I then did the dry draws in super slow motion to feel everything that was moving and worked to minimise any extra movement.

BTW - I also noticed that when I did the "crunch/hunch", I was much more tense - another sensation to avoid if one wnats to shoot with more speed and consistency.

Edited March 31, 2011 by lumpygravy

[benos]

Practice drawing in front of a full length mirror. Line up the top of your head with a spot reflected in the mirror - during the draw you can easily see if you are dropping your head or not. Nothing should move except for you arms.

be

[Flexmoney]

I'd figure out your grip and stance first.

With that solid, go in reverse and slo-motion...back to your holster.

(I'd save taking the safety off until you press out to the target.)

[Wild Gene]

I'd figure out your grip and stance first.

With that solid, go in reverse and slo-motion...back to your holster.

(I'd save taking the safety off until you press out to the target.)

I agree with grip and stance, and was actually thinking I should add the reverse order back to the holster with both hands.

What is your thought on the safety off until you press out to the target? More of a safety issue, possibly assuming a newer to the game shooter (no offense intended Spooky), or is that your actual draw? Just curious and always wanting to learn if I can.

WG

[bobtorre]

Jefe,,, Check this compadre's draw....