bonus post: handgun training analysis

This post is intended for people who already have a background in handling and firing a handgun.  It will especially be beneficial for those who have their CCW permits and practice drawing from a holster and firing.  This will help people clean up their drawing technique.

I came across a review for a holster I am interested in buying in which the reviewer draws and fires the weapon several times for the camera.  There's a lot of debate in the comments about technique and proper training.  I'm going to offer my opinion and while I can't boast X years in the military, I have received very good training in regards to defensive handgun techniques.  The military and law enforcement guys might have experience, but the needs they have for discharging a weapon are very different than those of the average citizen who is never in a combat situation.

Here's the video:

Here is my response:

First of all, I think the draw needs to be cleaned up.  He should try using his support hand to help expose the holster before the draw.  It helps ensure your strong hand gets a good grip on the frame without accidentally grabbing clothing and helps the gun itself come free without snagging on loose clothing.  You won't always be wearing a t-shirt and need to be ready to move all your clothes out of the way.  This applies when holstering the weapon, too.

I'm not sure why he retracts the gun back to the chest before scanning.  If a follow-up shot is required then there will be that much additional motion to get the weapon back to firing position.  You'll lose response time and accuracy.  I suppose it is to ensure an attacker nearby does not try to grab the gun after he fires it.  However, situational awareness should make sure no enemies are within arm's reach before he even draws.  Thus, because enemies will then not be in extremely close proximity, retracting the gun before scanning won't make a difference.  It's unnecessary motion that over-complicates the whole drill.  Not much, if anything, is to be gained by doing it.

I'm a believer in getting the gun up out of the holster, first pointing it downrange, and then extending straight to the target.  If you watch closely, this shooter gets the gun out of the holster, but then the muzzle drops as he brings it to firing position.  It makes for a rounded line of motion.  Try to keep it going straight out and up once you've drawn from the holster.  The process goes: 1) grip, 2) draw up, 3) point out, 4) extend straight downrange.  Do not extend downrange until the muzzle is pointed out.  That way, you are better able to begin acquiring your sight picture as the weapon is raised instead of getting it to firing position and then finding the front sight.  Smoothness is the key.  Dropping the muzzle is less precise and give you less control.

Overall, the drill feels extremely mechanical and thus it becomes hard to translate into any situation.  Muscle memory is a wonderful thing to develop but the way he's drilling boarders on being too rehearsed and therefore shuts off his brain.  Muscle memory is good for things like drawing and acquiring a target.  Something that's done almost identically every time.  Muscle memory needs to be retrained for things that will have many variables such as scanning surrounding areas.  Depending on the situation, you could need to fire another shot, cover, retreat, or advance.  But if you have programmed your body and brain to retract your weapon to your chest and scan, that is what you will do every time, even if it's not needed or worse, detrimental.

He should try stepping to the side before scanning.  Pick one way or another.  Have a partner there to yell commands after he finishes firing.  It could go: 1) draw, 2) fire, 3) partner yells "LEFT", 4) he side-steps to the left and scans.  The principle he's drilling is great.  That is, to break himself out of that mental barrier we call "tunnel vision" where you miss additional threats because you are so focused on the one in front of you.  He just needs more variation in the drill.

Lastly, I saw at least one person on the comment threads mention firing from the retracted position right after drawing, the idea being to get a shot off as quickly as possible in a defensive situation.  This is terrible advice.  Speed does not matter so much as smoothness and accuracy.  All that matters in a defensive situation is guaranteeing your hits.  Firing in the middle of the process disrupts the entire process, makes for woefully inaccurate shooting, and will make proper shot placement harder and slower.  Never go so fast that you cannot guarantee your hits.  Additionally, imagine trying to explain to a cop, judge, or jury why you were firing from that position.  Imagine that shot hits a bystander 25 degrees to the right of the attacker.  The prosecutor will call it, "shooting from the hip like a cowboy" and you'll go jail.  One of the great principles of gun safety violated by firing like this.

That's my $0.02.  Stay safe and keep training, everyone!