How To Draw a Pistol

The ability to point and shoot a handgun and hit what you’re aiming at repeatedly and accurately is a skill that takes a lot of training and practice to master. Doing it on the draw is even more difficult, and yet it’s a skill at which anyone who carries concealed for self-defense should, at least, be proficient. A lot of things can go wrong while drawing a pistol, and everything has to go right for you to end up with your handgun presented in a proper two-handed grip. Plus, small things about your draw may have to change based on carry position, the type of handgun, where the handgun is (in a holster versus on a nightstand or in a center console), and what kind of clothing you’re wearing.

Mike Glover of Fieldcraft Survival calls on his many years of Special Forces experience in this video to show you the right way to draw a pistol from an appendix-position IWB holster (his specific recommendation for concealed carry) and establish a solid and proper grip the moment your hands touch the firearm.

The first step, Glover says, is to use the back of the rear sights to act as a kind of grip for the thumb of the dominant hand on the draw. Place your strong-hand thumb on top of the rear sight while the gun is still in its holster.

“The alternative is sticking my thumb behind the grip, which is difficult. As I draw the pistol I’m going to put my thumb on top of the rear sight to get a good grip,” Glover says, which also provides a good tactile index for the strong hand and a little bit of extra leverage when extracting the gun from the holster.

At the same time, Glover says to mate the middle finger of the strong hand to the bottom of the trigger guard. The gun still has not left the holster. These two anchor points help make sure the strong hand is immediately positioned correctly on the grip of the pistol as it is drawn. If the middle finger isn’t tight against the trigger guard, you might have to choke up on the grip to close the gap after the draw, which is no bueno.

If there are any gaps in your grip, the gun is going to settle differently after the recoil from every shot, meaning your groupings and accuracy will be all over the place: also no bueno.

Once the gun clears the holster, Glover says the rest of the draw is about economy of motion.

“When I pull the gun, I’m clearing the gun from my holster and my pants, and that’s all you need to do. I see a lot of guys go all the way out and their elbow is super high — as soon as this is clear, I can begin the movement from Point A to Point B, which is presentation on target,” Glover says. “As it clears, I simply drop my elbow and it drives the gun in the direction of the target.”

At this point, the gun is still being held only by the strong hand with the thumb resting on top of the rear sight. As the support hand comes in to create a solid two-handed grip and the gun is rotated from the draw, that’s when Glover says the thumb moves off the rear sight and onto the frame, completing the grip.

Throughout this process, trigger discipline is, of course, paramount. When indexing your trigger finger, be sure to do so along the frame of the gun above the trigger. Do NOT float your trigger finger over the trigger guard. Why? If you’re floating the trigger guard and something startles you, for example, the natural flinch response could result in a negligent discharge. That can’t happen if the trigger finger is on the frame.

That brings us to re-holstering the firearm after a threat is addressed.

“I always look at my holster as I’m putting [the gun] away,” Glover says. “Most gun fights and self-defense [incidents] happen at night. So just willy-nilly, with adrenaline coursing through your veins, trying to smash it in the holster — no, the gun fight is over. Don’t be in such a rush to put it away. Look at your holster, index your finger, and put it away.”

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