Now for the crucial ingredient. As the gun sights come into your line of sight, transfer your focus to the front sight and let the target blur slightly. This is of the utmost importance. The faster you see your sights, the faster you can verify your aim. If you are using a pistol like a 1911 semi-auto in Condition One (cocked-hammer), you may place your finger gently on the trigger at this time. Now you begin checking the alignment of your sights as you move the gun forward to the fully extended arms position.
Do not wait for the gun to be fully extended before focusing on your sights! This defeats the purpose of bringing the gun up into your line of sight close to your face. Use the time this technique gives you to get a head start on your aiming.
It’s important for you to realize that, before your arms reach full extension, you have the ability to fire a coarsely aimed shot at a very close target, say within three yards, very quickly and with some notion of what your sight alignment is. By the time you reach full extension of the arms, you should already have a good sight picture and be able to fire the instant your arms cease motion on most shots that do not require extreme precision.
Holstering the gun occurs as the reverse of the above motions. Think of it as running a movie backwards. The finger comes off the trigger as your two-handed grip moves the gun back towards your chest. The safety, if there is one, is reengaged and, as the gun rotates down towards the holster, the support forearm goes horizontal across your chest, its support hand parked at the “grab” position where it was first picked up by the gun. You should learn to re-holster without looking at the holster. Keep your eyes on the target (you may need to change your mind about re-holstering in a real-world situation!). You should also resist the urge to reach down and hold the holster with the support hand, as you will end up sweeping the gun muzzle across your support hand fingers.
Once the gun is holstered, run your fingers between the gun and your shirt, to make sure a fold of fabric has not been jammed down into the holster between the leather and gun. During this entire process, maintain your body’s shooting posture (knees bent, fanny out, shoulders rounded towards the target), until the gun is holstered. Only once the gun is secured in the leather should you assume a normal posture.
If you are going to carry concealed, you will need to clear your covering garment away from the handgun before you can grip the gun.
For sweeping aside an open jacket or coat, have the fingertips of your drawing hand raking across your shirt as you flip the garment open. Your hand should sweep the garment away and up to the pistol butt so you have clear access. Experiment with differing cover garments, as some will move aside in a satisfactory manner, while others will tend to cling to your shirt requiring a much slower “peeling” action.
For a non-opening, pullover type garment, grab the hem of the garment with both hands on either side of the hip holster and yank it far enough upwards to give several inches of clearance above the gun butt. It should go without saying that you do not want to be grabbing a handful of clothing wrapped around the gun butt.
The key to a quick draw is not forced speed, but, instead, a smooth, efficient movement without wasted motion. The technique is very simple, minimal, and direct, so resist the urge to make it more complicated than it needs to be. Slow makes smooth, and smooth makes fast.
Chapter 9
Reloading Drills
Reloads are procedures by which a shooter is able to replentish the weapon with ammunition either during a gun fight or during a lull in that fight. The need for reloading can be either immediate or a matter of choice, depending on the circumstances.
There are three types of reloads: Emergency, Tactical, and Administrative.
In an emergency reload, you have fired the weapon empty to slide lock and must now reload.
Upon realizing that the weapon is empty, reach for a fresh magazine in your magazine pouch. Punch out the empty magazine as you move the open end of the magazine to the magazine well.
Briskly and firmly insert the magazine into the magazine well. Release the slide stop, or pull back slightly on the slide and release it, to recharge the weapon; point in assess; and fire, if necessary.
The tactical reload is reloading the weapon when you want to top off the firearm before you have fired it empty. It is normally done during a lull in the gunfight when there is no danger of putting yourself at risk of being shot. To perform a tactical reload:
Bring the gun to your midsection while securing a fresh magazine from the magazine pouch with your support-side hand.
Firmly seat the fresh magazine. Stow the ejected magazine in you pouch or pocket. (There is no need to fully rack the slide since there is already a round in the chamber).
This is the simple loading procedure. It is normally performed at the start of a firing exercise.
Chapter 10
Gentlemen (and Ladies) Choose Your Weapons
One can’t carry a concealed weapon without having a concealable weapon. Some are suitable for the concealed carry task, and some are not.
We can’t cover every possible choice here. A swing through the Krause catalog will show you whole books on the 1911, the Glock, the SIG-Sauer, the Beretta, the Smith & Wesson series, etc. al. Other good choices from Paladin include Living with 1911s and Living with Glocks by Robert Boatman, and the outstanding The Snubby Revolver by Ed Lovette. I think Lovette’s book should be read by anyone who owns or is thinking of owning a “snub-nose.” It puts the whole genre in perspective.
As noted earlier, it’s more convenient to have a “wardrobe” of concealable handguns, but it’s not entirely necessary. Generations of young cops have learned that it’s cheaper to buy a concealment holster for their full-size department-issue service handgun than to purchase a whole new gun and leather set for off-duty carry. Similarly, many armed citizens have learned that the full-size handgun they bought for home protection is concealable if they set their mind to it.
