Iwb full combat grip?

[MCFLYFYTER]

Can you, and do you get a 100% full combat grip on your iwb ccw gun before you start your draw stroke?

 

[bdickens]

Yes.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

Yes.

Can you give holster and gun details? Can you describe how you get your thumb shoved down between your hip and gun reliably and quickly?

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

It's more difficult to get a good and repetitive grip and draw from IWB for me personally.

It's why I prefer OWB and only use IWB for when concealability is of the utmost or I know beforehand I'll have to remove the rig to go into a place.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Yes.

Same.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

I have no issue getting a good and consistent grip, I just can't get a full "combat grip". My thumb is always angled up a little and slips into place after the draw stroke is started and some room created for my thumb.

Years ago I was told by a very well known gun guy that if you cant have a full combat grip before you draw, you should never use that holster. I did try for a while, but I would blister my thumb on holsters with a backer, and destroy the skin on my hip if there was no backer.

I just dont see how it is possible without having an odd shaped body, or a holster that sits away from the body.

 

[Jeff White]

Years ago I was told by a very well known gun guy that if you cant have a full combat grip before you draw, you should never use that holster. I did try for a while, but I would blister my thumb on holsters with a backer, and destroy the skin on my hip if there was no backer.

What gun/holster combination are you using and are you protecting the skin on your hip with a T-shirt or other garment between the gun and your body?

I used a Milt Sparks Executive Companion with my S&W 3914 (off duty gun I carried when the dept issued 5906s) and I wore a T-shirt to protect my skin.

 

[bdickens]

You can't get that "full combat grip" or whatever if you have a gun with a manual safety, either.

 

[.38 Special]

I suppose it must depend at least partially on the gun and the definition of "combat grip".

I carry a K frame revolver in a Tucker "Texas Heritage" IWB. Here in my warm desert climate I usually wear a light, patterned fishing shirt as a cover garment. I use Magna style grips with a T-grip insert.

In training I fumble the "getting the fishing shirt out of the way" about two percent of the time. I use my off hand for the task. Of the times I am able to get my shirt out of the way, I screw up the draw about ten percent of the time. Usually the mistake is in grabbing a bit of my undershirt along with the gun. Occasionally the problem is that I get a weird "half-assed" grip on the gun and need to do a bit of juggling during the presentation. None of this is a complete disaster, but it can add something like half-a-second to one-and-a-half seconds to the whole process.

Of much greater concern to me is the effect of stress. When I train under stressful conditions - blue gun stuff, where the guy across the room is going to run at me and try to punch me or choke me out or whatever - my performance becomes much worse. Perhaps an eighty percent failure rate, with maybe twenty percent disastrous failures like dropped guns, etc.

So I am not sure if going for a CCW gun under time pressure is a good idea at all. At this time in my training, if I don't know for a fact that I have the time and space to produce the gun, I probably am going to go with a different option.

 

[bdickens]

Can you give holster and gun details? Can you describe how you get your thumb shoved down between your hip and gun reliably and quickly?

Doesn't matter.

You have to adjust it so it rides high enough to get ahold of. If you shove it down in your pants too far you're going to have problems.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

You can't get that "full combat grip" or whatever if you have a gun with a manual safety, either.

Ok, this is genius. My thumb would probably be right on a safety, so it could definitely be argued.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

Doesn't matter.

You have to adjust it so it rides high enough to get ahold of. If you shove it down in your pants too far you're going to have problems.

So it is high enough it falls away from the body to create some thumb room?

 

[Jeff White]

You have to adjust it so it rides high enough to get ahold of. If you shove it down in your pants too far you're going to have problems.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is the solution..

I never really had a problem because the gun always pushed away from my body enough when I gripped it, but I can see how this would be a problem if the butt was down inside the waistband.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

What gun/holster combination are you using and are you protecting the skin on your hip with a T-shirt or other garment between the gun and your body?

I used a Milt Sparks Executive Companion with my S&W 3914 (off duty gun I carried when the dept issued 5906s) and I wore a T-shirt to protect my skin.

A few supertucks, an eidolon, and a few non custom kydex. Guns are shield9, XD sub, xdm45 and a glock.

I can't do the undershirt thing. When wearing a sweatshirt I can tuck my tee shirt in, but that's about it.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is the solution..

I never really had a problem because the gun always pushed away from my body enough when I gripped it, but I can see how this would be a problem if the butt was down inside the waistband.

With a full size, I guess I can get almost 100% grip, so I guess you are correct. I just get really tired of fixing my shirt.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

This doesn't exactly seem deep to me, but I could try raising it up so it will flop out a bit.

 

[Jeff White]

Can’t you just push the gun away from your body a bit when your thumb goes behind it?

It looks high enough to me. I’m guessing that it’s a short barrel and you have to keep your belt tight to keep it in place.

 

[herrwalther]

No problems for me when carrying at 4oclock. I have to bump my grip up a bit on my smaller firearm when carrying appendix. When possible I force myself to draw and shoot with less than ideal grips to see how speed, accuracy etc are effected with intentionally bad hand placement.

 

[Zendude]

I find it a bit easier to get a combat grip on an iwb revolver than a semiauto. Maybe because the cylinder pushes the grip off the body a little.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

I reviewed my our conversation, and I was probably a little too lax on my grip at that time, and he was just really pushing for the optimum grip. My draw now would put my thumb really close to a 1911 safety, so I think it is plenty close enough.

For me to get a decent grip, I have to index on the beaver tail. I cant just shove my thumb straight down, so when my hand gets indexed I sweep my thumb over the top as if it were sitting on the safety.

I think I'm good now, just something that has bothered me a little over the years.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Go on YouTube and watch miculek draw videos. His thumb is up and he isnt exactly slow to his first shot. Even with owb holsters his thumb is high. Many people draw that way. Maybe because of the 1911/Beretta 92 safety. Maybe because of the extra flap on level 3 holsters. Maybe because of SA revolvers. Who knows but I still draw that way.

Most instructors dont drop that thumb down until their support hand has engaged the grip

 

[9mmepiphany]

Can you, and do you get a 100% full combat grip on your iwb ccw gun before you start your draw stroke?
My draw now would put my thumb really close to a 1911 safety, so I think it is plenty close enough.

From those two sentences, I'm getting the impression that your definition of combat grip has your strong hand thumb tucked down as opposed to atop your support hand thumb...would that be an accurate reading?

Back when I regularly carried IWB, I was carrying a Colt Commander in a Milt Sparks Summer Special. I never had a problem getting my thumb into position to ride the thumb safety as the gun came out of the holster. I later carried a SIG 220 IWB in a Bladetech kydex holster and again did not have a problem getting my grip on the gun.

The holsters carried the guns tucked into the body for concealment, but high enough above the belt that it offered a full grip on the frame

 

[crestoncowboy]

I'm getting the impression that your definition of combat grip has your strong hand thumb tucked down as opposed to atop your support hand thumb...

I took it that way as well. I believe the OP is talking only about the strong hand thumb. ( As If the OP is talking about the Strong hand thumb in the groove on a glock for example, during the beginning of the draw. ) The only time I may put my thumb there is firing one handed. I've not seen many people draw a gun that way. Most that I've see teaching classes have the thumb up so that the support hand thumb can go in there without having to move everything. Otherwise an M9 or a 1911 is going to be a problem.

 

[1942bull]

I guess I might be missing something, but I have never had an IWB holster which made it easy or even possible to position my thumb in a full grip. My understanding of “combat grip” is having three thinkers securely wrapped on the grip with trigger finger positioned to automatically fall into the safe position on draw. The thumb is placed on the rear of the slide or on the hammer and dropped into position on the draw. I must have missed something somewhere.

 

[MCFLYFYTER]

I guess I might be missing something, but I have never had an IWB holster which made it easy or even possible to position my thumb in a full grip. My understanding of “combat grip” is having three thinkers securely wrapped on the grip with trigger finger positioned to automatically fall into the safe position on draw. The thumb is placed on the rear of the slide or on the hammer and dropped into position on the draw. I must have missed something somewhere.

At the time my draw had my thumb on the back of the sight. I was told that is wrong (which I agree with now) and you should have a full shooting grip before drawing. I had actually forgotten that I did that, and maybe took him a little too literal.