One hand draw?

[JellyJar]

Over the years I have seen and read many times that when drawing a handgun from concealed carry you should use your off hand ( left if you are right handed ) to pull up your cover garment and then draw. I have never had to draw but to me it seems logical that sometimes the threat would be so close to you that you would need to use your off hand to fend off an attack while drawing with your dominant hand. Also, there could be the possibility that perhaps your off hand is injured or for what ever reason not available to assist your dominant hand.

If the above is correct then perhaps it would be best to be able to draw from concealed using just one hand. I usually only practice one hand draws.

I see that nowadays there are "tuckable" holsters where the IWB holster uses clips that allow the shirt to be tucked between the holster and the pants. Using such a holster with the shirt tucked would necessitate using a two hand draw. If being able to do a one hand draw if preferable then I would not want such a holster.

What are y'all's opinions about this?

 

[sheepdog]

...I don't carry IWB anywhere but in front for that reason...it's easy for me to use my thumb to hook up my shirt worn tails out(polo or heavy t)...but back on my hip, behind my hip, or sob, especially sitting, I fumble too much...thousands of folks have mastered it, though...same with tucked in shirts over a holster...I just don't...don't rely on my off hand for drawing or shooting...

 

[thorazine]

One or two..

Depends on my mood.

 

[Frank Ettin]

That's why I prefer an open covering garment of some type -- a jacket in cooler weather and a light vest when it's hot. I can easily sweep the covering garment out of the way with my strong hand as I move it to the gun (carried strong side, IWB at about 3:30) and thus draw with one hand.

 

[Katana8869]

For years I have carried IWB under an untucked shirt at 3:00 and I have always trained with a one hand draw. There are just to many other things that you may need to be using that other hand for.

I used to practice hooking the lower edge of the shirt with my thumb, but I found that there where alot of instances where the shirt would slip before I got it high enough and then get caught on the grip. What I do now is grip the edge of the shirt with all four fingers, pull the shirt up to the halfway point on my side and then drop my hand to the gun for the draw.

This has worked out much better for me and I am not loosing anything on draw speed.

Edit to add... I agree that sweeping back a cover garment is much faster, but here in FL, a cover garment in the summer and most of the winter for that matter, is not very comfortable.

 

[owlhoot]

The easy answer is to pocket carry. Pocket carry offers not only convenience but also the ability to have your hand on your weapon as trouble appears to be developing, something you can't do with any other carry mode. True, you have to settle for a smaller gun and smaller ammo capacity, but it is a compromise that I gladly accept.

 

[Magic_Man]

Pocket carry offers not only convenience but also the ability to have your hand on your weapon as trouble appears to be developing, something you can't do with any other carry mode.

If you see trouble & know you may need your sidearm, you can still get your hand on it beforehand with other carry methods.

 

[Old Guy]

Florida

We here in Florida have the best climate for CCW to my mind.

Wally World has great shirts, $15.00 is around the top payment, you can be a Tourist look alike (flowered!) 3-30 outside the belt, Glock19 conceals no problem, jean shirt, yesterday 60F Brrr, bulky cotton sweater, one hand draw, easy.

If it gets colder, jacket over shirt, so you can take it off over breakfast.

The new finish on the Glocks RTF2, catches on the cloth! Had to go back to the original Glock 19, the fix is coming out in the new year, the RTF2 is now my match gun, but you have to blunt the finish with a fine file.

 

[Jon_Snow]

Over the years I have seen and read many times that when drawing a handgun from concealed carry you should use your off hand ( left if you are right handed ) to pull up your cover garment and then draw. I have never had to draw but to me it seems logical that sometimes the threat would be so close to you that you would need to use your off hand to fend off an attack while drawing with your dominant hand. Also, there could be the possibility that perhaps your off hand is injured or for what ever reason not available to assist your dominant hand.

Even if you do draw one-handed, it's not a good idea to try to 'fend off' the attack with your off hand. In the classes I've taken, we always practiced one handed drawing, but you ALWAYS brought your off-hand back to your chest when you drew. Regardless of where your hands start, once your dominant hand starts towards your gun, your off-hand goes flat on your chest. That way you don't end up inadvertently shooting yourself in the hand. This is especially true when you are dealing with someone very close to you, because you'll be firing with the gun still tucked in close to your chest.

 

[thorazine]

Wally World has great shirts, $15.00 is around the top payment, you can be a Tourist look alike (flowered!).

Or you could just get a loose fitting plain tee shirt and not look like a walking flower pot?

 

[YammyMonkey]

The one handed draw is an absolutely critical skill for most of us, as average day-to-day citizens to master. Along with that you need to be able to completely manipulate your weapon one handed. We just don’t know what our situations will look like so training for the best case scenario (having both hands available) is training for failure.

As for the holster issue I would not use a tuckable IWB for anything. It’s been my experience that a draw is a very easy thing for your cover to foul & that goes 10x over when that garment is somehow restrained (tucked in, caught on belt buckle, under seatbelt, etc). While not perfect the best option for tucked in shirt carry that I’ve found is the SmarCarry. You must train with it & there are a few quirks to the system but once you get it squared away it’s no slower than any other concealment method.

 

[Old Guy]

Or you could just get a loose fitting plain tee shirt and not look like a walking flower pot?

Born out of the US of A, I never wear tee shirts as an outer shirt, only an under garment,between my pistol and my skin, normally Under Armour (what have you got against flower pots any how?)

 

[scoutsabout]

Yep, 10 years carrying and drawing from the same location, always one handed.

I prefer an index finger & thumb pinch combined with a hook/sweep method as well, and I usually execute it in a semi-circular motion from the 2 o'clock position right in front of the gun.

One little pinch and a quick circular flip of the wrist and *wham* I'm firmly grasping the 'ol 1911, usually somewhere between 1 and 2 seconds.

The method works with little or no modification in most body positions.

I also practice weak handed draws from time to time. Hopefully I'll never need to do that, but then... hopefully I'll be on the grip before deciding that I need to pull.

Situational awareness. Maximize your few advantages, minimize your many disadvantages. There's nothing like sniffing out the surprise party.

.

 

[Ben86]

The one handed CC draw for me is my "plan B" of drawing. I prefer two handed because it is more reliable. However, I do practice one handed draw just in case the situation calls for such. I would not want to HAVE to draw two handed.

 

[Erik]

By all means use two hands to accomplish the draw. But think of it as a luxury, and be proficient at the use of one hand for those times that luxury is unavailable.

 

[smince]

The easy answer is to pocket carry. Pocket carry offers not only convenience but also the ability to have your hand on your weapon as trouble appears to be developing, something you can't do with any other carry mode. True, you have to settle for a smaller gun and smaller ammo capacity, but it is a compromise that I gladly accept.

For those who hawk the value of pocket carry:

If needed, can you access it with your off-hand? I used to carry my spare mag in my front pocket, until I took and advanced defensive handgun class. I found that my spare mag was virtually impossible to reach with my strong hand should my weak hand become disabled or otherwise occupied.

I sure wouldn't want my main CCW in the same position. Or is it just not an important consideration to you?

 

[Mainsail]

The easy answer is to pocket carry. Pocket carry offers not only convenience but also the ability to have your hand on your weapon as trouble appears to be developing, something you can't do with any other carry mode. True, you have to settle for a smaller gun and smaller ammo capacity, but it is a compromise that I gladly accept.

No, that's not the easiest. Open carry is the easiest. Second to that is concealed carry behind an open jacket or shirt, requiring only that you sweep it back with your thumb.

Let me also add that (for me anyway) it’s rare that I even have both hands available. My off hand usually has my laptop, or a shopping bag or my phone. If your girlfriend/wife is anywhere near your arm when someone jumps out in front of you with a knife, they’ll likely be clinging hard to that arm. Can you still draw?

 

[mljdeckard]

Is there a way to practice two-hand draws? I thought they were all one-handed.

You are correct to train as if you might have to draw with your weak hand. I don't see why you are assuming that you WILL have to draw with your weak hand. Knowing how to do it and planning on it are two different things.

There are a list of proper techniques to draw strong-handed, using the weak-hand to assist if necessary. You are always better off drawing strong-handed when you can.

When the threat is so close you have to hold them back, (firing from retention,) I want my strong hand shooting, not fighting.

Remember the Hackathorn rip. When your gun is on the waistband, your weak hand reaches over and grabs as much shirt as it can hold, and lifts it as high as you can to clear the way for the draw. The idea here isn't to be graceful, it's to get obstacles from your draw, the public might have to suffer a flash of your belly fur. If you have a jacket covering a belt-carried gun, your thumb goes in at your right lapel, and pushes the jacket out of the way as your hand slides down to the gun. Practice.

 

[JMusic]

I always followed this rule "most the time" within five feet it is a disarm and contain. Beyond it was a guessing game though shooting had to be the responsive option. I can hit someone 95 % of the time with out using sites out to 15 -20 ft. But I always moved, and usually forward. I know this is contrary to some teachings and I don't know which way is right. But if in a gun fight with multiple assailants under surprised conditions you are better off to get right in the middle.



Jim

 

[glummer]

should my weak hand become disabled or otherwise occupied

The same line of thought would rule out using rifles & shotguns at all. Is it really a practical concern? There is no way to defend against ALL possible problems, after all.

 

[smince]

Is it really a practical concern?

I think it is. There seems to be stats showing where people involved in fights tend to get hit in the hand/arm area.

There is no way to defend against ALL possible problems, after all.

So we can carry our j-frame in a pocket with no reload and pretend we are prepared for anything that happens

 

[Erik]

"Is it really a practical concern?"

Yes.

 

[YammyMonkey]

Quote:
should my weak hand become disabled or otherwise occupied

The same line of thought would rule out using rifles & shotguns at all. Is it really a practical concern? There is no way to defend against ALL possible problems, after all.

No, it does not rule them out unless you've decided to let your own lack of preparation rule them out.

All-
The ability to protect yourself doesn't start & end with the ability to do the things you like to do when you're comfortable & like to do them. You need to do the things you hate to do (usually we hate them because they're hard, poorly understood or just don't make us feel like the Gringo Pistoleros we all think we are) or cannot do well. For the record this includes such things as physical fitness & medical training. First off, it'll give you one less weakness & secondly, if the fight happens to be going your way to the point that you can draw & shoot a stationary attacker two handed with a stable platform in good light then that fight will be much easier for you to deal with. On the other hand, if your primary hand is somehow taken out of the fight because it's injured from falling down the stairs & in a sling or because it's been injured or otherwise occupied in the fight you'll actually have an idea on how to deal with it. We can either sideline the whining & excuse-making & do something productive or we can continue on the path of laziness & ego-preservation & hope it doesn't matter.

As for me, I don't honestly think I'll ever have to to fight for my life, but if I do have to you can bet I'll make it as hard as possible on the bad guys.

 

[B yond]

I think being able to draw with one hand is very important.

You other hand could be pushing back an attacker, directing or assisting a loved one, applying pressure to a wound, wounded, or unusable for any number of other reasons.

You probably won't need that firearm but you carry it anyway, right?

You probably won't need that seatbelt but you wear it anyway, right?

You probably won't need that fire extinguisher but you have it anyway, right?

Well, you probably won't need to draw with one hand but you practice it anyway....don't you?

 

[Old Guy]

I always followed this rule "most the time" within five feet it is a disarm and contain. Beyond it was a guessing game though shooting had to be the responsive option. I can hit someone 95 % of the time with out using sites out to 15 -20 ft. But I always moved, and usually forward. I know this is contrary to some teachings and I don't know which way is right. But if in a gun fight with multiple assailants under surprised conditions you are better off to get right in the middle.



Jim

Jim, We were taught to attack an ambush, ie. move forward, hard.