The Lost Art of the Quick Draw

[sjohns]

I've looked around the net a little and found some holsters that I hesitate to even call holsters. I think they are at the Mernickel site which won't load up right now for some reason.

They seem more like some sort of cheating mechanism than a real holster. I also saw a couple on ebay that were from the 1920's that had a brass pivot so that the shooter didn't even need to clear leather. The pictures had a curious piece of metal inside where the trigger ought to be that made me wonder if you could simply set them up so that you just needed to pull the hammer back and push the pistol forward, or simply do the latter with a DA.

But there are tons of authentic looking fast draw holsters on the net.

I have, of course, horsed around with my 60's and 51's. I was trying to train my hand to pull first and then cock the hammer after the barrel begins to point forward. (away from me) It is probably inefficient.

 

[Clipper]

I assume you're talking old west fast draw

I used to do a lot of fast draw with my Ruger Blackhawk. A Vaquero would be much faster due to the lack of rear sight blade to shred your thumb. The authentic technique is incredibly dangerous, but even moreso with any gun without a transfer bar ignition...

I used a drop-loop holster (Hunter brand) that exposed the trigger, and it also used a leather encased steel plate to which the scabbard itself was attached by a pair of Chicago screws. This kept the holster from deforming when tied down. The pistol belt was also from Hunter, and was a contoured drop type belt with shell loops. Two holes I punched into the top of the scabbard were a snug fit for leather bootlace that acted as a hammer thong, knotted to keep tension on the hammer when in the holster, and was simply slipped off and the tag end pulled down to clear the loop away from the hammer for use. The leg tie down was the same material, and kept the holster from lifting on the draw, and also kept the holster and gunbutt in a consistent location. Consistency of gunbutt location is the most important thing contributing to draw speed. I would hang the rig to position the grip at about wrist level with my arms hanging naturally.

Now to slip into my flame-retardant suit for the following...

...AGAIN. DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING THIS WITH A NON-TRANSFER BAR PISTOL!...


Hang your hand naturally. Palm should be about even with the cylinder. When you start the draw, your thumb should contact the hammer about the same time your pinky, ring and middle fingers (in that order) come up under the butt. Trigger finger stays straight and lays alongside the triggerguard, OFF THE TRIGGER. as the gun starts to lift, your thumb cocks the hammer...This pushes the butt down/back and forces your fingers up into solid contact with the frame/triggerguard junction, and pushes the barrel into the front of the holster. At speed, the gunbarrel will clear leather about the same time the hammer is coming to full cock, and will kick forward. As your forearm swings up, resist the urge to extend your upper arm. Try to keep your elbow at your side, or just slightly forward. As the gun swings up, you now engage the trigger and pull smoothly until the hammer falls. Consistency here is key, as you must develop a trigger pull that is predictable enough that you can later determine when to begin the pull based on the elevation of your target. Lots of dryfire practice is essential to nailing down your technique, and only lots of firing practice will make you accurate, but you'd be surprised just how accurate you can get...I used to shoot pop cans off the fence at 10-12 yards easily. Just don't try this at the regular shooting range - Gets 'em awfully mad...

AGAIN...DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING THIS WITH A GUN THAT IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH A TRANSFER-BAR!

If your thumb slips (and it will from time to time, believe me) while cocking, a non transfer bar gun is quite likely to go off!

 

[sjohns]

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/bm_teqnq.html