Today’s guest post is another good one from Jay of The Firing Pin Journal.
New shooters, and a few veterans, are obsessed with the speed of draw and fire. In and of itself it is not a bad thing but very often the desire for speed means a poor draw, poor presentation and a round going swiftly by the target with a scarce glance.
Speed is a byproduct of technique. You can’t start out as a novice shooter and expect to draw, aim and strike a target “as fast as possible” with any regularity unless you have worked on technique over a long period of time. Dry firing is a key component to developing technique.
Prior to dry firing make sure you remove the magazine, clear the weapon and put the magazines in another room. Make sure you have a a backstop where an errant round would go without leaving the room. Again, there should be no errant rounds because you cleared the weapon and put the magazines in another room.
Start by slowly drawing from your holster and working on the hand grip. The grip is essential if speed is to mean anything. A poor grip and fast draw will lead to no joy. Work on your stance and presenting the firearm. Then sight in your “target” and remember “FRONT SIGHT.” A surprise break from pulling the trigger and holding the weapon steady will allow you to see if you were accurate.
If you do this with dry firing and combine it with range training where you make every round count for something your speed will increase. The technique develops speed, not vice versa.
Jay
“Prior to dry firing make sure you remove the magazine, clear the weapon and put the magazines in another room.”
Great advice unless your carry gun has a magazine safety.
Isn’t there a Cllint Smith saying, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”?