Handguns – October-November 2019

16 HANDGUNSOCTOBER/NOVEMBER (^2019) WWW.HANDGUNS.COM

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HOW TO ADOPT A SHOOTING STYLE FROM AMONG ALL THE CHOICES.

IT’S OFTEN BEEN SAID THE MORE YOU

learn about something, the more you
realize how much you don’t know.
This is certainly true of my experi-
ence with shooting. As a new police
officer 22 years ago, I had virtually
no shooting experience. I took as
gospel what the firearms instruc-
tors in the police academy taught.
As far as I was concerned, what I
was learning was the right way and
anything else was therefore wrong.
Looking back, I realize I was not
only blissfully ignorant but also
unjustifiably arrogant. I didn’t know
what I didn’t know.
As a gun writer for the past
decade, I’ve had the opportunity to
tr ain with several top-level instruc-
tors. It’s been an eye-opening and
of ten humbling experience. It’s easy
to think you’re better than you are
if you aren’t training with someone
who’s vastly more proficient.
While learning from many excel-
lent instructors has made me a far
better shooter, it presents its own
conundrum. Each of these shoot-
ers has their own way of doing
things that’s proven effective. But
what do you do when a technique
you learned from one incredibly
talented instructor contradicts what
you’ve learned from another?
Last year, I participated in Kelly
McCann’s handgun instructor certi-
fication program.
The draw stroke he teaches was
considerably different than what
I was used to, but it made sense.
Kelly draws the gun from the holster
by raising his elbow as high as pos-
sible. Without lowering the elbow, he
flexes the wrist to orient the muzzle
to the threat.
From there, he marries his sup-

| EN GARDE | By RICHARD NANCE

po rt handto thegripanddrivesthe

gun to the target, allowing the sights

to intersect his line of sight. Kelly’s

draw stroke prevents “scooping” the

muzzle as you extend your arms to

shoot, and it enables you to pick up

the sights faster.

So at Kelly’s course I learned

to draw his way. I see no point in

spending time and money to take a

course from someone if you aren’t

willing to fully commit to what they

are teaching—at least while at the

course.

If you aren’t going to a course with

the proverbial empty cup, you’d be

better off staying home and saving

your money. Even more importantly,

if you don’t give the “new” tech-

niques you’re learning a chance,

how do you know they aren’t better

than your “old” ones?

Currently, I’m preparing for

Dave Spaulding’s handgun instruc-

tor course, so I’m in the process of

unlearningKelly’sdrawstrokeand

le arning Dave’s. There’s nothing

wrong with Kelly’s way, mind you.

It’s just that at Dave’s course my

draw stroke needs to be executed

his way.

Dave advocates initiating the

draw stroke by moving the elbow

straight to the rear and letting the

hand “go along for the ride.” This

will place your hand in the proper

position, whether your gun is worn

on or to either side of your hip.

Then the elbow folds to extract

the gun from the holster. When

the gun is drawn, the elbow moves

downward, placing the pistol in

front of your face, where you join

your support hand and drive the gun

to the target.

A neophyte wouldn’t be able to

tell the difference between Kelly’s

draw stroke and Dave’s draw stroke,

especially when each is performed

at speed. However, the seri-

< Different instructors teach different methods. Learn what they teach, adapt

it to your personal style and then practice what works best for you.

Alfredo Rico