Appendix Draw - Flagged Thumb; Beavertail Backstrap

[Larry T]

Guys, I'm debating my draw stroke regarding thumb position. I've been getting my thumb between the body and gun without any real problem and then flagging my thumb after the draw when mating with the support hand. I know many like to keep the thumb flagged during the draw by placing the thumb over the slide backplate or a little inside of that position.

With the large beavertail on a Glock 17, keeping my thumb flagged during the draw puts my thumb sitting on the beavertail and makes it hard to get the webbing of my hand high and tight under the tang. After clearing the holster, I start moving my thumb to the right to spoon with my other thumb - hoping the webbing of my strong hand snaps into place under the tang. I believe it would work better without the beavertail but I'm used to it being there.

Also, when drawing a smaller gun like the Glock 26, keeping my thumb flagged on the beavertail really doesn't feel secure because there's not a lot of grip to get a hold of.

So, is the concensus to work on the draw with flagged thumb or drive the thumb between the body and gun and get a full grip before drawing? Thanks for the input.

[Clusterfrack]

I think I use a hybrid approach. Here’s a screen cap from a recent session. Gun is a P-07.

[HopetonBrown]

I had not heard of placing thumb on rear of slide while clearing the holster before.

[Clusterfrack]

I had not heard of placing thumb on rear of slide while clearing the holster before.

Yeah, me neither. I make a Y with my thumb and index finger, and keep my fingers half curled, then WHAP into the gun from the top and side, and snatch it out.

[Mr_White]

Guys, I'm debating my draw stroke regarding thumb position. I've been getting my thumb between the body and gun without any real problem and then flagging my thumb after the draw when mating with the support hand. I know many like to keep the thumb flagged during the draw by placing the thumb over the slide backplate or a little inside of that position.

With the large beavertail on a Glock 17, keeping my thumb flagged during the draw puts my thumb sitting on the beavertail and makes it hard to get the webbing of my hand high and tight under the tang. After clearing the holster, I start moving my thumb to the right to spoon with my other thumb - hoping the webbing of my strong hand snaps into place under the tang. I believe it would work better without the beavertail but I'm used to it being there.

Also, when drawing a smaller gun like the Glock 26, keeping my thumb flagged on the beavertail really doesn't feel secure because there's not a lot of grip to get a hold of.

So, is the concensus to work on the draw with flagged thumb or drive the thumb between the body and gun and get a full grip before drawing? Thanks for the input.

I'm not sure whether you are going to find a consensus. I think it approximately breaks down into two camps.

One, get palm on backstrap, then dive thumb between gun and body, wrap fingers around front strap, lift and continue the draw.

Two, slam hand onto grip simultaneously getting palm on backstrap and fingers on front strap, let the thumb land on the back/inside of the slide (not yet positioned where the gun can be fired) - as the gun is lifted, that thumb falls onto the correct side of the gun before the gun even clears the holster.

I do the second one myself. There are two main places I think a lot of people can get a lot more efficient in their draw - getting master grip at the beginning, and getting the gun aimed and stopped at the end. I think it takes time to dive the thumb in between the gun and body, and time to wrap the fingers onto the front strap after initial contact with the gun.

You can see the second method pretty clearly in the draws in this video:

[Larry T]

I'm not sure whether you are going to find a consensus. I think it approximately breaks down into two camps.

One, get palm on backstrap, then dive thumb between gun and body, wrap fingers around front strap, lift and continue the draw.

Two, slam hand onto grip simultaneously getting palm on backstrap and fingers on front strap, let the thumb land on the back/inside of the slide (not yet positioned where the gun can be fired) - as the gun is lifted, that thumb falls onto the correct side of the gun before the gun even clears the holster.

I do the second one myself. There are two main places I think a lot of people can get a lot more efficient in their draw - getting master grip at the beginning, and getting the gun aimed and stopped at the end. I think it takes time to dive the thumb in between the gun and body, and time to wrap the fingers onto the front strap after initial contact with the gun.

You can see the second method pretty clearly in the draws in this video:

What's your opinion of the beavertail backstrap? I definitely want the large (4mm) backstrap (Gen4 G17 and G26) but I'm not sure if I actually need or want the beavertail version. My reasoning is that the beavertail protects against slide bite and some say the beavertail provides a bit of leverage, helping recoil and getting a faster 2nd shot sight picture. I want the additional grip girth and distance to trigger but I'm not sure about the beavertail. I find the beavertail gets in the way of the flagged thumb draw. What's your thought?

[Mr_White]

What's your opinion of the beavertail backstrap? I definitely want the large (4mm) backstrap (Gen4 G17 and G26) but I'm not sure if I actually need or want the beavertail version. My reasoning is that the beavertail protects against slide bite and some say the beavertail provides a bit of leverage, helping recoil and getting a faster 2nd shot sight picture. I want the additional grip girth and distance to trigger but I'm not sure about the beavertail. I find the beavertail gets in the way of the flagged thumb draw. What's your thought?

If you get slide bite without the beavertail, then I would use it. If you don't, I would skip it. It's a necessity for slide bite, but I think it can complicate getting the master grip quickly.

[SouthNarc]

Gabe it looks like that your thumb actually falls to the left side of the slide either right before the gun actually starts to move or just simultaneous with your upward lift. Is that accurate? I see a ton of people who have a thumb capped slide on a striker fired gun even as high in the presentation as the transition point between the vertical and horizontal line of presentation. Personally speaking I think that's just not as secure.

[Mr_White]

Gabe it looks like that your thumb actually falls to the left side of the slide either right before the gun actually starts to move or just simultaneous with your upward lift. Is that accurate? I see a ton of people who have a thumb capped slide on a striker fired gun even as high in the presentation as the transition point between the vertical and horizontal line of presentation. Personally speaking I think that's just not as secure.

Yep, I think that's correct about when my thumb moves to the left side (based largely on the video I posted above since self-perception is often inaccurate.) I think I'm treading the line as it is, and wouldn't want the thumb over there much later than that. The essential element I'm looking for is for the thumb to be on the correct side of the gun by the time it has cleared the holster. I wouldn't want it on the back of the slide at the 2 or 3, that's for sure.

[Clusterfrack]

That’s what I was trying to explain when I said my draw is a hybrid. I also find that it’s possible to adjust the grip a bit if I miss the ideal position.