Proper way to attain grip

[0ddl0t]

Bumping this old thread for more advice...

-Good IWB concealment holsters where it is difficult to shove the thumb between your gun and your body (pretty much all I run now), I keep the thumb flagged and obtain the "master grip" (unsure if that is the right term) on count one of the draw stroke. I will flag the thumb on the way back at count 2 when reholstering.

^This is my current technique, but because the butt tucks so well I'm also having a problem getting my fingers all the way wrapped around the grip - at least until after I've already started lifting the pistol up & out of the holster. Is this just a compromise you have to make with a well-concealed pistol or are you all able to get the tips of your fingers between your body and the grip before drawing?

[Alpha Sierra]

I don't buy IWB holsters that set the pistol really low in relation to my belt.

Getting a good grip quickly > ultra concealment

[UNM1136]

Try this, if it works for you use it for a few weeks and see if it helps...

Take your dominant hand, at your preferred start position. Straighten your trigger finger and flag your thumb. Viewed from above your thumb and forefinger are at an angle and not parallel. (You are not running a finger gun here.) Your middle and ring finger curl inward, but the pads of your fingers are no greater than 90* from your index finger. Pinky does what is comfortable, but stays out of the way, and is just along for the ride.

This is an over complicated way of getting you to the next step, but some have needed it, others found the next step enough to have the light bulb come on.

With trigger finger straight, thumb flagged, take your middle and ring finger pads and put them on the front strap of the pistol, high up and the middle finger just touching the the juncture of the grip and trigger guard. (where the fingers actually go). This is your index point, and once you determine if this makes sense and is something you want to devote reps and time to, you will start out taking the middle and ring finger pads and just indexing the gun on the front strap. What you are trying to teach yourself is to stop your motion for a split second so you can change its direction.

Now move your middle and ring finger pads across the remainder of the front strap and keeping them in contact with the gun slide them around the grips/stocks as you crush, smear, or push the meat of your hand onto the backstrap as high on the tang as possible. Pinky is along for the ride, trigger finger straight, thumb flagged.

You are now in the classic #1 position, so if your holster has a retention device it gets opened as the hand moves down, using the correct digit to do so. The #1 should be strong and stable. Lower three fingers flex to grip the gun strongly before beginning to move upward and starting to remove the gun from the holster.

You are not "grabbing" the gun, you are teaching your fingers to follow the contours to get where they need to be. I used Home Depot 3M stair traction tape on my Sig to enhance grip and ran rubbery CT grips on my 1911, both of which were regularly carried IWB and AIWB in a Blade-Tec kydex IWB and SME, respectively, on my time, and mostly uniformed duty holsters on the guvmint's time. So sticky/grippy/friction enhanced grips aren't really an issue. You want light contact. Carrying AIWB you can tilt your pelvis a little and/or suck your gut in for a bit of clearence.

I really needed this "two finger touch technique" with the 1911 in the SME. The holster was SO stable, SO secure, SO concealable, SO comfortable, and SO expensive I wanted to make less tha ideal grip clearance work. I did. Now that John Ralston has "finger relief" my next SME may be just perfect.

A one hand re-holster with a good holster, is simply drawing in reverse, with an allowance for the thumb riding the Gadget, riding the hammer, or slipping between the hammer face and rear of the slide (without pulling the hammer hooks from the sear), depending on your reality.

As a disclaimer, I do not yet compete in any capacity, so a two second draw to two rounds is my benchmark. I am not a speed demon. I have used this with cops who have trouble getting a good grip before the draw. Cops usually start out in duty holsters then move to concealment. I have been the head of firearms instruction for a 40 person department for almost a decade. I no longer use the draw I posted about upthread, but that draw is where I learned this.

Other than that, AS is right. A solid pre-draw ("final firing") grip is more important than concealment in a holster most of the time. Ride height is a factor here, and a topic for another day.

pat