This month I offer a drill that is not among the cannon of established shooting drills, but it is an exercise that is exceedingly valuable for a defensive shooter to do. I just call it “Single-Hand Draw to Three,” not very creative, I know. It involves firing three rounds at the A zone or down-zero zone of a USPSA or IDPA target, with only your dominant hand, at seven yards.
Here is the key to this drill: you must draw from concealment with only the use of your dominant hand, present the gun, and fire three rounds into the body A zone of the target. This drill hits on several important aspects of defensive shooting; first, you must fire multiple shots accurately and rapidly with only one hand. Second, you are drawing the gun all the way to presentation with only a single hand. Third, you must clear the cover garment and establish a master grip with only a single hand. It is this third aspect of defensive shooting that I find especially neglected.
If you carry strong-side hip and you use an open-front garment for concealment, this drill is easier to do than if you use appendix-inside-the-waistband or strong-side carry under a t-shirt. An open front garment can simply be bladed away with the dominant hand, whereas a closed-front garment must be lifted with the dominant hand and pinned with the thumb out of the way while establishing the grip. While challenging, this draw is an important skill that most concealed carriers ignore.
There are many reasons you may need to draw with only the dominant hand: your support hand might be injured. Your support hand might be occupied fighting an assailant. Your support hand might be carrying a small child or dragging a loved one to safety, or using a flashlight, etc…
Spend some time with this drill, as it focuses on an essential skill for defensive handgun use.
A clean run in under three seconds is competent shooting, and a clean run in under two seconds is very good shooting. Try it.
To be entered in the Drill of the Month giveaway, post your score in the forum thread for this month’s article. We are basing this on the honor system. If you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.
