Arctic Patriot asked for a description of the Four-Count Drawstroke...

I'll describe it from concealed carry.

For the record, I CCW my G-19 using the Appendix, Inside-the-Waistband method. It works awesome for me, is as comfortable as concealed carry gets (in other words, not very...), and is smoking fast, even from under a fleece and shell jacket.--J.M.

Position Number One: I use my free-hand (assuming I'm not beating the shit out of the dude with it, or using it to control him in the clinch or a grappling match on the ground), to grasp the front, bottom edge of my cover garment(s), since I wear closed-front fleece jackets about 98% of the time (In summer, I tend towards long-sleeved t-shirts or button-front short sleeve shirts). Firmly grasping the hem, I JERK the whole front of the garment up (I do mean JERK! I've actually busted myself in the chin doing it), as my gun hand grasps the holstered grip of the weapon in a firing grip. My thumb will be flagged straight up, in relation to the bore axis of the gun, which means it's generally parallel to the ground. My trigger finger is indexed straight along the side of the holster, and my remaining three fingers are in an actual firing grip on the gun (I've had to do minor Dremel tool work on every A-IWB holster I've ever owned, to ensure I can get my grip high enough on the frame of the gun). That is Position/Count #1.

In the event my free-hand is tied up with something, like throat-punching someone, or gouging an eye out, I use the thumb of my gun hand to clear the garment high enough to establish my firing grip. Either way, the only reason I can't shoot the gun at this point, is because it's still in the holster.

Position Number Two: This is defined differently by different people. I use the same definition as “SouthNarc,” based on what I was taught at SOT. I JERK the gun straight up. My wrist stays locked, and my elbow comes straight up and back. The laws of physiology mandate that, at its highest point, this means the gun is aimed approximately gut level on an adversary of my same height at contact range. THE FUCKING WRIST STAYS LOCKED, PEOPLE! (I tend to have to repeat this a lot during classes. Everyone wants to cant their wrist so the muzzle is pointed at the upper thoracic cavity, even though it's just not necessary).

You can shoot from this position, in the clinch. You will make hits, at contact distances. I guarantee you, if you dump your magazine into a dude's pelvic area at contact distance from the #2 position, he WILL lose interest in continuing the fight....and will probably lose his ability to father children.

You will know this position is dialed-in if the outside of your thumb joint is indexed on the corner of your pectoral muscle (“SouthNarc” sometimes calls this the “pectoral index” position. I like his term, but don't use it myself, typically). It is generally a good idea to train yourself to cant your weapon's slide outboard in this position to prevent fouling the recoil action of the slide with fabric from your shirt or jacket.

Position Number Three: Your free hand mates with your gun hand in the center of your chest, or slightly higher (honestly? My hands tend to meet in front of my chin. It gets my sights into my sight plane faster). This is sometimes referred to as the “retention position” even though most people who teach the four-count drawstroke consider the #2 the true retention position (I concur, but concede to the majority in developing written course material, for ease of understanding).

Position Number Four: This is any position from Number Three all the way out to full extension. You can engage hostiles at any point from Position #2 on, depending on the range.

Critical Note: The concept is, the gun is always moving UP. It should never “arch” to position.

I'm a big advocate of the Modern Isosceles method of shooting the pistol. I was originally taught the classic Gunsite Weaver, as a youth. In the Ranger Regiment, and later at SOT, I learned the Mod-Iso, and continue to use it. It is, demonstrably, the fastest, accurate method of putting multiple rounds downrange.

THISLINK is an Options for Personal Security instructor demonstrating a variation of the Four-Count Drawstroke. I don't agree with his Position #2, since he has the kid rotating his elbow (I tend to teach it more like you're trying to slam your elbow in the face of a tall dude behind you) to bring the bore axis up more, but other than that, it's not too bad. If I'm shooting from open-carry, pistol only, I do the hand in the center of the chest thing too. Typically though, if I'm shooting pistol from open-carry, my free hand is controlling my carbine in a chest-hold retention type position, until Position Three?

Clear as mud?

Nous Defions!

John Mosby

Somewhere in the mountains