Draw From the Holster: Win at the Holster, Win the Fight

Rick Hogg
1 day ago
7 min read

Build a faster, safer, more consistent draw from the holster with the War HOGG monthly skill builder—20 cold reps (hands above and below the waist), plus a data-driven dry-fire plan to improve your first-shot performance and master your Level 3 retention draw — An officer engages in a War HOGG skill-building session aimed at enhancing holster draw and first-shot performance, utilizing repetitions and shooting performance data-driven dry-fire strategies.

The Draw Is Where You Win

Most shooters don’t lose the gunfight at the trigger press. They lose it at the holster.

If your grip is inconsistent, everything after it is a correction. If your hands don’t move together, the presentation gets delayed. If you’re “hunting” for the gun, the timer doesn’t lie, and neither will the target. That’s why I treat the draw from the holster like a foundational skill, not a party trick.

And before someone says, “I don’t need a fast draw,” let me translate that for you: you don’t need a fast draw… until you do. When the moment shows up, you’re going to perform with whatever skill you actually own that day, cold, under pressure, no warm-up, no do-overs.

That’s exactly why this month’s War HOGG Tactical skill builder is built the way it is: simple, indoor-range friendly, measurable, and repeatable, so you can stop guessing and start improving on purpose.

The Goal: Build Performance On Demand

The whole point of a “skill builder” isn’t to entertain you. It’s to build a process:

Run a cold drill (because life doesn’t give you warm-up reps).
Record the data (time, hits, distance, notes) using The Firearms Training Notebook.
Build a dry-fire plan based on what the data revealed.
Re-test near the end of the month and prove improvement.

This is how you become more consistent, not just “better on good days.”

War HOGG Tactical Skill Builder: Draw From the Holster

Here’s the work:

You’re going to run 10 draws with your hands above the waist, firing one shot each rep. Then you’re going to run 10 draws with your hands below the waist, firing one shot each rep. Skip the warm-up, run it cold, this is shooting performance on demand.

Why both start positions? Because the real world doesn’t always let you start in your favorite stance with your hands exactly where you want them. Sometimes your hands are up. Sometimes they’re down. Sometimes you’re doing something else entirely. We’re building a draw that works regardless.

And you’re not just recording time. You’re recording marksmanship, target type, distance, and any lessons learned—like a poor grip on the draw. That note matters, because “I felt slow” doesn’t fix anything. Specific notes do.

Set Your Range Up for Truth, Not Comfort

Keep the target honest. I like simple index cards (3×5 and 4×6) because they tell the truth fast. Your timer will expose your movement, and the index card will expose your accountability.

Use a shot timer and video if you can. A timer teaches you to move on the beep. Video teaches you what you actually did—not what you think you did. The article recommends a shot timer (PACT Club Timer III is one example) and a recording device with a tripod/holder, plus The Firearms Training Notebook to track the data.

Draw Progression: Level 3 Retention Done Right

If you’re running a Safariland Level 3 retention holster, you’ve got a responsibility: be fast enough to win, and to go home.

My progression is simple. I start with the hood forward and focus on establishing a solid grip and placing my thumb on the ALS. Once I’m comfortable with just the ALS, I roll the hood back into position and practice working both retention devices as I draw, while maintaining that same solid grip.

Read that again: the draw doesn’t start with “rip it out.” It starts with a grip you don’t have to fix later. If you lose at the holster, you spend the rest of the drawstroke paying interest.

Hands Above the Waist: Mechanics That Don’t Waste Motion

Start with your hands above your waist. On the first note of the timer, both hands move fast, the firing hand drives to the pistol while the support hand moves to the centerline, palm open, ready to receive the gun.

The key is your contact point: use the web between your thumb and index finger as a reference to make solid contact with the pistol’s beavertail and establish a good grip. If you miss the beavertail, you don’t “hope” it works, you drive the hand forward until you have proper contact and you lock the grip in.

Once the grip is built, run the retention: push the hood forward, pull the ALS, and draw the pistol. As the pistol clears the holster, orient the muzzle horizontally and bring the support hand in to build the two-handed grip near your ready position.

And let’s fix a mindset issue right here: the ready position is a reference point, not a pause point.

If you’re stopping there, you’re inserting a hesitation you didn’t need. The gun meets, builds, and drives out in one continuous program.

From there, finish your presentation to the target and press the trigger, then follow through and recover. Don’t rush to get the gun back in the holster like you’re racing the clock.

Above the Waist Variation: The “J-Hook” Option

Some shooters struggle to get a positive grip when driving straight down from hands-above. If that’s you, try the “J-hook” variation: instead of driving straight down, your firing hand moves slightly past the holster and then makes a hooking “J” motion into the grip, similar to the draw from below the waist. For some shooters, that motion creates a more consistent purchase on the pistol.

Hands Below the Waist: Why It Often Feels “Easier”

Now start with your hands below your waist. On the beep, both hands still move fast: the firing hand moves up to the holster while the support hand goes to the centerline, palm open to receive the pistol. Use your firing-hand finger as a guide, sliding up the side of the holster to build the grip.

Once you’ve got the grip, release retention and complete the draw using the same technique as the above-the-waist method. Most shooters find hands-below feels easier because the holster acts like a guide and helps produce a more consistent grip.

That consistency is the real prize, not comfort. Consistency is what gives you repeatable speed.

What You’re Really Measuring in This Drill

This isn’t just “draw fast and shoot.”

You’re measuring:

Your first movement on the beep (are you reacting or thinking about reacting?)

Your grip quality (do you have to fix it on the way out?)

Your retention manipulation (smooth and consistent, or clunky and forced?)

Your presentation (does the gun arrive where your eyes are looking?)

Your marksmanship (because a fast miss is still a miss)

And you’re building a note habit: if your grip was off, write it down. If your support hand is late, write it down. If you’re missing left because you’re crushing the gun, write it down. The notebook isn’t a diary, it’s an after-action report, it holds you accountable.

Reholstering: Slow Is Smooth and Safe

In my opinion, there is no rush to get the pistol back in the holster. When you reholster, look at your holster and reverse the draw sequence, ensuring your finger is off the trigger.

Here’s a detail that matters: as the pistol goes into the holster, I place my thumb on the rear of the slide to ensure I don’t accidentally bump the pistol out of battery. Then I reset my hood so I’m ready for the next draw.

That’s professionalism. That’s staying in control all the way through the rep.

Build Your Dry-Fire Plan Using Your Data

Now we do what most shooters never do: we turn range reps into an actual plan.

Take your 10 draws (hands above) and your 10 draws (hands below) and calculate your average times. Open a fresh page in The Firearms Training Notebook and title it “Draw From the Holster.”

Then set a par time: take your average and add 0.25 to 0.50 seconds. That’s your starting par time.

As you start getting consistent dry trigger presses with the sights on target at or under that par time, lower it gradually by 0.05 to 0.10 seconds until you reach your personal performance threshold.

And let me say the quiet part out loud: don’t get caught up chasing somebody else’s numbers. This is your firearms journey. Consistent dry fire is what gets you there.

Dry fire safety reminder: no live ammo in the room, period. Control your environment, control your muzzle, and don’t let repetition turn into sloppy behavior.

Check Your Work at the End of the Month

Toward the end of the month, go back to the range and repeat the drill—10 hands-above, 10 hands-below, and assess the performance. If you put the dry-fire work in, you should see improvement.

This is where confidence becomes earned. You don’t “feel” better. You prove better.

Accountability: Don’t Train in a Vacuum

Accountability keeps you honest. You can do this on your own, but a shooting partner, a tribe, a group, someone who will keep you in check, accelerates improvement.

If you need that structure, we built it. The On The Range Podcast “CREW” community exists for exactly this kind of growth, and we even do interactive breakdowns where we review skill builder performance and, at times, video footage for immediate feedback.

Conclusion: Put In the Work

If you want a better draw, stop treating it like a quick trick and start treating it like a system.

Run the drill cold. Track your time and your hits. Fix the grip at the holster so you don’t spend the rest of the draw paying for it. Build a dry-fire plan off your average and drive the par time down with clean mechanics. Then go back and verify the improvement.

Train Hard, Stay Safe, and I’ll see you On The Range.