When I was a young man I practiced "fast draw" a lot.

by JimT, Texas, Sunday, August 03, 2025, 09:39 (4 days ago)

I would spend a half hour or more every couple days practicing pulling the sixgun and snapping it. I was not practicing quickly. I was practicing smooth movements. I would grasp the gun, pull it from the holster, cocking it as I pulled it. My trigger finger was alongside the frame above the trigger guard. As I poked the gun toward the target my finger went into the trigger guard and pulled the trigger as the front sight came close to the intended target.

I did this at home with an empty gun and no ammo anyplace near by.

On the range I practiced the same way with full power loads. I did not try to practice "fast" .. I practiced "smooth", wanting to get the muscle memory into my brain and body. Speed comes with excitement or fear. I had learned that early on. (yep .. had some close calls that made me evaluate what I was doing)

Over the years I found it worked well. One Sunday I was walking in the desert after lunch with a visiting preacher. He was new to the desert and was interested in everything. Ask we walked along talking I took a step but before my foot went down I saw a coiled up Diamondback Rattler right under my right foot! Somehow I went up in the air off my left leg, pulled the single six and shot the snake in the head before I hit the ground. I don't know exactly how it happened but it did.

Another time I was walking with a friend, looking for jack rabbits. I had a Ruger Blackhawk .30 Carbine 7 1/2" in my holster and my friend had a Model 19 S&W in his hand. A jackrabbit jumped up in front of us running directly away from us. I pulled the Ruger and fired 2 shots, hitting the jack in the head with the 2nd shot. My friend never even got a shot off. It was pure reaction on my part.

Fast forward 40-some years. I was hunting hogs. Standing in brush and weeds that reached my shoulders, I could see hogs running from the right to the left 40 yards or more in front of me. I got out my camera and was trying to get a picture of them running through the brush. Suddenly not 15 feet in front of me came a hog running directly at me. He was not charging me, he was trying to get away and I was in his path. I snapped a photo of him coming through the brush, pulled the .41 Magnum from the shoulder holster and shot him in the top of his head as he was a foot or two in front of me. He dropped right at my feet. It was pure reaction. The data was still in "the computer!"

Coming at me

Afterwards

I don't remember pulling the gun but I do remember poking it at the top of his head and pulling trigger. Funny .. I cannot remember hearing the shot.

--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.