CCW Claw Draw to Avoid Catching on Cover Garments

Improve the CCW draw stroke consistency with a minor change to the draw stroke.

CCW Claw Draw to Avoid Catching on Cover Garments Pistol Drill

If you struggle with your thumb getting caught on your shirt while drawing a handgun from concealment, consider trying out “The Claw.”

“The Claw” is a VERY simple modification to the draw stroke to help improve consistently in clearing the cover garment. It is particularly useful for appendix carry (AIWB) carry draws.

The Claw Handgun Grip

I originally learned the claw grab from Scott “Jedi” Jedlinski

When grabbing the gun from the holster, wrap the thumb over the top of the back of the handgun slide.

Keep your thumb over the back of the slide until the cover garment is cleared and begin building the grip as the gun is pushed out.

The thumb wrapped up close to the gun in The Claw grip keeps it out of the way of the shirt, keeping it from getting caught on a shirt.

For handguns with large beavertails, this might not be possible. In that case, simply try and keep the thumb down, inline with the direction of the barrel rather than pointed up like a flag.

The Claw draw stroke really is that simple, but this simple technique can be quite useful to help improve the speed and consistency of a conceal carry draw stroke.

Double the Repetitions to Ingrain Faster

Use the claw grip while holstering the gun to help ingrain the new draw grip. It’s a super simple technique to double the repetitions. The more repetitions, the faster it will become subconscious.

Good technique with a handgun doesn’t have to be complicated.

Keep things simple!

Written by - always a student, sometimes a teacher.

I don't consider myself a competition shooter - I think of myself as a performance pistol shooter. I am all about performing at as high of a level as possible. Towards that end, I am obsessive about learning how to perform. I spend a lot of my life learning from the best across the entire firearms world and even into other areas of performance and other sports. I am a USPSA Carry Optics Grandmaster, currently working towards my second GM title in the Open division.

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