Jim Taylor
Sixgun
Monday, November 11, 2019, 08:05

I have carried a handgun nearly every day for many years now. I got my first one when but a lad of 13, an old H&R topbreak 9-shot .22 rimfire. It was my "packing pistol" and I carried it in an old home-made holster all over Arizona. I packed it for several years during the time Dad and I were prospecting in the Superstition Mountains.

My next handgun was a Ruger .357 Magnum with a 6 1/2" barrel. I loved that gun! Over the years I shot thousands of rounds through it, literally shooting up nearly 700 pounds of lead in one summer! I got the .357 when I was 15 years old and shot it over the next 10 years .... a lot! It would group 5 shots inside 2 1/2" at 50 yards if I did my part. My favorite load in the gun was the Keith semi-wadcutter that weighed 173 gr. when cast of wheelweights. I loaded it over 14.5 gr. of 2400 and fired it off with a small rifle primer. We used to shoot an old car rim at 200 yards and this load would crack it. I used this gun for hunting, quick-draw, and long-range target shooting. This was back before long-range pistol shooting was being done by many people except by Elmer Keith fans (of which I was -and am - one!). At the age of 16 or 17 I used to take on rifle shooters at 200 yards, busting bottles or whatever and many a time did more than hold my own.

At one time or another I owned about most every type of handgun save the single-shot TC. Eventually I decided I was not a good enough shot to shoot everything and concentrated on single action revolvers. When I was growing up, we mostly shot one-handed, save for long range game shots. A handgun was to carry on the belt for use in extreme emergencies. You had to be able to get it out quick and be able to hit with it rapidly. Handguns that were strictly a hunting or long-range target gun were mostly unknown. All that has changed now.

I started learning how to draw a single action fast when I was still fairly young. I practiced for hours with an empty gun when I could not get on to the range for live-fire. I would stand and draw and snap over and over, pointing at some target or else trying to outdraw the ugly dude in the mirror. Eventually I got to where I could pull a six-gun fairly well. At least I felt I could. I had nothing to which I could test my speed against in those days.

About the time I was really getting into the "fast-draw" phase of my life I had a little experience which slowed me down a bit. I had been doing quickdraw and thought I was fairly good. One day we were on the range with a bunch of friends and I decided on the spur of the moment to show them just how fast I was with a gun. I walked out in front of them with a 2" X 2" wood block in my gunhand, tossed it toward the bank and went for my pistol. As I made my lightening draw the gun fired down my leg, causing me some panic. I let go of the pistol, which fell back down into my holster (which I had forgotten to tie down in my haste to impress the other shooters) and inspected my pants leg. I found a nice blackened hole in the right side of my right pants leg. Looking closer I found I nice hole in the left side of my right pants leg also. I walked unsteadily over to the truck and sat down and pulled up my pants leg and examined my leg. There was not a mark upon it! Somehow when the holster rode up I fired through the pants leg without hitting any flesh. For which I AM grateful I may add.

This episode led me to re-examine my technique of fast-draw and alter some habits I had developed, such as placing my finger in the trigger-guard while drawing the gun. Though I continued to learn the art of fast draw, I never since had an accidental discharge. I do not count the mirror as an accident.

The "One More Shot" syndrome (OMSS) is a particular affliction besetting many shooters who are enamored of the art of getting their pistol into action quickly. It usually goes something like this: the shooter stands for hours, practicing his draw & shoot techniques. Many times this is done in front of mirror, usually due to a lack of an audience. After practicing for some time, the mighty gunhand loads his piece, but before he puts it away, for some reason unknown to him, he fires a shot through the mirror or some other valuable piece of furniture. All of which is highly embarrassing.

There are physiological reasons why this takes place. It is all highly technical having to do with how the human brain receives, stores, processes and retrieves information. Basically it this: perform one action long enough and you will do it automatically without any conscious thought on your part. Even if you do not consciously want to.

In my formative years of learning to draw a single action pistol quickly I had one occasion to observe just such a process. I had been standing in front of my Mom's antique vanity for about 2 hours, trying to outdraw the guy in the mirror. At the end of that time I put that gun away and decided to go out on the range. I loaded another gun, strapped on the holster and tied it down and walked past the mirror. On my way past I made the smoothest, fastest draw of my life and centered the guy in the mirror. Since that time I have learned that if I am doing any "gun-handling", once I finish I put it away and do not touch it or another gun for at least an hour.

I have had a number of friends and relatives who have done the same thing but do not wish to embarrass them by telling their stories. If you are curious you may want to ask my friend Tom about killing a furnace.

My fast draw days are long past, but my favorite handgun is still the single action sixgun. Note that I do no say it is better than any others. It's just my favorite.


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