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Left hand, palm up, is held<br />
belt-high. Right hand starts<br />
draw, but the thumb does not<br />
touch the hammer, see right.<br />
FAST<br />
DRAW...<br />
Index finger of right hand hooks<br />
into trigger guard and holds the<br />
trigger back, thereby releasing the<br />
hammer for the fanned shot.<br />
Left: Trigger depressed, rest of<br />
hand clears gun from holster. Now<br />
left hand starts turn, while the<br />
right levels, moves gun forward.<br />
Gun has been brought forward, index finger still holds trigger back.<br />
Left hand sweeps down and back onto and over the hammer, gun fires.<br />
bowling, or tennis? And who cares, so<br />
long as millions get enjoyment from<br />
them?<br />
But whereas millions of words have<br />
been printed on the "how to" techniques<br />
of other sports, practically nothing h~s<br />
appeared in print about the actual "how<br />
to" of Fast Draw. Newspaper and magazine<br />
publicity about the Fast Draw meets<br />
-Fast Draw and gun-juggling exhibitions<br />
by the various traveling professionalsand<br />
the tremendous interest inspired by·<br />
"westerns" on television-have sent thousands<br />
of people to the nearest gun shop<br />
to buy guns and holster rigs-without<br />
giving them more than the very sketchiest<br />
(and often misleading) clues as to how<br />
Fast Draw is actually accomplished.<br />
Fortunately, the increasing number of<br />
Fast Draw clubs throughout the country<br />
has enabled thousands to obtain the<br />
needed basic instruction; but if there is<br />
no club near you, here are a few tips that<br />
may help.<br />
Fast Draw is a highly skilled sport that<br />
requires excellent mental and physical coordination<br />
and fast reflexes. Given these,<br />
the next four basic fundamentals arethe<br />
gun, the holster, the ammunition, and<br />
the techniques.<br />
Judging by the guns one sees in competition,<br />
most Fast Draw shooters seem<br />
to prefer the Colt Single Action Army revolver,<br />
in .45 caliber. It has superb balance,<br />
a well-shaped grip, and a large hammer<br />
spur "that makes for easy thumb<br />
action in cocking. Colt's are not the only<br />
guns used; Rugers, Great Westerns,and<br />
Hy Hunter's Frontier are favored by many<br />
shooters. Some prefer revolvers of .22<br />
caliber; others use various .38 caliber or<br />
.44 caliber guns. The most favored barrel<br />
lengths are 43,4 and 5Y2 inches.<br />
The Fast Draw holster is especially<br />
designed for the sport (not for defense<br />
or combat use). Two types have been<br />
most commonly used, and just recently a<br />
third type has beed added. These holsters<br />
are built around special metal foundations<br />
which permit the cylinder to revolve<br />
freely in the holster, so that the gun can<br />
be cocked in the holster and drawn without<br />
drag. The metal is some holsters goes<br />
all the way up to the belt slot, so that the<br />
holster can be bent to angle the gun butt<br />
outward or inward according to the user's<br />
preference. Holster-belt combinations are<br />
called "rigs."<br />
Arvo Ojala, who added steel to holsters<br />
to stiffen them, was one of the first to<br />
introduce the fast draw holster as used<br />
today. But specialized rigs have changed<br />
fashion as often as the Paris styles. Arvo<br />
OJ ala's holster and belt (one type)' is<br />
contoured (Continued on page 47)<br />
18 <strong>GUNS</strong> AUGUST <strong>1962</strong>
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