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Gunfighter Moment – Pat McNamara

Because I’ve heard it said that ‘Holstering’ a pistol is an ‘Administrative’ move, I would argue that there is true merit in holstering a pistol the same way we draw a pistol on two different fronts.

One is that in the tactical world, we must sometimes have to deescalate and go ‘Hands On’. We must do this without taking our eyes off of the threat.

Two, when practicing a draw stroke, the best draw stroke is nothing more than holstering in reverse. This was said to me by Rob Leatham some decades ago. So, when practicing a draw stroke, why not double the amount of meaningful repetitions by holstering the same way we drew?

…Only one is in reverse.

Patrick McNamara
SGM, US Army (Ret)

Pat McNamara

Patrick McNamara spent twenty-two years in the United States Army in a myriad of special operations units. When he worked in the premier Special Missions Unit, he became an impeccable marksman, shooting with accurate, lethal results and tactical effectiveness. McNamara has trained tactical applications of shooting to people of all levels of marksmanship, from varsity level soldiers, and police officers who work the streets to civilians with little to no time behind the trigger.

His military experience quickly taught him that there is more to tactical marksmanship than merely squeezing the trigger. Utilizing his years of experience, McNamara developed a training methodology that is safe, effective and combat relevant and encourages a continuous thought process. This methodology teaches how to maintain safety at all times and choose targets that force accountability, as well as provides courses covering several categories, including individual, collective, on line and standards.

While serving as his Unit’s Marksmanship NCO, he developed his own marksmanship club with NRA, CMP, and USPSA affiliations. Mac ran monthly IPSC matches and ran semi annual military marksmanship championships to encourage marksmanship fundamentals and competitiveness throughout the Army.He retired from the Army’s premier hostage rescue unit as a Sergeant Major and is the author of T.A.P.S. (Tactical Application of Practical Shooting). He also served as the Principle of TMACS Inc.

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.

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10 Responses to “Gunfighter Moment – Pat McNamara

  1. Chris K. says:

    Glad you said this. So many think re-holstering shouldn’t be practiced for combat scenarios, but anyone who’s been a line officer (LEO side) knows you need to be able to re-holster without looking and do it smoothly, and possibly while fighting someone.

  2. Dellis says:

    I am confused here, it’s been taught to me to always look at your holster when re-holstering to make sure all is clear. Especially for conceal carry people who may need to clear shirt material out of the way.

    Also, are you not re-holstering when all threats are clear?

    Sure one can create all types of scenarios where one must re-holster without looking but I would prefer to look. Reckon it doesn’t hurt to practice both methods.

    • Chris K. says:

      So what do you plan to do at night? If you need to look, fine do it, but you definitely need to be able to do it in the dark when you cannot see.

  3. The Pig says:

    I believe it would be best to reholster after all immediate threats have been neutralized so you are not percieved as the threat.

  4. Billy says:

    When to re-holster is a judgement call IMO. And was not part of Mac’s article.

  5. darrel says:

    Stupid question, but where can I get a hat like that? I really like the color. He’s wearing an Old Gen Arcteryx LEAF combat shirt so it’s probably crocodile

  6. Bill says:

    It’s really no different than putting your wallet or a pen in or out of a pocket. It’s the same movement, while advancing in retrograde, as the man said 😉 if your pockets, or holster, aren’t in the same place you left them and you need to look, you have problems that won’t be fixed with a handgun.

  7. Tomaso says:

    I get the point and find it valuable, I carry appendix /crossdraw so I don’t have to see to reholster.
    …but I’d like to bring up a very important point…..I still consider a quick reholstering a fools errand, because reholstering is the motion that also getters the trigger pulled accidentally .