Millions of Americans use a firearm just like this one, a Smith and Wesson .380 Shield EZ, for dedicated home defense. And that means they are not going to be carrying in a holster, but rather picking up the gun from a quick access safe, a drawer, or some sort of flat surface.

In today’s pro tip I am going to walk you through the steps for the best practices on how to retrieve your firearm should you need it and to start we’ll talk about setting the gun down first.  

As a right handed shooter I want to make sure that I am setting the gun down on its left side and that it is going to be pointed in a safe direction, usually toward a wall.

The reason I want it on this side is I can quickly access it with my strong hand and get a good firing grip.

If I flip it around now I am going to be fumbling with the firearm that means I could drop it or have a poor grip on it. Definitely not a good thing.

Now when you are gripping the pistol, one of the easiest ways to do it is to form an open D with your hand. That’s going to allow me to dive underneath the gun with my thumb and grasp with my fingers to get a good grip.

It also allows me to keep my trigger finger straight and outside the trigger which is very, very important in a self defense situation, so you don’t break a shot until you are absolutely ready to shoot.

So that open D process is going to be very simple, keeping it there, diving under, and getting a good firing grip.

You can certainly practice this drill in dry fire, but one of the best ways to practice and make sure that you have a good strong grip with your firing hand, is do a controlled triple.

That means you are going to start with the gun on a flat surface. You have a target set between three and seven yards, a reasonable distance for home defense, and you’ll simply pick it up and shoot three shots to the center.

If you find that your hits are sporadic, that means you don’t have a proper grip, and you need to make sure that you take the time to get a good grip on the gun before you shoot.