Clearing the Garment Cleanly
Dry-Fire · At Home
Verified clear. Twenty draws from full concealment, broken into two parts: ten reps of nothing but the garment clear, then ten full draws to a verified sight picture. The hand that clears the cover does its job every single time.
Live-Fire · At the Range
Five strings of five at 7 yards from concealment: draw, one shot inside the box, reholster carefully. Only run holster work if your range permits it and you have been trained for it. Otherwise shoot from a ready position and keep the draw work dry at home.
Service Pistol
Practice defeating the retention device and the cover garment in the same motion if you wear a jacket over the rig.
Concealed Carry
This is your primary skill. The clothing you are wearing right now is the clothing to train in.
Carbine
Sling equivalent: move from patrol carry to mounted and on target without the sling fouling your support arm.
AUX (when ready): consistent draw from concealment to a verified sight picture in under two seconds, dry.
Train the gun and the clothing you carry, not the setup you wish you had.
Your Daily Callout — By Archetype
Your instinct is to rush the draw. The garment clear is the part that decides whether the rest of it works.
Notice what your cover garment does when you reach across your body. That information matters more than speed.
The people you carry for do not see this practice. They benefit from it anyway.
Build the sequence once and run it the same way every time. Consistency is what makes it fast later.
Layer: run five reps seated in a chair or in your vehicle.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.
Dry-fire: no ammunition in the room. Verify the firearm is clear — twice. Use a safe backstop. When you finish, say it out loud: “Dry fire is over.”
The Four Universal Safety Rules
Non-negotiable. Every drill, every rep, every time. This applies to live fire and dry fire.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.