Do any of the fast draw record holders use the thumbing technique or should I concentrate on fanning only?
While there are a number of fast thumbers, there are only one or two world records that were set using the thumbing method. The vast majority were set using a fanning method, which is slightly faster. There are a number of different ways you can fan a gun (up-fanning, slap-cocking, etc.), so you have a few choices of how to fan. The people who thumb generally do it because that’s the style that they prefer for a number of reasons. Some like the challenge, while others like to do a more “authentic” draw. You might want to start with that style if you don’t want to modify the gun. You can then see if you like it. Remember, it will take longer to become good at thumbing than it would fanning. By the way, you can check out the page with the break down of a Thumbing draw for an example of Thumbing.
