Point-Less Shooting
I’d say it’s pretty tough to shoot a handgun instinctively, since no one I ever met dropped from the womb handgun in hand. Should it ever happen, there then I guess would be someone with the potential to be an instinctive shooter.
Gifted gunmen, the likes of Ross Seyfried, Bill Jordon, Rob Leatham and the “Burner” Jerry Barnhart, may have been born with natural skills. But being simply gifted isn’t the end of the story. I’ll bet $5 somewhere in the mix is a little dose of practice.
As I understand it, point shooting would mean the firing of a handgun without using the sights. Arguments provided in support of point shooting say if a threat is closing in there is no time to look at sights. Another might be that because the target is so close sights are not required to make hits. And besides, looking at the sights wastes time.
The argument: “He’s so close I can’t miss,” can be countered with a more logical, “He’s so close I’d better not miss.” Besides, if point shooting is the cure-all then knock them bumpy things off the front of that slide.
Aimlessly Awkward
Un-Aimed Fire
True un-aimed fire would probably be best represented by the emergency firing of a handgun from a retention position very similar to hip shooting. But, in this case, the pistol is elevated so the muzzle is pointed at the threat and the left side of the grip is along-side the pectoral muscle of the chest.
Applications may be muzzle-contact conflicts in a “hands on” fight over control of the handgun. Many (most?) standing physical fights deteriorate to ground–fighting. Such a fight may dictate the shooter deploy the handgun in very close proximity. It may be hard to look for the sights with a 200-pound threat sitting on top of you while pummeling your face and head into the asphalt. Un-aimed fire would be appropriate to drive the threat away from you, creating distance so you can engage with accurate sighted fire to stop the fight.
Aimed Fire
Anyone who has actually fired a handgun at any amount would be a fool to dispute that accurate bullet placement is accomplished by carefully aligning the sights on the target and pressing the trigger. I’ll readily admit it’s not always feasible to apply pristine marksmanship. But, if I had some inkling the fat lady was about to sing — make mine “aligned sights.”
What's Best
It might depend on the amount of time and effort you can devote to the skills involved. Repetition is the mother of skill, and practice makes perfect. What effort will you commit to saving your life? What time, what monies, what level of tenacity — what sighting technique?
Another point may be the litigation factor, especially when firing a gun without a good idea of where those bullets are going. You can rest assured somebody involved is going to have a lawyer. If I were responsible for training others I would come up with a really good explanation of why I taught point shooting over aimed fire — or vice-versa.
If point shooting is endorsed, it would be a bold assumption to work under the premise that one knew more than the sum total of all firearms knowledge. Indeed, the basic foundation supports, “Looking at the sights is a good way to hit the target.” Think about it.
Just maybe all these techniques are correct based upon where they are applied. But then again, you should choose wisely, as only your life depends upon your selection. Besides, sights must be somewhat important — we name some of our most honored institutions after them: Gunsite, Front Sight, The Site and Insights.
Then again, on occasion there are also Loose Sights. Fortitudo Honorus.
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