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Old October 8, 2010, 06:08 PM   #33
VHinch
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 13, 2002
Location: Northeast Georgia
Posts: 374
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacecoast
why else would it be a strong emphasis at self defense handgun classes?
Whose class do you keep referring to? Offhand I can't think of a single top tier instructor that "strongly emphasizes" point shooting. Just because somebody out there teaches it doesn't necessarily make it a credible argument. I could teach you to scratch your ass with your elbow but that wouldn't make it the best technique for doing so. 4 of the most credible instructors available to civilians have been mentioned in this thread as to their views on point shooting, all of which are based on real experience and you could add Clint Smith, Chuck Taylor, Louis Awerbuck, and Magpul Dynamics to that list as well and that's just the guys I can think of right off the top of my head.

Quote:
Originally Posted by spacecoast
you might as well practice it and use it because it's almost guaranteed that under time pressure you are NOT going to make effective use of your sights
I'm going to preface my comments here by saying that I'm asking in the spirit of intelligent conversation/debate and not to be adversarial with the disclaimer that it's often hard to portray tone via written word, but what is this comment based on? Actual real world experience, or something you read, were taught, whatever? There are several instructors out there, Larry Vickers and Paul Howe in particular (I single these guys out from the others because I've actually heard it from them firsthand) who can and will dispute this from actual extensive experience in multiple engagements. I can tell you from my personal experience that the most vivid image I can recall from the one fight I got tangled up in is the sight picture. All the other details are somewhat get blurred from the speed of the engagement, time that's passed, etc., but I can recall acquiring the sight picture of each shot like it happened this morning.

Quote:
Originally Posted by spacecoast
I don't. It's significantly faster to use point shooting.
The other thing that all of the instructors noted above teach is some variation of "Fast is fine, accuracy is final." You simply can't miss fast enough to win a fight.

I'm not saying point shooting doesn't have some place. When you have to fire from a retention position it's all you're going to have. It's useful to a slightly lesser degree in low light environments. For those scenarios, it is certainly worth spending some training time on. Due to the limited scope of those scenarios however, it's a secondary skill set and therefore shouldn't be a primary focus in training.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KellyTTE
What always amuses me is the number of point/reflexive/unsighted/whatevertheycallitthisweek firing instructors that like to use the term 'its another tool for you' as a way of defusing criticism against their methodology.
Well said. It's always interesting to question the resume of those guys as well, as the result is usually equally amusing.
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“High speed isn't about gun, gear or tactics. High speed is executing the basics perfectly no matter what, cold, wet, day, night, tired. That’s high speed."
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