My take on using handgun sights...

alizeefan · June 6, 2008, 04:21 AM

Before I start I just want to assure everyone i'm not going to start the whole point shooting v aimed fire thing. This is just my opinion.

I utilize sights in all my training at all distances ( except contact out to a couple of metres ). I tend to draw the pistol straight up to the natural limit of my shoulders movement then rotate the wrist thru 90 degrees and take a final firing grip close to the body. As I push pistol towards target I try to swap focus from target to front sight in the last quarter or so of the presentation to get a flash sight picture and fire.

I personally am a believer in sighted fire but I think that with the way I present the gun even if I can't see the sights in a real encounter the fact that the gun basically tracks straight past my eye out to the target would give me a very good " point " anyway. I recall Clint Smith saying something to the effect that you should train to use the sights and if you can see them during a confrontation then good and if you can't well that's life. Again these are just my thoughts and I haven't posted in a while ( And this was the best I could come up with

). Any thoughts/comments ?.

yettoblaster · June 6, 2008, 07:59 AM

Sounds natural the way I'm envisioning it and playing your description out, sitting here at my computer.
I think the training part would be effective, especially if consistently done every time the same way.

Naturally, it sounds modifiable in an instance where your style is cramped due to distance or time.

I don't see any problem. I like it.

Deaf Smith · June 6, 2008, 08:10 PM

Paul Howe said it best for me when he said if you learn two systems (a form of sighted fire and point shooing) then you would default to the easiest one you learned when you fall appart. Of course that would be point shooting.

But, he said, if you just learn one, sighted fire that is, you will stay with that system cause that's is your easiest system.

And Howe knows a thing or two.

Swampghost · June 6, 2008, 09:01 PM

My Dad taught me to instinct shoot at a very early age with a bow, later with a rifle and then with a handgun. I'm now 57 and can still use the technique with a bow and handgun but need a scope for the rifles at more than 50 yds.

alizeefan · June 7, 2008, 02:35 AM

Thanks for all the replies fellas. I know they say opinions are like a**holes ( everybody's got one

) but this way seems to work quite well for me.

chuckrusty · June 8, 2008, 01:08 AM

i see nothing wrong in your presentation,

in fact i feel that by bringing the gun to eye level that you are in fact using aimed fire, just not as precise aimed fire, i feel that true point shooting is done below the line of sight, and if you can see the front sight, even just a flash of the front sight, it is aimed fire,

i also prefer aimed fire over point shooting, when shooting qualifiers, the point shooting part from the hip always dropped some points of my score, until we started using the flash sight picture, which lets you see down your gun, no more dropped points!

Sigma 40 Blaster · June 25, 2008, 08:12 AM

Sounds like we had the same training (or a like minded trainer at least).

With the exception of headshots or shots past 15 yards I do not get a perfect sight picture, just a flash sight picture. At seven yards the flash sight picture is more than adequate for SD shooting, at 15 yards not as precise but still hits in a 4 inch area or so.

That being said my "flash" sight picture was slow and has gotten way faster. It's really about learning how to go with the recoil of the gun, riding the sights, and having the confidence that as soon as the front sight goes back into the notch that you can pull the trigger and hit around the same spot.

I also use the same drawstroke and presentation. I'm not sure other methods of drawing (sweeping upwards) would be as effective using that technique because you really need to make sure you're leveled off.

When I shoot IDPA I can honestly never remember looking down the sights of the gun except for headshots/shooting around no-shoots. That being said I'm ranked as a high marksman or low sharpshooter in all three semi-auto classes. So I have a lot of room for improvement and could be wrong.

June 6, 2008, 04:21 AM	#1
alizeefan Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 128	My take on using handgun sights... Before I start I just want to assure everyone i'm not going to start the whole point shooting v aimed fire thing. This is just my opinion. I utilize sights in all my training at all distances ( except contact out to a couple of metres ). I tend to draw the pistol straight up to the natural limit of my shoulders movement then rotate the wrist thru 90 degrees and take a final firing grip close to the body. As I push pistol towards target I try to swap focus from target to front sight in the last quarter or so of the presentation to get a flash sight picture and fire. I personally am a believer in sighted fire but I think that with the way I present the gun even if I can't see the sights in a real encounter the fact that the gun basically tracks straight past my eye out to the target would give me a very good " point " anyway. I recall Clint Smith saying something to the effect that you should train to use the sights and if you can see them during a confrontation then good and if you can't well that's life. Again these are just my thoughts and I haven't posted in a while ( And this was the best I could come up with ). Any thoughts/comments ?. __________________ " An interesting little toy but of no real value in warfare " - British general after being shown the new maxim gun.

June 6, 2008, 08:10 PM	#3
Deaf Smith Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2000 Location: Texican! Posts: 4,453	Paul Howe said it best for me when he said if you learn two systems (a form of sighted fire and point shooing) then you would default to the easiest one you learned when you fall appart. Of course that would be point shooting. But, he said, if you just learn one, sighted fire that is, you will stay with that system cause that's is your easiest system. And Howe knows a thing or two. __________________ “To you who call yourselves ‘men of peace,’ I say, you are not safe without men of action by your side” Thucydides

June 6, 2008, 09:01 PM	#4
Swampghost Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: Florida, east coast Posts: 2,106	My Dad taught me to instinct shoot at a very early age with a bow, later with a rifle and then with a handgun. I'm now 57 and can still use the technique with a bow and handgun but need a scope for the rifles at more than 50 yds. __________________ NRA Patron Member

June 7, 2008, 02:35 AM	#5
alizeefan Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 128	Thanks for all the replies fellas. I know they say opinions are like a**holes ( everybody's got one ) but this way seems to work quite well for me. __________________ " An interesting little toy but of no real value in warfare " - British general after being shown the new maxim gun.

June 6, 2008, 07:59 AM	#2
yettoblaster Junior Member Join Date: June 2, 2008 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Posts: 10	Sounds natural the way I'm envisioning it and playing your description out, sitting here at my computer. I think the training part would be effective, especially if consistently done every time the same way. Naturally, it sounds modifiable in an instance where your style is cramped due to distance or time. I don't see any problem. I like it.

June 8, 2008, 01:08 AM	#6
chuckrusty Junior Member Join Date: April 21, 2008 Posts: 12	i see nothing wrong in your presentation, in fact i feel that by bringing the gun to eye level that you are in fact using aimed fire, just not as precise aimed fire, i feel that true point shooting is done below the line of sight, and if you can see the front sight, even just a flash of the front sight, it is aimed fire, i also prefer aimed fire over point shooting, when shooting qualifiers, the point shooting part from the hip always dropped some points of my score, until we started using the flash sight picture, which lets you see down your gun, no more dropped points!

June 25, 2008, 08:12 AM	#7
Sigma 40 Blaster Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2007 Location: East Texas Posts: 997	Sounds like we had the same training (or a like minded trainer at least). With the exception of headshots or shots past 15 yards I do not get a perfect sight picture, just a flash sight picture. At seven yards the flash sight picture is more than adequate for SD shooting, at 15 yards not as precise but still hits in a 4 inch area or so. That being said my "flash" sight picture was slow and has gotten way faster. It's really about learning how to go with the recoil of the gun, riding the sights, and having the confidence that as soon as the front sight goes back into the notch that you can pull the trigger and hit around the same spot. I also use the same drawstroke and presentation. I'm not sure other methods of drawing (sweeping upwards) would be as effective using that technique because you really need to make sure you're leveled off. When I shoot IDPA I can honestly never remember looking down the sights of the gun except for headshots/shooting around no-shoots. That being said I'm ranked as a high marksman or low sharpshooter in all three semi-auto classes. So I have a lot of room for improvement and could be wrong.