Sadly, I saw an ad on social media.
I avoid ads for just this reason. Paraphrased, it went like this – “you won’t have time to aim in a self defense situation.”
Ed Lovette (RIP) demonstrating the Applegate “instinctive” shooting model at a law enforcement seminar in the 1990s.
So … you’ll have time to miss?
Being a contrarian, I counter – almost by reflex – “do you never miss when you aim?”
Just how important is aiming anyway?
Sadly, on social media, we have the “for every sales pitch, there’s an equal and opposite sales pitch.” You see it present as “my way is the way and the only way – unless you desire being fitted for a marble hat.”
Great. So who’s right?
I confess that I don’t know. I don’t believe it’s looking at "sights OR target." In my view, it’s more "see what you need to see and don't move the damn gun during ignition."
I suppose that’s too simple.
The response on social media was along the lines of how much time we have to hit before we’re hit. We’re back to that “pyrrhic victory” issue; my objective isn’t to shoot him before he shoots me; it’s to avoid being shot altogether.
Then we get into the speed and “combat accuracy” (which largely isn’t) and we’ve become the equivalent of 8-year-olds playing cops and robbers.
“I got you!”
“No! I got you!”
Bless your hearts. None of that helps people who want to learn. When we devolve into “train my way, with me, because I’m the only one who knows,” we have to face facts.
One, there aren’t enough qualified trainers to train even a small percentage of new gun owners.
Two, just square range live fire – which is known to be “not enough” – isn’t possible for any but a small percentage of new gun owners. There just aren’t enough ranges, low enough costs for range use and ammunition, plus you should add the supervision of new shooters.
Camera-eye view of using the thumbs to aim, an alternative aiming technique discussed by national trainer Vince O’Neill. I was surprised to note it works in live fire.
Finally, the vaunted force-on-force/interactive role play training is difficult, time consuming (lots of down time while waiting your turn) and there are very few who are actually good at presenting such training. So much of it quickly turns into the “cops and robbers” scenario already mentioned.
It becomes “do what I say you must do, but you can’t … so buy my book.”
I’m not going to leave you here – there is more.
Finally, someone rephrased something I read from Jeff Cooper many years ago --- We aim when we POINT. That includes the position of our body as well as the arms.
Sights verify that our point is where we want it. That may seem a minor distinction but it’s not.
It’s not “sighted aiming or unsighted aiming.” Present the gun to the eye-target line, don’t press until you see what you need to see. Know that the gun will be in your “wobble zone” generally aligned with an area in the center of the target.
Waiting for perfection sets up the miss. Press through the wobble zone. Imagine “your trigger finger pulling the front sight back toward your eye.” (Thanks to George Harris.)
The flash sight picture is verification that your point is “on.” In close battle, one doesn’t expect a fine view of the sights, as in precision handgun shooting.
The Cirillo “nose point,” an alternative aiming technique used for close range engagements when the sights aren’t visible.
Really? you ask. So what happened when Cirillo so clearly saw his sights in the dairy store shootout?
As Walt Rauch told me, “That wasn’t fair. He was hunting over bait!”
Good point. It was an ambush. If you have – according to Cirillo speaking to an audience in Mobile, AL some decades back – “time, adequate lighting, cover – then you’d be a fool not to use your sights.”
His alternative sighting techniques were for those sudden, unpredicted events; stepping around a corner and looking into the lion’s mouth, again paraphrasing Cooper.
So make sure your presentation is on; present the sights to your eyes interfering with your view of the target. Then don’t move the gun during the press.
Not complex. And not easy.
- - Rich Grassi
