Should a pistol be aimed or pointed?

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FireForged

New member
I have always felt that point shooting has its place and it is a skill worth developing. That said, I also believe that a person should aim with the sights each and every time that the situation reasonably allows. If a person is point shooting in circumstance which you easily could have used the sights, I would say that is a little silly. Depending on the circumstance, using traditional aiming techniques may be less than prudent, especially in fast moving CQB . There certainly can be circumstances where you simply do not have time to use the sights. If you find yourself in such a pickle, you might appreciate some chops in the point shooting department.
 
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Black Wolf

New member
RAfiringline said:
In the movies / tv, it should always be pointed with one hand.

In real life, it should be aimed using two hands, assuming the threat is at some distance.

If the threat is right on top of you, point and fire is fine.
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I know this is a discussion of "aimed vs pointed" but, on the subject of "2 hands vs 1 hand". I completely agree that using both hands is optimal. However, I make it a point to use each of my hands, individually, when I go to the range just because ya never know.

In a recently class, one of my co-workers complained when we were required to shoot one handed. He said he will NEVER shoot a gun, in real situations, with one hand. My question was - So you're never going to need to shoot while holding a dog leash, talking into a radio mic, pushing a dig into a car, turning a door knob, etc?
 
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stephen426

New member
@Pep in CA,

I know I posted this earlier, but I strongly suggest you invest in a decent airsoft pistol that is as close a replica as you can get to your carry weapon. You can build lots of muscle memory with it and practice a lot of drills that you cannot do at the range. This includes point shooting, shooting on the move, rapid fire (with CO2 or electric guns), and shooting at multiple targets. I did a lot of airsoft training when ammo got crazy expensive after Sandy Hook.
 
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stephen426

New member
WVsig said:
I would put that $169 towards professional live training. It will help improve your shooting more than a airsoft gun. Just about anything you can do with an airsoft you can do with and empty gun. IMHO
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While I believe in professional live training, I would have to disagree with the second part of your post. The main thing that Airsoft offers over an empty gun, is shot placement confirmation. With an empty gun, you can assume you hit the target, but in reality be off target. $169 isn't that much and the ability to train regularly at home (and far more affordably) can improve training frequency. I have the http://www.dryfiretrainingcards.com/ which I think have some great drills, but the ability to confirm shot placement (with Airsoft), allows you to make corrections that you would not know you needed to make with an empty gun.
 
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WVsig

New member
stephen426 said:
While I believe in professional live training, I would have to disagree with the second part of your post. The main thing that Airsoft offers over an empty gun, is shot placement confirmation. With an empty gun, you can assume you hit the target, but in reality be off target. $169 isn't that much and the ability to train regularly at home (and far more affordably) can improve training frequency. I have the http://www.dryfiretrainingcards.com/ which I think have some great drills, but the ability to confirm shot placement (with Airsoft), allows you to make corrections that you would not know you needed to make with an empty gun.
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To each their own but the airsofts feedback does not translate directly to shooting a "real" gun IMHO. With no recoil impluse I question the significant difference between dry firing with a real gun vs airsoft. Recoil management is huge part of shooting well especially if you are firing more than one round. If it worked for you great it does not make sense in my mind. Clearly YMMV
 
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stephen426

New member
WVsig said:
To each their own but the airsofts feedback does not translate directly to shooting a "real" gun IMHO. With no recoil impluse I question the significant difference between dry firing with a real gun vs airsoft. Recoil management is huge part of shooting well especially if you are firing more than one round. If it worked for you great it does not make sense in my mind. Clearly YMMV
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The main idea behind my Airsoft practice is point shooting and rapid target acquisition. There is obviously no recoil with Airsoft (maybe very minor with the blow back guns), but recoil doesn't matter as much if your first shot is right on target. As for recoil management, one the gun becomes "an extension" of your hand through muscle memory, you know based on body position (kinesiology). It is basically how people are able to touch their finger tips together with their left and right hands even with their eyes closed. The other thing is that Airsoft supplements live fire training, it doesn't replace it. Buy a cheap spring piston version and give it a try. Many of them are surprisingly accurate.
 
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WVsig

New member
stephen426 said:
The main idea behind my Airsoft practice is point shooting and rapid target acquisition. There is obviously no recoil with Airsoft (maybe very minor with the blow back guns), but recoil doesn't matter as much if your first shot is right on target. As for recoil management, one the gun becomes "an extension" of your hand through muscle memory, you know based on body position (kinesiology). It is basically how people are able to touch their finger tips together with their left and right hands even with their eyes closed. The other thing is that Airsoft supplements live fire training, it doesn't replace it. Buy a cheap spring piston version and give it a try. Many of them are surprisingly accurate.
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Thanks I will look into it more. The last time I looked I was not impressed.
 
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Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
My experience with Airsoft has been that plastic, round BBs only replicate point of aim/point of impact issues at relatively close ranges and that the cheaper airsoft’s are not always good on manual of arms, controls or even holster fit.

For $95, you can get a SureStrike laser trainer, which I personally like better.

Now, the pricier Airsofts can be very handy for training but they aren’t cheap and still have the distance limitation.
 
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stephen426

New member
Bartholomew Roberts said:
My experience with Airsoft has been that plastic, round BBs only replicate point of aim/point of impact issues at relatively close ranges and that the cheaper airsoft’s are not always good on manual of arms, controls or even holster fit.

For $95, you can get a SureStrike laser trainer, which I personally like better.

Now, the pricier Airsofts can be very handy for training but they aren’t cheap and still have the distance limitation.
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Bartholomew,

I strongly suggest you give Airsoft a second look. Even fairly inexpensive ones are surprisingly accurate. When I practiced a lot, I was able to get 2" groups from 15 feet away coming up from low ready and point shooting. Under slow fire, you can get very tight groupings. I know they have limited range, but 5-7 yards is what most of my practice is at anyway. There are obviously higher end Airsoft guns, but I recommended an inexpensive one to start so it isn't much of an investment.

My sister has a laser trainer and they are also a great training aid since you can use your actual carry gun. If you have a striker fired gun however, you have to rack it each time. CO2 powered Airsoft guns allow for rapid fire. All of the one's I've owned are pretty much exact replicas that work fine with the holsters. Not sure if the ones you bought were toys or total junk.

I was teaching my friend's daughter to shoot last week and I started her on an airsoft. A lizard climbed onto the top of the target and I picked it off with one shot from about 15 feet. considering that the lizard was about 3" long and less than 1/2" high, I'd say that was pretty darn good accuracy.
 
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