Posted: 6/14/2005 2:47:52 PM EDT
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I have always been told to hard focus on the front sight when shooting irons. However, this really only seems to work at the range when slow firing. I agree that when I do this, I shoot the tightest groups. The only problem is it does not seem very practical, except maybe in shooting longer distance shots (>50meters) I just don't see it being practical for many reasons: (1) your target is not in focus, therefore you can not clearly see what he/she is doing (2)when shooting with both eyes are open, you will see two images of your target (3)it seems much harder to follow moving targets/switch between targets (4)real targets aren't usually perfect black circles! I feel that it is more practical to focus on the target, keep both eyes open, and have front and rear sights aligned in soft focus. Yes, you see two front sights and two rear sights, but only one pair is aligned, and in directly in front of you, so you know what to use. I can shoot very well like this left and right handed with a pistol or carbine, with no real preference, except that I am naturally left handed/left eye dominant. I am wondering if anyone involved in a tactical/SWAT unit or any LEO could chime in as to what technique you are trained to use, or if you think I am a heretic for saying thishock.gif PS: I am not a LEO, but hope to be. |
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I read somewhere that the fact Wyatt Earp used the sights on his revolver and didn't rush his shots was the reason he was the gun fighter he was. I train our officers to focus on the front sight for a couple of reasons. 1. the sight radius on a revolver or pistol is very short and it doesn't take much movement of the front sight to move your point of impact greatly. If your front sight is blurry due to you not focusing on it, you won't know if it has moved. 2. Officers are responsible for every shot they fire from their weapons. If you have to use deadly force in a situation where there are innocent people..you want to be damn sure you hit what you are aiming at. 2 front sights that are blurry is not what you want. 3. The amount of time it takes you to shift your focus from your target to your front sight makes your concern about not being able to see your target clearly a non issue. If you are seeing 2 front and rear sights with both eyes open you are doing something wrong. I shoot with both eyes open and see a crystal clear front sight. It sounds like you are trying to focus on both sights at once. |
| This is interesting. It sounds like you train officers to only focus on the front sight right before they pull the trigger, and to focus on the threat in all other instances. This kind of makes some sense to me. So the steps are more like: draw weapon, watch threat, if deadly force necessary, then move finger inside trigger guard and simultaneuosly move focus to front sight, then squeeze trigger. The only complication I could see with this would be re-evaluating after the shot/taking followup shots because you might have to keep switching focus back and forth? |
It's not so much a complication.. if you don't see your target fall, keep pulling your trigger until it does. |
+1 I've been taught the front sight thing and I use it and shoot quite well that way. Up close I shoot pretty tight groups with a flash sight picture, but I notice myself focusing on the front sight to confirm right before the trigger breaks and again when I reaquire after recoil. It happens pretty quickly so most people think you're just pulling the trigger. One of my instructors said "You can't miss quickly enough to catch up. Speed is fine, accuracy is final." |
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Also SWAT is not the best way to set the standards on this topic. We try a large assortment of training and most of the time it all comes back to 2 different styles and mostly one, point shooting and front sight trigger press. Up close and personal we have had better luck with the aimpoint style sights even though our hand guns do not have them it is along with the same principle. If you see it you already have sights on it and you can fire. Striker said it with dry firing. I can't stress how important it is to really get to know the weapon that you intend on defending life with. If you go out and train and get good hits your on the right track. Don't worry about what everyone else says. Noting will matter but your training and mind set if you ever go down that road. SWAT is different in one way when it comes to shooting, most of the time they are on the offensive rather than the defensive and that makes a huge difference. 9 out of 10 times being on the defensive is when you start having the GMS problems and such. It is because you are reacting to aggression after it has already started and you are playing catch-up |