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Thread: Semantics: What *is* Point Shooting?

  1. #1
    Site Supporter Jay Cunningham's Avatar
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    Semantics: What *is* Point Shooting?

    In order to have a proper discussion about a thing, the people having the discussion need to be on the same page, so to speak.

    Point Shooting has always been a contentious topic... but what is it, exactly? Ask 10 different people and you're likely to get 8 different opinions.

    Some things to consider in the discussion:

    • "aimed fire"
    • "sighted fire"
    • "body index"
    • "target focus"
    • "hard front sight focus"
    • "soft front sight focus"
    • "target focus"





  2. #2
    I'll bite. I always considered point shooting to be shooting without visual reference. So, if you have the gun up in eye line and are using your eyes to direct it, that's not point shooting to me. I can, and have, shot A zones on USPSA targets by using very coarse visual reference, sometimes just seeing the slide was in target and gotten hits, but it's not point shooting in my book.

  3. #3
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    I've understood it to be shooting more on instinct and being aware enough of your firearm's POA and POI characteristics to be able to shoot effectively and quickly without trying to line of the sights, front post focus,etc.etc. It happens so quickly it is almost hard to describe it, but it is more being aware of your front post. And...I should say, it is a technique used at close to very close distances, such as one would encounter most often in a defensive situations, within a matter of feet, not yards, etc.

    It takes a lot of practice presenting from draw and putting rounds in center mass as quickly and accurately as possible to get a hang of it.

    I took a look to see if "point shooting" is an article on Wikipedia, and yup, there it is and I think it is a very good summary.

    Point shooting — also known as target-[1] or threat-focused shooting,[2] instinctive aiming, instinctive firing, and instinctive shooting — is a method of shooting a firearm quickly and accurately that does not rely on the use of the sights in close quarters, life-threatening situations where there is the greatest chance being killed.[1] Close-quarters fighting makes it difficult to apply proper marksmanship techniques,[3] which is why point shooting advocates a less sighting-based style of shooting.
    Last edited by NickS; 07-05-2017 at 09:25 AM.

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    Member Peally's Avatar
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    Member JHC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jared View Post
    I'll bite. I always considered point shooting to be shooting without visual reference. So, if you have the gun up in eye line and are using your eyes to direct it, that's not point shooting to me. I can, and have, shot A zones on USPSA targets by using very coarse visual reference, sometimes just seeing the slide was in target and gotten hits, but it's not point shooting in my book.
    That right there. So PS'ing is stuff like hip shooting, the "half hip", that sort of stuff.
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  7. #7
    Member John Hearne's Avatar
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    To me, it's shooting without a visual reference on the gun and instead, relying on a purely kinesthetic alignment of the weapon.
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    Site Supporter psalms144.1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jared View Post
    I'll bite. I always considered point shooting to be shooting without visual reference. So, if you have the gun up in eye line and are using your eyes to direct it, that's not point shooting to me. I can, and have, shot A zones on USPSA targets by using very coarse visual reference, sometimes just seeing the slide was in target and gotten hits, but it's not point shooting in my book.
    And another "that right there."

    I'll add that I have been to training which HEAVILY emphasized rapid point shooting. We eventually reached the point where we could hit small moving object(s) using carbines at moderate distances (inside 25 yards) and we could consistently place rounds on 1" dots at CLOSE range (3-5 yards) with pistols. It only took shooting about 3,000 rounds/student over the course of two days to reach this level of proficiency. And, two weeks later, at a regular range date, most of us could not replicate either of those feats. Within a month, none of us could.

    So, while "point shooting" can be very fast and effective, IMHO, the amount of time and ammunition required to achieve workable results and MAINTAIN those skills is prohibitive for most.

    Unfortunately, there ARE people who are human ballistics calculators and can pull this feat off nearly all the time on demand, so we'll never hear the end of this "skill" being pushed. Likewise, every time Cleetus pulls off an amazing shooting feat using unsighted fire, it tells the Cleeti that this is a viable technique, and not simply pure dumb luck.

  9. #9
    Member orionz06's Avatar
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    Hell, even "sighted fire" could be contentious.
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  10. #10
    Hoplophilic doc SAWBONES's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Hearne View Post
    To me, it's shooting without a visual reference on the gun and instead, relying on a purely kinesthetic alignment of the weapon.
    ...while simultaneously hard-focusing (both mentally & visually) on the target, AND with the pistol properly aligned in a consistent grip that puts the gun's barrel parallel to the forearm.

    It's always a popular topic among those gun folks who like to espouse one thing in a given category (whether weapon platform, caliber, style or method of shooting) above all others, as though "there could be only one".

    As a shooting method, it certainly can work for some folks, at relatively short distances, and historically there are many who have used it to good effect, but it certainly doesn't work well for everyone, under any and all circumstances of defensive shooting, and IMNSHO it's probably indefensible to use as a means of combat shooting if there are innocents downrange near the intended target.
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