Does anyone here practice point shooting?

A

aarondhgraham

New member
I do practice point shooting quite a bit,,,
Sometimes my range time is just for fun shooting,,,
For the times when I am seriously practicing for SD, I point shoot.

I stumbled upon an interesting webpage about point shooting,,,

I found rule 5 of 12 to be most satisfying,,,
In a smug "told ya" sort of way.

5. Use small caliber guns of simliar configuration as your carry gun when practical for the sake of economic practice. 22 conversion kits for your favorite carry pistol are ideal.
Click to expand...

The reason I chuckled when I read this is because I seem to get a lot of negative comments,,,
Every time I bring up the fact that I practice with my Model 34 snubbie in .22 LR,,,
A lot more than with my Model 36 in .38 Special.

It's purely an economic thing for me,,,
I'll shoot a box of .22 LR then a cylinder of .38 Special,,,
On any given day I will go through 150 to 200 rounds of .22 LR,,,
And maybe a half a box of .38 Special so the total cost is less than 20 bucks.

I do the same with my Model 18 in .22 LR and my Model 15 in .38 Special,,,
Lotsa .22 LR but with enough .38 Special to retain familiarity with the higher recoil.

It just makes sense to me,,,
Better lots of trigger time than less,,,
Let's face it, ammunition cost is a big factor nowadays.

What do you good folk think?

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It is always recommended that you practice with a .22 that is similar to your carry gun. I would think you would have trouble finding many people on here to say it was a bad thing. It doesn't replace shooting your carry gun with your carry loads, but it is good training none the less.
 
They are darn near exact,,,

My models 15 and 18 are absolutely identical,,,
There might be an ounce or two difference in weight,,,
But other than that minute detail they are exactly the same gun.

My model 36 is a round butt and my model 34 is a square butt,,,
So I bought Pachmayer Compac grips for them and now they feel exactly the same,,,
The only difference between the guns is the 34 has adjustable sights while the 36 has groove sights.

Since I am practicing point shooting anyways,,,
This doesn't make any difference

I've found that S&W put adjustable sights on most every .22 they made,,,
I have read in the S&W book that a few model 34's were made with combat sights,,,
And there is the very scarce S&W Model 45 which is the .22 LR version of the venerable Model 10,,,
But other than those two rare specimens (which were considered trainers) they always saw .22 LR as a target or small game round.

Ruger hawks their 22/45 as being the low cost trainer for the 1911,,,
I don't own a 1911 so I can't compare how close it is,,,
Can any of you 1911 lovers comment on this?


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Practice point shooting? No

A .22 "understudy"? You bet. My 617 is my 686 understudy. It's the most-shot gun I have.
 
Hello MrBorland,,,

I don't believe I have ever had a Model 686 in my hand,,,
Seen pictures and read some reviews,,,
They look very practical.

Is the 686 a K-Frame?
Is the 617 the same frame size as the 686?

The reason I ask is that I don't own a modern .357 Magnum,,,
I would look more closely at a 686 if the 617 was an exact match for it.

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The 617 frame is a wee bit smaller than the 686 frame, the latter being an L-frame, whereas the 617 is a k-frame. The grip frame is the same, though, so they share grips.

Also, though both are outfitted with Miculek grips, the 617 is otherwise stock, whereas the action on the 686 has been tuned and rendered DAO (see pics).

I use the 686 as a range/IDPA/ICORE gun, so I don't mind the heft. The larger L-frame cylinder makes speedy reloads a bit easier, and the heft helps absorb recoil. In 4" configuration, the gun is well-balanced, but the full underlug makes the 6" version feel muzzle-heavy to me. Same with the 617.

Despite being a bit smaller, the 617 fits in the kydex holster I use for the 686, so I can also practice draws and first shot on target as well as transitions between targets.

4" 617:
8.jpg


4" DAO 686:
SW686003.jpg
 
point shooting no.

however, i wish every single firearm on earth was available either through conversion kit, or straight up conversion to .22lr

FNP 90
Desert Eagle
MSAR
to name a few
 
I practice point shooting off and on, particularly with a .22 Colt Frontier I own. But, I confess that I don't do it very well, and practice hasn't improved it.
 
"point" shooting, critical incidents, legal issues...

I've seen this topic come up often on message boards & forums.
If you want to do it for fun or on a target range with a .22LR that's fine but for armed protection I would not use it. Your handgun has sights for a good reason! ;)
It's far safer and more accurate to learn to shoot quickly using handgun sights. Think about it. If you were in open court, under oath do you honestly think a judge & jury would find you & your actions creditible? If a lawyer said; "Did you use the weapon's sights to aim at the subject?" and you say; "no" they may look at that as reckless or irresponsible.
Not using a firearm's sights in a critical event is like trying to drive a car from the backseat.
Some CQB(close quarter battle) type incidents may require using these methods but those are rare.
COL Rex Applegate, taught & advocated some of these point shooting tactics to military/intel agents in the 1940s/1950s.
 
When I go to the range, several hundred rounds of .22 will go down but rarely more than one box (50) of 9mm through my 92. We'll spend the day shooting lots of targets with the .22 (targets, cans, fun challenges like empty shotgun shells blowing on weeds) and just take a couple of spins with the bigger stuff. 9mm, 1 box or so regularly and .40 and .45 only on occasion.
I usually bring an arsenal of .22's and pick one larger caliber gun to go out that day. The funs in the shooting, no matter what caliber it is. :)

As far as point and shoot, rarely (almost never) do it. I like to hit what I shoot at. ;-)
 
Practice has made me better at point shooting,,,

It's only been about 4 months since I purchased the Model 18,,,
Even less time than that for the Model 34.

In the short time I've been practicing point shooting I've improved a lot,,,
I look at it as another skill set to be acquired.

Out to 25 yards,,,
Aiming and using the sights,,,
I can hit an 8" paper plate most every shot,,,
in fact it's very rare that I miss the plate at that range.

I'm not saying I'm a crack shot,,,
Because I certainly am not.

I do feel that I am definitely proficient enough for SD using sights.

Now I want to see if I can gain the point shooting skills,,,
To get somewhere close to that same proficiency.

It's all about getting better at something.

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I learned how to point shoot, and I learned how to instinct shoot with a bow. I could shoot and hit a deer's kill zone at 50 feet in darkness without aiming. I never used sights on my bow. I was also like plague with a slingshot, starlings were just toast. again, no sights.

I learned how to point shoot from my father in law, when I had ONLY ONE GUN.

I later found that point shooting with various weapons was impossible for me, and that I had to go with aimed fire with every weapon I have.

Some people can do it, I'm not among them.
 
One gun makes sense,,,

In the literature I have read that has been a common thought,,,
Practice point shooting with the gun you will carry,,,
I practice with my 34 and 36 for that reason.

Another common thought I run across is to not hesitate,,,
Point and shoot does not mean point-hesitate-shoot,,,
I always do better if I point and then shoot quickly.

It's very frustrating though,,,
The very first time I went out to try this,,,
I put an 8" paper plate about chest high at 7 yards.

Fifty rounds later I had maybe five holes in the plate,,,
I could only assume those few were luck,,,
I tried slowing my arm down a bit,,,
But shooting immediately.

That seemed to help me more than anything else did,,,
I'm also started using the Jelly Bryce crouch,,,
I look pretty silly doing it but it helped.

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Yes I do practice point shooting, but not as much as I should. I am a great proponent of aimed fire, but common sense would tell us that there could be situations where it is not feasable. As far as court, and having someone ask if you used your sights? Well, if it is an issue, tell them hell yes I aimed it with my sights. Fact of the matter is this, once deadly force is a viable option it just doesn't matter if you aim it or not. It matters if you hit it or not. Carry a gun, Carry a good one in a decent caliber. Learn to hit with it. Learn to have situational awareness, and to keep your emotions in check.
 
If you have to assume a special "crouch" wouldn't you have time to use the sights?

I point shoot my .22 Frontier just to play cowboy, but I don't really see a place for point shooting in the real world. Even if it's dark and you don't have illuminated sights, you can still look down the barrel and "aim" shotgun style.

Not trying to be snarky, I just don't get it.
 
As far as court, and having someone ask if you used your sights? Well, if it is an issue, tell them hell yes I aimed it with my sights.
Click to expand...

"Of course I used my sights. Not using my sights would create a hazardous situation. I aimed and fired at my opponent with the intent of disabling him and stopping him from [whatever he was doing]."
 
A special crouch has nothing to do with it. Now, to be fair, that was the method that the FBI and therefore others, used to teach, but not anymore. The debate over whether it has any value or not will go on for as long as people have the ability to argue. As far as I am concerned, I prefer and advocate aimed fire, but realize that some familiarity at least with point shooting can be of some benefit. If you can't imagine any type of scenario at all that would require such a thing, then by all means go on as normal.
 
If you define point shooting as bringing the gun to eye level so you still have the sights as a reference, without actually concentrating on the front sight, then yes I do-----out to about 5 yds. only. But I practice with sights, also at short distance.

Sights are still the best way to go, even at very close range, but it's been reported that it's very common for a shooter to abandon the use of sights in a gunfight, so I practice both ways.

What I'd refer to as true point shooting would be for close to contact distance only---so close you wouldn't be able to extend your gun to get even a reference.:cool:
 
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