Front Sights Only???

P

Point Blank

New member
I am having a heck of a time becoming a more accurate shooter.I keep reading here that you put front sight on target and squeeze.Never hear any mention on aligning the three dots,then firing.Seems like just using front sight would put bullet high or low,plus left or right since your not using the rear sight too.Any insight would be greatly appreciated on this subject.If it is true,would removing the rear sight on my Rugers help me in becoming a better shot?? Again,thanks for reading and any help appreciated.
 
Point Blank,

I think that I am in the same boat as you, being relatively new to shooting, and someone here more expert can no doubt correct me if I am wrong, but I have the following suggestions from my own experience:

1) At first it seems that maintaining sight alignment is very difficult. A handgun is not like a rifle, where sight alignment seems almost automatic to me. Yet all of the literature I found hardly addressed sight alignment as an issue. Writings talk about the "arc of movement" of the gun as if alignment is fixed, and it is not.

2) Find a grip and stance which give you the most natural almost automatic sight alignment you can get. You can adjust many elements of your stance and hold (like the angle at which you face the target or your arm positions) so that with a natural grip on the gun, the sights are well aligned.

3) Practice...practice...practice.... Keep practicing. Don't change your grip or stance all of the time. There is no "magic" stance or grip. Concentrate on sight alignment and keep the front sight in focus. The target and rear sights will be slightly out of focus.

I suspect that, like riding a bicycle, you are trying to train a more subconcious part of your brain to concentrate on sight alignment. Just as in learning to ride a bike, you first spend all of your effort keeping it upright though eventually you concentrate on where you want to go and balance is automatic.

Watch for involuntary responses. Dry-fire to see if you are jerking the gun in anticipation of the shot. Try to keep the shot a "surprise" by a slow, steady increase in trigger pressure.

I hope you have as much fun as I am having learning to shoot.

Regards,
 
I think what's being reffered too is the quote, "In a fight, front sight". This concerns 3,5 & 7 yards, up close and personal. Anything beyond would require a sight picture for shot placement. But for the time thing's happen so fast that all you can do is react, that was the rule I was told to use.
 
PB,

I am by no means an expert. But, I think that BeauBeaux hit the nail on the head. I shoot some IDPA and found that out to about 5 yards I can score quick hits by using only the front sight. I think of it like shooting a shotgun with only the bead in front. Beyond 4 or 5 yards though I can no longer keep my shots in the 5 ring and I have to use the rear sights as well. Try it and see how it works for you. Good luck.

David
 
Just the front sight will work well at short ranges. That's why the Ashley Express sights are so good for this purpose. It does work best with a good level of practice, however, so that you develop the muscle memory to align the gun sufficiently accurately on target.
 
All I can say is TRY IT.
The front sight is more important than the Rear.
This is why shotguns oft have a bead in front and nothing in the rear.
Just give it a shot and see.
Depending on the type of shooting that you do - it could either help or hurt. Then again - since you are new to shooting - you might not be able to tell the difference.

Second thoughts - Since you are new to shooting, I suggest keeping that rear sight and practice pistol fundamentals for a few years.
 
OK, I'm NOT and EXPERT, and I don't play one on TV...however, I am an NRA certified pistol instructor. This is the way we describe it (sight alignment and sight picture))in class:

Your eyes can only forus on one object at a time. If you doubt this, try the following experiment (taken from Jim Owen's book "Sight Alignment, Trigger Control, and the Big Lie":

With the sun or a strong light behind and above your shoulders, put your right hand at arm's length and down at a 45 degree angle with your index finger extended and the fingerprints facing you. Place your left elbow against your side and place your left hand in front of your body. (This gives the proper distance between fingers). Again extend the index finger with the print facing you. Make sure the finger on your left hand does not block the view of the finger on the right hand. The two fingers should be close together in the line of sight, positioned so you can see both at the same time. The fingers should be 10-12 inches apart.

Focus your vision on the finger closest to you until you can see the finger prints. You can still see the other finger, but you cannot see the prints. Shift your focus to the finger on the right hand and focus on the prints; you can still see the other finger, but you cannot see the prints. THE HUMAN EYE CANNOT FOCUS ON TWO OBJECTS AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES AT THE SAME TIME!!!

You can rapidly shift your focus from one finger to the other and convince yourself you are focusing on both -- YOU ARE NOT.

Ok, back to me. Having said that you can't focus on more than one thing at once, you do the following:

Focus on the rear sight.

Align the front and rear sights, shiftng the focus from rear to front sight. (technically, the sights are ALWAYS alinged with each other, but in this step you align the front and rear sights with your eye).

Focus on the target and raise the sights (in the same orientation) to the target.

Focus on the front sight.

Press (squeeze) the trigger.

Since the front sight is the last point of the bullet's travel that you can affect, it's imperative that you focus on it, and not other items. However, the other items do play a part, and the order, "rear sight, front sight, target, front sight" seems to have a great affect on shooting ability. If you have trouble focusing on the front sight because it's all black and devoid of features, draw a tiny line on it with chalk...and focus on the line.

Your rear sight does not degrade your accuracy. It's just a question of how to use it. It is used as a guide in which to bracket the front sight. Then your focus is on the front sight.

In order to become a better pistol shooter, you need to work on all the "fundamentals" (stance, grip, sight alignment, trigger control, breathing, and follow through)...not just sight picture/sight alignment. Again, I'm no expert...however, if you'd like to hear more about the fundamentals, e-mail me of contact the NRA...they can direct you to a local instructor.

BTW, I shoot IDPA too, and I've noticed that the front sight is all that's needed at close range, too. I'm convinced that enough practice with the same pistol would eventually get you familiar with your gun enough that sights would be unnecessary or "combat" use out to a great distance. Our head instructor can "point shoulder" shoot at 25 yds. and hit a Coke can every time.
 
To all novice pistoleroes.............


Highly recommend finding your local (or nearest) IDPA or IPSC/USPSA club (I prefer USPSA -- go to http://www.uspsa.org and use the 'club-finder' function) and participating regularly.

Your shooting and gun-handling skills will increase, and so will your comfort level.
 
I second WESHOOT's comments heartily. Now if I could only figure out what to watch on those ****** close range swingers....
 
Steve, that was awesome advice. Even people who have more than a little experience could benefit from it.

I shoot IDPA (though not since I moved to Colorado back in October), and reached Expert classification in Stock Service Pistol. What was said about "front-sight shooting" being good up close is totally accurate. I have found that 7 yards is about my maximum for that type of shooting. Anything beyond that requires a split second more to acquire that rear sight for alignment. With practice, which is required in ANY endeavor in which a person seeks to become more than a novice, I think you'll find that the additional time required to find that rear sight will diminish pretty rapidly. Also, as you become more familiar with your weapon you will begin to naturally bring it to a position where the front and rear sights are very much in line without any adjustment on your part.

Dry firing and range time are the keys. Take it slow at first and train your muscles to remember where those positions are, THEN work on speed. Speed comes more from fluidity and economy of motion than from simply moving fast. I didn't believe that at first, then I saw Todd Jarret shoot an IDPA match. Believe it. :D

And to answer your last question, do NOT remove the rear sights from your Ruger. That's never gotten anyone to be a better shot that I know of.
 
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