Point Shooting: How to get eyes away from the front sight?

S

sigcurious

New member
I tried some point shooting the other day, and to my chagrin I couldn't really do it. In the sense of being able to bring my pistol up with precision and have it aimed where I wanted it, but an inability to not focus on the front sight as soon as it was up. I even tried bringing the pistol to bear with my eyes closed then opening them and still instead of being able to focus on the target my eyes were drawn to the front sight. Any tips for forcing/training my eyes to not immediately seek out the front sight when it's presented in my field of vision?

FWIW, I push the pistol out from my torso into firing position whether trying to point shoot or not.
 
Any tips for forcing/training my eyes to not immediately seek out the front sight when it's presented in my field of vision?
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My most recent acquisition is a short-barrel GI 1911A1.

Sights are straight GI, no dots, no troughs, nothing but parkerized metal - so unless I really focus on the sights, I end up point shooting.

I was considering using some fingernail polish on the front, but I'm getting so used to not having any real focal point other than the target, I'm figuring this might screw me up so i have left it alone.

Several pulverized pumpkins in the backyard to attest that I'm getting pretty good with point-shooting it :p
 
tape works. I had the people when I was working as a trainer in a point shooting class tape a piece of thin cardboard between front and back sights; it gave a solid plane of nothingness to keep the sights from distracting them.

You might try a long flat wooden stir stick taped on.
 
Thanks for the ideas guys, Ill have to try the tape next range trip. If that's not enough Ill move on to the something taped between the sights. Have you guys found that once practiced in that method its easy to transition to uncovered sights and still not have the eyes drawn to the sights?
 
Practice with airsoft...........a lot.
The slow moving bb can usually be seen on its way to the target.
And that really helps develop the hand-eye coordination necessary for point shooting.
At the range, have a gun with the sights removed.
I use a .22, that normally has a dot scope and no sights.
Without the scope, it's an excellent trainer.
 
sigcurious,

Just look THROUGH your sights at the target. Let the sights blur.

You will be amazed at how you can see 'see' the sights enough to make out the alignment while still focusing on the target.

Don't worry about the darkness. Just keep memorising you hold as you fire. The way you index the gun. Then even if you cannot see the sights, bring the gun up as IF you could see the sights and fire.

Deaf
 
heck I don't need to wait, I could just take off my glasses
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Lol Me too, but then I have to shoot by braille and the other people complain about me being down range touching the target to find the center when they are trying to shoot.
 
Point shooting

Different people define point shooting differently. So, it could be we're not all on the same sheet of music. For me, point shooting means looking over the sights for approximate sight alignment. In bullseye shooting, focus is on the front sight with both the rear sight and target out of focus. In point shooting, it's the target that's in focus. Anyway, in a real-life encounter, your body will automatically exclude all that isn't essential to your survival and you will focus on the threat.

Try keeping your handgun pointed at the ground, maybe 20 feet in front of you. Focus on the target. Now start raising the gun until the front sight has entered your periferal vision. Try a few shots.
 
"Point Shooting" low

In a class I took, the 32 year instructor discussed this but it sounds as though there was an additional element. In his recommendation, instead of trying to place the gun where it would normally be when you aim, that is at or slightly higher than shoulder level, you draw and quickly place it in front of you where it's most comfortable, which is about three or four inches lower than this. This allows you to draw quickly and have the gun in a comfortable position. You're also prevented from focusing too much on the front sight post because you have to lower your head slightly IOT see down the barrel. The idea is that your hands naturally point where your eyes are looking. I haven't tried this enough to be proficient but so far it seems relatively accurate--at least within 6-8 inches at 21 feet. Not amazing, but given the realities of a SD situation, this might be what you're likely to end up doing. As always, more practice is better.
 
When point shooting, I pick a very small target within the target, like a button or another bullet hole or whatever that is an identifiable, discreet and small target and I focus on that.
 
Well, if I bring the gun up in front of me where I can naturally see the sights, I am going to use them. It has become automatic for me too, though it is more of a "flash" sight picture when I'm drawing and shooting for speed. If I'm holding the gun in a bit tighter to my body and a little lower for better retention, that is when true point shooting kicks in for me (generally 5 yards or less). YMMV.
 
I tried some point shooting the other day, and to my chagrin I couldn't really do it. In the sense of being able to bring my pistol up with precision and have it aimed where I wanted it, but an inability to not focus on the front sight as soon as it was up.
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OK, so you weren't born with the natural ability. Few of us are. But you can learn it just like you learned to ride a bicycle after you fell off the first few times.
 
I have found that practicing dry with my crimson trace really helps a lot. It's not cheap but definitely a excellent training / defensive addition to any gun that supports one.
 
Instinctive shooting.

I think I see nobby's problem. He tried to "bring his pistol up with precision." That is just what instinctive, or point shooting does not teach. Try just trusting that you are on tarket. How tiny is your car key and yet look how close, if not exactly in the keyhole, you are when you 'instinctivell' bring it to the keyhole. You 'instinctively aim' all day long without realizing it. You just have to be comfortable being uncomfortable for a bit. I started researching and applying the concept about twenty years ago with Lucky McDaniel's book because I am cross dominant and when I 'trusted' more and 'tried' less I began to become very accurate - not quite able to hit a BB with a BB though:p
 
Longfellow wrote :
I think I see nobby's problem. He tried to "bring his pistol up with precision." That is just what instinctive, or point shooting does not teach. Try just trusting that you are on tarket. How tiny is your car key and yet look how close, if not exactly in the keyhole, you are when you 'instinctivell' bring it to the keyhole. You 'instinctively aim' all day long without realizing it. You just have to be comfortable being uncomfortable for a bit. I started researching and applying the concept about twenty years ago with Lucky McDaniel's book because I am cross dominant and when I 'trusted' more and 'tried' less I began to become very accurate - not quite able to hit a BB with a BB though
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If I may, . . . allow me to add the one other element in what he says: practice. That one word makes all the difference in the world. In his example of the car key, . . . we usually have to look at it for the first week or so, . . . after that, . . . we tend to call it "instinct", . . . but what it really is, is only muscle memory.

Practice will get that point shooting "muscle memory" to work as well as those arthritic old fingers still do when you tie your shoes. How many of us have looked down and : "Let's see now, . . . right over left, . . . pull tight, . . . use left thumb and forfinger to make bow in right string, . . . loop left string around right bow.........................."?

We don't think about it, . . . we just do it, . . . muscle memory, . . . produced by practice.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
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