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

I am primarily a bullseye shooter. I converted to action shooting some years back but the ingrained Bullseye training remained.

When I was action shooting regularlly, I noticed that I was point shooting from the 15 yrd line in. I did not try to point shoot it just happened.

Focus on the target (X ring) watch the bullet strike the target and adjust subconcusly. Do not think about adjusting the weapon.

Try this experment.

Fill a cup of coffee to the rim. Walk across the room. Conciously try not spill the liquid. You will spill it.

Fill another cup and walk across the same room. Do not think about preventing the spill. Just focus your eyes on the coffee. You will not spill the coffee.

The same is with point shooting. If you think about adjusting the bullet strike, you will over correct. If you maintain your focus on the target and concentrate on good trigger, your fine motor skills will make the adjustment.

A good exercise is to go to the 5 yd line and one handed shoot from the hip.
Use the technique described above and you will print a good center of mass group.
 
Try dropping your pistol down a little farther in your plane of vision. Perhaps 10-14" or so below eye level.

Start a 3-5 yards and use some type of human silhouette target.

Extend the pistol in front of you with a two hand hold and focus on a spot on the target. If the sight distracts you lower it a little more.

Squeeze off a slow, smooth shot and note where it hits. Too high on the target, look at a spot lower, too low, look higher.

Practice drawing it from your holster, or raising it up from low ready and find the one and two handed positions that you naturally go to and that feel most comfortable. I don't believe there is one rote position thats the same for everyone and there is a whole continuum from waist level to eye level that one can practice. However, in sudden, up close, life threatening situations your natural one handed hold position is more than likely the one you will unconsciously assume.
 
I think practicing point shooting is EXTREMELY important. Several years ago I read where an FBI firearms instructor said that if you go into a face-to-face gunfight, (1) you won't use the sights, and (2) you'll fire one handed. Probably true, when you sit down and think about it.

Most concealed carriers would probably do well to burn up some ammo point-shooting. What I do (we live on a farm) is tape a sheet of typing paper to a big tree trunk for a target, then back off 5-7 yards and point-shoot at it 3 rounds at a time, firing quickly. Shoulder level, straight arm, stiff elbow, eyes focused on the target, tight grip on the gun. Try it; it can be a real wake-up call.

One of the most difficult things to do under enormous stress is focus visually on a small point, so this is something to practice. Do NOT focus on the person: focus on a button on his shirt, or the tip of his nose, or whatever. This is a critically important habit to form. You can simulate this by using a black marker to make a 1/2" dot on the paper or target.

Just some notes.
 
Several years ago I read where an FBI firearms instructor said that if you go into a face-to-face gunfight, (1) you won't use the sights, and (2) you'll fire one handed. Probably true, when you sit down and think about it.
Click to expand...

Several years ago I did a shoot house drill in a 360 degree range (you could shoot safely in any direction). The instructor was literally attached to the rear of my belt so I could not physically turn around and shoot him. The drill involved pop up targets, loud noise, smoke, and other assorted mayhem. This drill was very, very, very, very, very far removed from an actual life and death shooting situation, but that being said it was stressful and chaotic to a much higher degree than anything I had ever encountered at the range.

At the end of the drill I found that I had misidentified and shot several innocent bystanders but generally had made good "kill" shots. The instructor asked me "Do you ever remember looking at your front sight?" I didn't. He confirmed that I wasn't even holding my pistol in my sight plane most of the time, in fact, he said the only time I actually held the gun in my sight plane and focused on the front sight was when a hostage target presented and I instinctively knew I had to make a precise shot and I put two in the BG's orbital cavity. The rest of the time I had been point shooting, which unfortunately was not what they were trying to teach me, I was supposed to be using the front sight. That being said, I made good shots for the most part, and the those "innocent bystanders"? What were they doing popping up in a window in the middle of a gunfight? Not so innocent if you ask me.
 
A long time ago, in the Vietnam war era, some instructors started a novel way of training troops to be snap shooters, because of the generally close ranges and sudden events in RVN. What they did was to have troops train in a "jungle run" using BB guns with the sights removed. Turned out that most trainees got pretty good at it, and were able to translate it to their M-16 A1s. Obviously, success of a program doesn't guarantee its continuation in the US government.
 
When I practice point shooting (two handed), I bring the gun up to my chest, not to eye level. For me, the gun tends to shoot higher than where I first think it's aimed, particularly so with revolvers. (Hence the need to practice)

One handed, I will shoot "from the hip" at very close range targets (6 feet or less). Any further away than that and I will be very likely using both hands.
 
This may sound absolutly silly, but head on over to your local arcade with $10 in quarters in play whatever big "time crysis" type shooting game they have.


It really will help quite a bit...not to mention its fun
 
thanks for all the replies and input. Being the holiday season I haven't had much time to get to the range, but I did try the tape as initially suggested and that helped a bit, haven't tried some of the other suggestions yet and I haven't seen if doing the tape thing has helped yet once it's taken off, but hopefully next week I'll be back to my regular range schedule and get more opportunity to work on it.
 
Bring your pistol up to shoulder height or thereabouts, make it comfortable. Look two inches below your target. Fire your pistol. That should do it.
 
Start at the 5 yd line. Shoot from the hip watch the bullet strike the target and walk the bulletts into the X ring.

If you have a 38spl us a light, 148grain wad 2.7 grains of Bullseye, target load. Focus on the X ring. do not concusly shift the pistol. Your subconcus will move the bullet strike.

Once you become proficient with this tech. Move back to the ten yard line and start using your normal grip and stance. Just focus on the target. I like to use a timed fire rythmn.

Eventually you will get back to 20 or 25 yards. This will depend on you. My limit for point shooting is 20 yards. When I first started point shooting, I did not realize I was using the tech until after I had completed my best qualification ever.
 
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