Point shooting

[Kaleva]

It's something I've incorporated into my dry fire exercises. I'm looking forward to trying it out at the local shooting range when the weather gets better.

The point shooting I'm talking about is what Rex Applegate taught during WWII and after. Not what one may see on YouTube where the shooter is firing from the hip with the arm at a 90 degree angle.

Was wondering if anyone else here uses this method?

The value I see in it is it would be a useful skill in low light or dark conditions where one may not be able to see the sights and for those people who can't spend much time on the range acquiring very accurate shooting skills.

[Straw Man]

1. At close range, it's very useful.

I've done it in classes as a drill, where you're required to fire five or ten rounds rapidly into a silhouette target at a distance of five to seven feet. At those distances, sights are superfluous. It's possible to get acceptable accuracy just by extending your arm to the target. This would cover many, but not all, likely self-defense scenarios.

[oneshooter]

2. The way I was taught, many years ago

Was to use the second finger of the shooting hand, and the index finger along side the slide. You "point" at the target with your index finger.

[Straw Man]

3. Maybe I'm missing something ...

... but if you're pointing with your index finger, are you pulling the trigger with your second (or "middle&quot finger? That sounds awkward to me.

[Kaleva]

4. Some info on that method

"One point shooting method, referred to as aimed point shooting, has been used and discussed since the early 19th century.[4] The method employs the use of the index finger along the side of the gun to aim the gun, and the middle finger is used to pull the trigger. Mention of the use of the middle finger can be found in books from the early 1800s up through the 20th century: 1804,[5] 1810,[6] 1816,[7] 1829[8] 1835,[4] 1885,[9] 1898,[10] 1900,[11][12] 1908,[13] 1912,[14] and in many other military manuals on the M1911.

The US Army's first instructional manual on the use of the Model 1911 pistol specifically mentions it, but in a cautionary way due to the design of the slide stop. The slide stop pin protrudes out from the right side of the pistol, and if depressed when the gun is fired, the M1911 can jam.

The trigger should be pulled with the forefinger. If the trigger is pulled with the second finger, the forefinger extending along the side of the receiver is apt to press against the projecting pin of the slide stop and cause a jam when the slide recoils.

Similar cautionary language is repeated in many other military manuals published from 1912 and up until the 1940s: 1915,[15] 1917,[16][17] 1918,[18][19] 1920,[20] 1921,[21][22] 1922,[23] 1926,[24] 1927,[25] 1929,[26] and 1941.[27]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_shooting

[Kaleva]

5. I can't use that with my revolver

For my index finger and the barrel to be perpendicular and both pointing at a target, my index finger would rest on the cylinder. If I place the finger below the cylinder, the muzzle of the gun points high when the index finger is pointing at the target. I also have trouble making a clean trigger pull using my middle finger.

[oneshooter]

6. As in all thimgs, practice makes perfect. n/t

[yagotme]

7. I would think that more practice with "normal" shooting procedures

would be more useful, instead of learning a whole new muscle memory movement. Especially, when you need that "in the dark at contact distance" shot, you are trying to figure out which finger goes on the trigger. Ain't got time for that! A pistol that points naturally for you, and practice shooting it in low light would be a much better regimen.

[Kaleva]

8. The fingers remain the same in the method Applegate taught

You still use your index finger for pulling the trigger.

The method oneshooter says he was taught would require learning a whole new muscle memory movement and is, IMO, not worth the time.

[yagotme]

9. That's the technique I meant.

Using a different finger to pull the trigger would be confusing in a stressful situation.