Focus on TARGET - NOT FRONT SIGHTS in Self Defense Situation Video

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They miss a lot if they're too far away or haven't trained for it. I assume you didn't watch the video in the OP? The OP's title was somewhat misleading, or at least it was to me. The person in the video was talking specifically about very close range shooting, not just all shooting in general. No one should be using their sights at a distance of 2 inches from the target, for example. As I've mentioned in other threads, this is one of the problems with the "4 rules" as commonly taught. "Keep you finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target" can be misleading because it could lead one to believe that "sights are on the target" means they must actually see their sights on the target. At hugging distance, that's a very bad idea.
If a person NEEDS to be told that they shouldn't be allowed to own a gun.
 
If a person NEEDS to be told that they shouldn't be allowed to own a gun.
Perhaps. My point was that there are sometimes very good reasons to not use your sights. It's very apparent that several commenters here didn't actually watch the video in question before commenting on it. That being the case, I thought it might be beneficial to clarify what was actually said, rather than have people make ignorant comments based on nothing but the thread title.
 
Perhaps. My point was that there are sometimes very good reasons to not use your sights. It's very apparent that several commenters here didn't actually watch the video in question before commenting on it. That being the case, I thought it might be beneficial to clarify what was actually said, rather than have people make ignorant comments based on nothing but the thread title.

May be instead of cutesy irrelevant thread titles they should one that are relevant to the topic then. IT is the very first place a person makes a decision if it is interesting, is it useful, or is it a waste of effort from "Mr. Obvious". After all there are millions of videos on the internet and I doubt I need to watch them all.
 
May be instead of cutesy irrelevant thread titles they should one that are relevant to the topic then. IT is the very first place a person makes a decision if it is interesting, is it useful, or is it a waste of effort from "Mr. Obvious". After all there are millions of videos on the internet and I doubt I need to watch them all.
That I agree with. Almost seems as if the OP didn't watch the whole video either. He certainly didn't get the point that was being made if he did watch it.
 
Now I'm confused. The video states that it is preferred to focus on the target as in a real life encounter, it is natural to focus on the threat - i.e. target. Nowhere does he qualify this by saying at close distances. I'm new to guns and have not yet taken delivery (in South Africa its a real pain to buy a gun). But everything that I've read says focus on the front sights. Until now.

Hope someone more experienced can explain
 
Now I'm confused. The video states that it is preferred to focus on the target as in a real life encounter, it is natural to focus on the threat - i.e. target. Nowhere does he qualify this by saying at close distances. I'm new to guns and have not yet taken delivery (in South Africa its a real pain to buy a gun). But everything that I've read says focus on the front sights. Until now.

Hope someone more experienced can explain
The thread title is misleading and the video, in my opinion, is quite a bit longer than it needs to be to explain the concept. Basically, focus on the front site when making more precise shots at longer distances. At close distances, less precision and more speed are needed, so focusing on the front sight is less important or totally unnecessary in some cases. If a head shot at 35 meters is what's needed, by all means, focus on the front sight. If multiple torso shots at 8 cm is what's needed, focusing on the front sight or even bringing the gun up to eye level is a very bad idea.
 
I ... am still confused.
Hope someone more experienced can explain
There are shooting applications where focusing on the front sight may not be the "best" shooting option. This is where "point shooting" comes in - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-help-me-speed-up.824618/page-4#post-10902245

One is low light defensive shooting situation where focus should be made on the threat(s) to keep track of where the threat(s) is as in real life, threat(s) can move quickly.

In these posts, I explain step-by-step how to shoot fast but accurate sighted and unsighted - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...defense-situation-video.849479/#post-11091007

Basically, focus on the front site when making more precise shots at longer distances. At close distances, less precision and more speed are needed, so focusing on the front sight is less important or totally unnecessary in some cases.
When I teach/share defensive point shooting with people, I train them to do fast point shooting at 5-7 yards and transition to sighted shooting at 10-15+ yards for greater precision (I usually spend two 4 hour sessions with most people and they get to the point of mastery of being able to place fast double taps anywhere on the target at 5-7 yards and many shooting techniques outlined above). But for human sized target, with deliberate practice, point shooting could be "accurate" at longer distances as illustrated by below video. At 2:15 minute mark of video, 100 yard target is shot without using sights (Not my video).

 
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Exactly - you MIGHT see your sights in your peripheral, but maybe not - your total focus should be on what you want to hit
 
How much do you train, how often do you shoot, and how familiar are you with each gun you shoot? I don't really want an answer, but it takes a lot more investment to know the gun well enough to know where it is pointing without verifying that visually.

Front sight is simple to train and works for people that invest only limited time in training, enough to be competent in shooting the gun accurately enough at most self defense ranges, understanding some of when they should and should not shoot, and learning other things as well in a limited time span that give a useful skill set of self defense. This is going to be most citizens that carry.

The front sight allows rapid and quick orientation of the gun in the right direction without being so comfortable with the gun you can point shoot at things from different angles at different directions and reliably hit things with different levels of stress. It also applies to many guns including those someone is new to or when they change over to a new model.
Good point shooting really relies on having repeatable grip, comfort, and experience with a model gun, and knowing where the barrel is pointing with that grip. When you switch to a new gun that will need to be relearned and take a time investment. With a shotgun it is much simpler because the point of contact that is repeatable is the stock and shoulder, as well as other dimensions relating to the fit of the gun which are all well defined and easily repeatable, rather than just the grip of the pistol.
This means most shotguns of similar dimensions or that fit you similarly will point similarly. The grip of handguns varies much more and the portions of the hand different grip dimensions contact and at what angle relative to the bore varies. Width varies, trigger pull, reset, length, hand size relative to the gun, it all changes each time you change pistols. Some guns I find point shoot accurately, other are slightly to the side with a similar feeling grip and require readjustment or aiming to overcome, often related to the trigger length of pull and width and how much it fills the hand.

Most people that use guns are not going to shoot large amounts of rounds recreationally, and a lot of good point shooting is more conveniently practiced outdoors informally with space to do so safely at different targets from different directions, while most people have cramped indoor ranges to train in.
It takes a lot of practice to really be confident and comfortable point shooting, and to be skilled enough to retain enough accuracy while being shot at or dealing with injury and not just the comforts of the range. What is in front of your sight is always what is in front of your sight whether you are seeing blurry and dazed or whether you are calm and collected.
Suggesting that most people become confident and capable of point shooting for self defense is like suggesting most people get race car training to commute to work. It is not something most will continue to practice and keep a sharp skill, and people that would be better served by simplier training that covers more instead get very focused training they probably won't do as well with in practical situations.
You also might encourage people with large egos to think they are always that good even when they are not, and put others in danger. Hitting the bad guy is important, and not hitting other people is also important.
 
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How much do you train, how often do you shoot, and how familiar are you with each gun you shoot?
Point shooting technique is essentially universal and works with most pistols and carbines (pointing with support hand thumb is used for carbines). For different pistols, you simply re-synchronize POA/POI (outlined in below links) and then you are able to shoot anywhere on target at will.

I usually put my students through two 4 hour training sessions to point shoot to proficiency typically going through several hundred rounds per student. But if time is limited, I can cover the basics in about 15-20 minutes and have the students practice on their own later with the emphasis of synchronizing POA/POI first then single shot/double tap on targets (I encourage them to practice until they can consistently produce smaller than 3"-4" groups before moving targets further).

Basic steps used for initial point shooting training is outlined here - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...defense-situation-video.849479/#post-11092316

And here - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-help-me-speed-up.824618/page-4#post-10902245

As to how often to train? That depends on the person. With initial training, goal is to be able to hit any light switch cover size target in their home point shooting and I tell them to practice to maintain that level of proficiency.

Front sight is simple to train and works for people that invest only limited time in training ... The front sight allows rapid and quick orientation of the gun in the right direction
Keep in mind, I teach point shooting as ANOTHER SHOOTING OPTION to sighted shooting.

Point shooting becomes a more viable shooting option as eye sights deteriorate so clear visualization of sights superimposed on target is not viable.

I have taught point shooting (At least method I use) to countless people and most of them often end up shooting better point shooting at typical defensive shooting distance of 5-7 yards, when FAST initial, double tap and rapid follow up shots are required.

I am currently teaching a group of shooters in their 60s and all of them are shooting tighter fast double tap groups (often within 1 to 2 inches) point shooting at 5-7 yards into multiple targets using various pistols.
 
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I do not think most are going to maintain that level of proficiency. Some will and many will not. Pointing the gun in the direction of the target and hitting what you want is much more complex than aiming at the target. People that do not maintain that level of proficiency and then resort to that skill set for defense are much more prone to missing shots thinking they know where they are shooting when they do not. If you aim you know where the bullet is going, it is going where the sights were when the trigger was tripped. If you aimed rapidly with just the front sight it is going slightly less accurately in that same direction, and you know where that is because you saw where the sight was when the gun discharged. No guessing, it went pretty close to where you think it went.
 
I do not think most are going to maintain that level of proficiency.
When I go shooting with people I taught point shooting, I will often hand them an unfamiliar pistol and see how well they point shoot. Many will maintain smaller than 3"-4" groups at 5-7 yards.

And if you were close to where I lived, I can show you many friends, coworkers, neighbors and their families who I taught to demonstrate and verify lasting proficiency of point shooting (And many of them do not shoot regularly). If you are interested, I am willing to drive to Oregon/Washington area to "Pay It Forward" point shooting instruction to you or walk you through on the phone the basics (PM me if interested).

You never know, you may find it fun and you may become a proficient point shooter.

Give point shooting a try before downplaying it. Steps I use are clearly outlined in my previous post.
 
I do some point shooting and think it is a valuable skill if you are into firearms enough to practice it.
I also find it more useful for low light situations where you only have silhouettes, muzzle flashes, and lose sight picture a lot. Assuming you know you should be shooting at that target of course.
However I still do not feel it is the best initial instruction people should learn to shoot with, and is better reserved as an additonal skill for those that will shoot frequently as a hobby. Since that will not be the majority of people that are planning to defend themselves with a firearm I do not think it is the first method they should be mastering.
 
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