You Don't Have to Aim a Shotgun Mythbusting VIDEO

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PTMCCAIN

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It's surprising how often I hear people say that the shotgun is the best home defense weapon because...."you don't have to aim it, just point and shoot." This video explains and shows why that is ridiculous, a bit of shotgun mythbusting, if you will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsN2AugB5pw
 
no aim shotgun shooting

Ha.

I have tried that at 3-gun events, and have video proof that not aiming gets me nowhere. Well, I do get a bunch of cat calls from the peanut gallery.
 
I don't know about not aiming, but if you put your head on the stock with a proper fit gun, it will shoot where you look/point. I shot competition clay targets for several years when I was younger like this. Maybe thats what some people mean by you dont have to aim.
 
Sir, with respect, may I please say that shooting at clay pigeons with bird shot is a much different thing than using .00 against a home intruder.

Anyone who intends to use their shotgun in a home defense situation needs to spend a lot of time at the range practicing with the defense load they intend to use.
 
PTMCCAIN said:
Sir, with respect, may I please say that shooting at clay pigeons with bird shot is a much different thing than using .00 against a home intruder.

Anyone who intends to use their shotgun in a home defense situation needs to spend a lot of time at the range practicing with the defense load they intend to use.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, and don't expect bird shot to get the job done. What I think quite a few overlook is where your load will pattern. So if you think that you are honky dory to just stick the muzzle somewhere in the direction and get a direct hit .. think again. It's better to get to the range and figure out FIRST just at what distance/how close your buckshot will spread (if at all in your HD situation)
 
PTMCCAIN said:
Sir, with respect, may I please say that shooting at clay pigeons with bird shot is a much different thing than using .00 against a home intruder.

Anyone who intends to use their shotgun in a home defense situation needs to spend a lot of time at the range practicing with the defense load they intend to use.
Click to expand...
I have to disagree skills transfer from skeet field to SD, if you're having trouble hitting without aiming get on the clays course and pratice.

I'm not sure of the point that youtube warrior is trying to make other than patterns and range and I think some Definition of aim and point is needed
 
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A shotgun is a close range tool best suited for indoors home defense. So, the 70' example is kind of meaningless. Indoors, a bad guy trying to kill you most likely while moving (you will probably be moving too). A shotgun is best used POINT SHOOTING. You will be fixated on the threat and point shoot. You can point shoot a shotgun accurately at room distances faster than traditional aiming and accurately enough to get the job done which is, incapacitate your attacker before he incapacitates you.

Point shooting, not aiming for a shotgun.
 
huntsman said:
and I think some Definition of aim and point is needed
Click to expand...

Absolutely!

Everything said so far is actually worth consideration, IMHO. Semantics can be a pain in the butt... especially in a forum on the net discussing these topics :banghead:

Personally, if I say that I "point" a shotgun (and I actually did just say that in a different thread recently), then I'm making a distinction of only using the bead or front sight. If I say I'm "aiming", then I'm lining up both front and rear sights. Either way, I'm forming a "sight picture".

I agree wholeheartedly with what I believe the OP's assertion is here though. I can "thrust" a shotgun in the general direction of my intended target and hit it; but I would only do that if my intended target was the broad side of a barn from a few yards away.

For those who would say "well, the BG in an HD scenario may only be a few yards away"... they're Not the same size as the broad side of a barn either :)
 
If you don't aim, same as with a handgun, chances are you will miss, unless you are really good at point shooting .. and that takes practice at the range .. and not at 70'.
 
Lol....
I was just recently involved in another thread where I too say you must "aim" a shotgun.
But evidently, I'm a down-talking, narrow-minded and insulting person for stating the obvious.
b53ddb2d.gif


huntsman.....back at ya brother.
No disrespect intended here at all....but....

I have hunted off and on my whole life.
I also spent 20 years in the army and just retired in 2009.
What I can tell you is this:
Not only is there a difference between shooting clays and combat...
But the difference itself is "HUGE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only are the clays not shooting back at you like in a possible HD situation...
But also, I don't know a single "sane" person who would depend on skeet loads to protect the very lives of their adored loved ones, nor themselves either.
It's absolutely foolish at best, and completely detrimental at worst.

Buckshot patterns in a completely different manner.
I don't care if you can hit 10 out of 10 clays 100 times in a row with trap/skeet/clay loads.
Do it with buckshot, and then we will have something to discuss about transferable skills.
;)
 
Shotguns are not rifles. They are tools for room distance type situations. You can EASILY point shoot a shotgun under these circumstances.
 
oldguy870 said:
A shotgun is a close range tool best suited for indoors home defense. So, the 70' example is kind of meaningless. Indoors, a bad guy trying to kill you most likely while moving (you will probably be moving too). A shotgun is best used POINT SHOOTING. You will be fixated on the threat and point shoot. You can point shoot a shotgun accurately at room distances faster than traditional aiming and accurately enough to get the job done which is, incapacitate your attacker before he incapacitates you.

Point shooting, not aiming for a shotgun.
Click to expand...


There are variables here for certain.
For example...at "room" distances, I can point shoot a handgun too.
But I can miss.
With a shotgun at "room" distances...the shot barely spreads at all, and I can miss with that too just as easily.
Don't believe me?
Go pattern your shotgun at 15 feet...or average room distances.
:rolleyes:
 
Most rooms in a home would be a 20 ft or less shooting solution.

I agree with OldGuy870. A proper fitting shotgun used by a shooter who knows how to use it and practices with it doesn't having an "aiming" problem. The training will take care of the shooter.

None of my shotguns have a rear sight to line up and aim with in the first place. However, I do hit what I shoot with regular accuracy at much greater distances than 20 feet.

I think sometimes this whole subject has more to do with semantics than a real problem. I see the same issue when people are discussing recoil or "felt" recoil. Ease up folks. Spend more time shooting and less arguing. In a few decades none of us will care one way or the other.
 
I think the term "point shooting" is undervaluing a very good shotgun technique that works for clay targets and HD. With practice and a good fitting gun, the gun can be made to shoot where the shooter is looking using target focus and hand eye coordination. It takes practice but I think most serious clay target shooters will tell you that the skills are transferable. Don't get me wrong I know low light conditions and adrenalene will play a big part in a HD situation, but I think great hand eye coordination and target focus will work better than lining up sights or beads. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do this guys, just personal preference.
 
I agree with the semantics being a problem here.
I mean, at 20ft or less, I can "point shoot" any and every single weapon I own.
I'm not debating that part at all really.
Going from "point shooting" to "aiming" has a LOT to do with "distance" as much as anything else.
Even with a shotgun, I definately "aim" at farther targets when firing slugs just as an example.
Same with buckshot too because it spreads so wide.
 
But .. at what distance will it spread? And you can assume that your target will be moving, not standing still.
 
I took a four day class and we did a lot of shooting at steel torso size targets at 25 and 35 yards with 00 buck. Many would argue that is a very sweet distance for a shotgun. On day four they gave a test to add some stress to the training. Mind younfirnthe past four days we had been shooting and even under timed conditions and we were engaging anywhere from one to four targets. I was amazed at how easy it is to miss at this distance. This was my third shotgun class and I'm pretty good with it. Toss in some simulated stress and things really get much more difficult.
 
kris7047th said:
But .. at what distance will it spread? And you can assume that your target will be moving, not standing still.
Click to expand...


What distance will it spread and how much?
Depends on your gun and your load.
This where your highly endorsed suggestion of range time and practice comes in.
You MUST know your gun "and" your loads.
 
Sheepdog1968 said:
I took a four day class and we did a lot of shooting at steel torso size targets at 25 and 35 yards with 00 buck. Many would argue that is a very sweet distance for a shotgun. On day four they gave a test to add some stress to the training. Mind younfirnthe past four days we had been shooting and even under timed conditions and we were engaging anywhere from one to four targets. I was amazed at how easy it is to miss at this distance. This was my third shotgun class and I'm pretty good with it. Toss in some simulated stress and things really get much more difficult.
Click to expand...
Good for you and thanks for sharing your training experience. I suspect there will be a lot more misses in a SHTF with shotgunners thinking just pointing in the direction will get the job done.
 
i tend to think that saying was fostered from short bbl shotguns with open chokes firing down a 30 foot hallway. pointing it in the center will cover quite a bit of area.

my mossy 88 with 18.5" bbl and 00 buck with pattern about 1.5 feet at 10 yards.
 
At a distance the length or width of a room, buckshot, even from a cylinder bore, will group the pellets in about the size of a coffee cup. You very definitely need to aim the shotgun somehow. And point shooting at clays or birds, even though you may not focus on the front sight, is still aiming it.
 
Point shooting is a skill that must be learned and can be done with either a shotgun or a single projectile firearm. But it takes a lot of practice to be effective and confident.
 
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