Point Shooting - Basis For The Use of Aimed Point Shooting

Basis For The Use of Aimed Point Shooting

Point shooting attempts to harness the innate ability to point at the target in such a way that the shooter can use that ability to hit targets with a firearm. This may be done in a variety of ways which differ depending upon the method used. The one thing that point shooting have in common is that they do not rely on the sights, and they strive to increase the shooter's ability to hit targets at short range under the less than ideal conditions expected in close quarters life threatening situations, self-defense, and combat situations.

The following is from Chap. 2, Sect. II, US Army Field Manual 23-25, Combat Training With Pistols & Revolvers:

When a soldier points, he instinctively points at the feature on the object on which his eyes are focused. An impulse from the brain causes the arm and hand to stop when the finger reaches the proper position. When the eyes are shifted to a new object or feature, the finger, hand, and arm also shift to this point. It is this inherent trait that can be used by the soldier to rapidly and accurately engage targets.

Walter J. Dorfner SSgt VSP, the Vice Chair of the Use of Force Committee of the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford, VT, wrote a paper that details his experimentation with using that method of aiming and shooting. He also was the lead firearms instructor for the VSP. Walter died in 2001.