I have pieced together this method from various sources. W.E. Fairbairn laid the classic groundwork for point shooting in Shooting to Live. Then there's the off-vertical orientation of the handgun so popular in the gangsta culture. Finally, there's something my barber suggested which I've added to the mix.
Since I am not an expert pistolero, instead of telling you how to hold your weapon, I want to suggest that you try an experiment. In "Point Shooting Revisited", I asked that you point your index finger naturally at an object across the room or outside the window. If you're like me, the back of your hand will align somewhere between horizontal and a 45-degree angle to the floor.
Point with your arm extended straight in front of you, at eye level.
Now, while pointing in a safe direction, take your UNLOADED handgun (always check) and place it in the hand that's pointing. Leave your index finger outside the trigger guard. If you have a large autoloader (like the Model 1911), that finger should line up with (but not touch) the lower edge of the slide.
With your index finger parallel to the barrel, the weapon points wherever you point your finger. You are now taking advantage of the hand-eye coordination that, from infancy, has become second nature. In this position, your middle finger becomes the trigger finger. Try dry firing your UNLOADED weapon (check!) this way.
Now take it to the range and fire a few rounds. Just keep your index finger off the slide to avoid injury (although in a real gunfight, I suppose a boo-boo finger is a fair tradeoff for your life). I've found that using the index finger to point helps my accuracy in point shooting, and when I point my finger, wrist alignment becomes automatic.
Welcome to the off-vertical ,digital indicator method of grasping a handgun -- also known as gangsta-plus.
If you get a chance to try this at the range, let me know how it works out for you. Does it seem more natural, or do you have too much unlearning to do? Does it extend the functional range at which you can point-shoot accurately? What works for me may not work for you. As I said, I'm no expert.
Continued in "Point Shooting: Grasping the Weapon, 3"
11 comments:
So are you saying pull the trigger with your middle finger?
Yes. Squeeze the trigger with your middle finger.
Sorry. Squeeze. ;)
Don't worry. A lot of people wouldn't even have known the difference.
Wow. This is...really interesting. Huh. This makes a whole lot of sense.
G.A.Henty (The historical Fiction writer, Soldier, Adventurer and War correspondent) advocates squeezing the trigger of a pistol with your middle Finger as well.
Hello Blackknight.
I read some Henty. Where did you find that?
Do you think I should give everyone who's interested a week to get to the range (or dlr's front yard)& then poll readers on how this method works?
YES!!!
I just wanted to add something that was probably implied...
That in NO circumstances should any-one try the off-vertical ,digital indicator method with a revolver, due to the rather large burns that will result from placing your finger next to the cylinder...
Also, isn't it true that you will lose some control of your weapon if you remove one of your fingers from the front of the grip?
I have tried dry firing my 1911 in the way you described.... It does seem rather unnatural... not that I'm saying that the method won't work for anyone... but like you said, everyone should use the method that is most effective for them...
I'll have to try it at dlr's house sometime soon though just to see how it works....
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