Point Shooting in

Self Defense
PRESENTED BY: ED BOGATS, JR. PHD AND FOAC BOARD MEMBER
Lets define what point shooting is
 Point shooting is associated with instinctive shooting and
threat-focused aiming.
 This is a classic method of shooting a gun without using
the sights in close-up, combat, tactical shooting in
deadly force situations.
 In close quarter battle, the combatants are separated by
feet instead of yards.
 The attacker and defender may even be fighting hand
to hand because they are that close to each other.
Point shooting
 Point Shooting is a vital part of mastering a shooting skill
which may mean the difference between life and death.
 Close quarters battles are nothing like “combat
shooting”.
 The latter takes place in large areas, participants use
aimed fire, and the scenario is not realistic.
 In short, combat shooting is practically a sport and will
not help you in most self defense cases.
 This is a specialized type of training that prepares you for
real life situations
Point Shooting
Point shooting
Point shooting
 In real life, most firefights with a handgun takes place within ten feet
or less, usually not more than 21 feet from the attacker or aggressor.
 When a person encounters a sudden and stressful situation that
forces him to draw his gun and fire it, he/she needs an approach
that feels natural to them as breathing.
 This is only accomplished through practice.
 The point shooting system has proven itself in survival situations that
take place in the real world against attackers/aggressors.
 It is one of the best approaches to self defense shooting and we
should all train in this area.
Point shooting
Advantages of point shooting over
Sighted shooting
 The gun sights of a handgun allow their user to engage a target at a
distance.
 They (gun sights) are useful during aimed firing but the shooter
needs to be able to see them in the first place.
 Using sights requires either enough ambient light or customization
like tritium sights that glow in the dark.
 While sighted shooting has its advantages, self-defense shooters will
benefit from using point shooting since the latter system will work in
almost all situations.
 Note – Any handgun works for point shooting!!
Point shooting
 Case in point, firing a light handgun with one hand using the point
shooting method is more manageable than doing the same with a
larger caliber gun.
 But both still operate very well under this system.
 Using both hands in the point shooting system is also an option, one
must train under both styles.
 A handgun is developed and meant for close quarter scenarios.
 It is designed and recommended to be used at close range, it
performs best up close.
 There is nothing wrong with distance shooting but in reality how
many of us train for close quarter situations?
Point shooting
Point shooting
 Having a good knowledge and skill set in point shooting
trains your muscle memory so that in extreme stress
situations, your sights automatically come up into
alignment between your dominant eye and your target.
 Unsighted aiming is simply a preliminary step in the
process of using your sights.
 Most folks agree that if you’ve got an attacker on top of
you, pushing them away, and obtaining your gun, you
don’t need to line up your sights for perfect sight picture
and sight alignment to successfully defend yourself or
your loved ones.
Point shooting
 Conversely though, most people will agree that if you
are 20 to 25 yards from a 6 foot target you are better off
using your front and rear sight.
 Lets talk next about the eyes, vision and perception. The
eyes and vision are wonderful things. These are sense
that we often take for granted.
 If you are about to be attacked, here are some of the
things that may happen in response to the attack.
Sighted point shooting
Point shooting focusing in on the
threat
 1. You see movement and adjust to that movement
 2. The muscles around your eyes adjust and focus on the image
 3. The eye lets in light to focus and as the light hits the back of the
eye, a chemical reaction occurs.
 4. The image then travels by an electrical signal to the optic nerve.
 5. The image reflected in both eyes are split, flipped and then sent
to the visual cortex.
 6. The visual cortex then decides how to create a single image thus
feeding to the brain for further processing.
 7. The brain then assesses the threat and tells the body how to
respond to the threat. Pretty amazing huh?
Point shooting
 Conscious perception, realizing what you saw can take between .4
and .7 of a second or longer to produce awareness of the perceived
threat. Training is key in developing a good response!
Point shooting – Let’s review
 Point shooting again is known by various terms like indexing, target-
focused shooting or instinctive shooting.
 Point shooting is a technique where a shooter will quickly point the
gun at the target and with both eyes open, line up the muzzle of the
gun and fire.
 There are many things that can factor into deciding to point shoot or
use your sights.
 If there isn’t time, or there is a high probability that you will be shot if
you take the time to line up your shot, this would be a good time to
point shoot.
 TRAINING is key folks! Muscle memory is key! You will rely on your
training.
Point shooting - Review

 While still not considered mainstream training, point shooting is

something that all defensive shooters can learn and use.
 It is amore advanced technique but is very practical is one trains in
this manner along with aiming types of training.
 All defensive shooters can learn this technique and use it quite
effectively.
 As a general rule you should be using your front and rear sights
whenever you can but try also complimenting your training with
point shooting.
 As soon as you draw, you will automatically be bringing your gun up
on target and firing as soon as you have it lined up with your vision.
Hit the Target!!!
Point shooting – In Closing
 Whether Point Shooting or Sighted Shooting is your
preferred methodology of defending your self or loved
ones. The ultimate goal is to get lead on the target. This
something that is the relative constant in defending ones
self. Both techniques should be practiced and used
when needed. They are both great choices/solutions to
defending oneself or a loved one.
 Again, I want to thank Kim for his leadership and the
Board for their great direction as we move forward in a
very troubling world. Stay Safe all and God Bless!