Training Notes: “Line of Sight” Shooting

There is a lot to be said about how important it is to be fast and accurate with a gun when you are shooting to save your life or the life of others. I often tell students when they first start out that speed with a firearm is all about efficiency of motion. Start out by closely examining your draw stroke and/or  presentation (video taping it is the best way) and then eliminate any “un-needed” or “jerky” motions within the drawstroke. The old adage “Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast” is what should guide you here.

After you have smoothed out your presentation of the weapon, now it is time to get the gun into the fight.

One of the quickest ways to do this is to bring the weapon into your line of sight. Start out by squarely looking at your target and imagine where you want that bullet to go. Now, smoothly bring the weapon up into your line of sight (not your line of sight to the weapon) and work the trigger.  Notice I did not say bring the weapons “sights” into your line of sight. I have noticed when students do this, it is often accompanied by moving their head to the sights for some reason, and their motions are very jerky and not near as smooth; the main reason this is so is because they are trying to focus their attention on two small little apertures on the gun, line them up and then take the shot, rather than focusing on the target first, then bringing the gun into their line of sight, super imposing the gun on the target, then allowing your eyes to find the sights naturally.

You will be surprised as you practice this how much faster you acquire your target and get rounds on it. Please Remember: you are NOT target shooting. You are “Shooting to Live”. This is not about trying to shoot the “X” Ring out or impress our buddies with nice, tight groups; we are shooting to stay alive, period!

This technique applies with long arms as well and can be used under 75yds reasonably well, if trigger control and trigger reset is practiced.  As you bring the rifle into your LOS the first thing you will see is your front aperture. Simply “frame” your target in the aperture and begin working the trigger (This has also been called the “Poor Man’s EO-Tech” technique) As your sight picture becomes more focused, you can align the front and back sights for more precise shooting.  Although as a general rule, AK front sights are faster than AR’s front sights, I have found some of the Sig AR “winged” Troy Folding Battle Sights and the SCAR circle type sights are just as fast. If you are using a red dot or holo type sight, such as an EO-Tech, “framing” the shot becomes that much easier, using the sight window to “box” the target.

 

Remember, the bad guy is not going to critique your target or care about your “groupings”!

Get the gun out and into the fight and start getting rounds downrange FAST!

Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!