Dumb Handgun Questions

[JLS]

Sighting the pistol at close range isn't any slower then hosing a target, with practice.

Sights are a good thing, learn to use them.   

 

Proper focal point shooting is not hosing the target.  If someone can't fire an accurate double tap at a man sized target at 10-20 feet then they need to work on their grip and their stance.

Sights are fine, knowing when you need to use them is even better.

[300rum]

Boy, it is crazy what people can miss sometimes....

Instead of a double tap, think of two controlled, sighted shots, each separate from the other.  It is just as fast, if not faster and tons more accurate. 

[300rum]

You are rarely able to get a perfect stance and sometimes not even the best grip.  A properly fired shot, where you know where the bullet is going before it gets there wins every single time. 

[Band]

:)Just buy a glock or something that holds lots of bullets, point it at the sound and close both eyes, shoot til it runs dry, and run.
Carl

Sounds like great advice.  Thanks.

[JLS]

You are rarely able to get a perfect stance and sometimes not even the best grip.  A properly fired shot, where you know where the bullet is going before it gets there wins every single time.

FWIW, when I reference stance I am only referring to the shoulders and head.  Proper grip and pistol alignment allows you to shoot accurately regardless of what the feet and legs are doing.

I've never advocated an improperly fired shot.

[JLS]

Boy, it is crazy what people can miss sometimes....

Instead of a double tap, think of two controlled, sighted shots, each separate from the other.  It is just as fast, if not faster and tons more accurate.

Controlled pairs have their place and application, as do double taps. 

You can use no sights, flash picture of front sight, flash picture of front and rear sights, and focused sighting.  Each has their own application and purpose.

The two things that don't change are a proper grip (either one handed or two handed) and a proper trigger press.  This is true regardless of whether you are brace contact shooting, or shooting steel plates at 100 meters.

[300rum]

I understand what you are saying.  I have tried both extensively in order to find out what works better.

The fact is though, a properly sighted shot far exceeds any other option.  It exceeds everything else in both speed and accuracy which is what we are after, right?  While point shooting, indexing, hosing, whatever you call it may do the job some of the time, a properly sighted shot will give you the intended result every single time without giving up any speed.  It will also give you the ability to know where the shot will go before the bullet even gets to the target and this is the most important reason to master it.  It does take practice but once mastered, it far exceeds any other option.

You are headed the right way though, sometimes I only need to see a portion of my front blade in order to get the intended hit, say at 5-7 yards.  At about 10 yards I need to see most of the sight in the rear notch.  At 20 Yards, I have to see my front blade and pretty much equal bars of light on each side in order to hit the intended target, say a 6" round circle.  At 50 yards I must have a hard front sight focus and pay more attention to the trigger.

The most important part, though, and the reason it far outweighs any other technique is that once the pistol fires, at that exact moment, I can see the sight lift in recoil.  At the exact moment the sight lifts in recoil I will know where the bullet will hit on target, if I do my job.  On the flip side, I will also know if the shot is errant and will be able to make up that shot.  It can be done, for me anyway, in about .12-.18 on close targets, some can do it faster.  A full auto M-4 has splits of somewhere around .9-.10, for reference.         

[300rum]

I want you to try this.  Take your pistol and shoot it with someone off to one side (safely) watching you.  You need to know if you are blinking when you shoot.  Double up on your ear protection, muffs and plugs, it makes a difference.  It is normal to blink when you fire a pistol but in order to be able to "call your shot" and know where the round will go before it gets there, you must be able to see it.

Once you can keep your eyes open, watch the front sight through the firing cycle.  It may take a while but what you are looking for is the sight lifting in recoil.  Try looking "over" the front sight first, that may help.  Just fire into a backstop, don't try to sight the pistol on a target just yet.

Eventually, you will see the sight lift at the moment of ignition.  At that point your brain has the information it needs, from the feedback provided from the sights, to tell you if your shot was sufficient or errant.  With a bit of time and practice, your brain will take a snap shot of the feed back you gained from the shot and will either "call it" an acceptable shot or an errant shot. 

As the pistol recoils, the front sight will go up and down.  I can see it go up, I lose it for a bit and then pick it up on the way down as it nestles into the rear notch.  At this point you can correct the errant shot with another one if you would like.  This happens, for me anyway at the fastest of about .12 and on average at about .15 of a second at close range, 5-7 yards.  I have seen it done at less then .10 but not on demand.

That is why a sighted shot far outweighs the other examples.  You can do it as fast or faster and will know where the bullet will hit before it even gets there.  That is why a "double tap" is a lousy way to shoot a pistol.  You can shoot a controlled pair just as fast or faster and know where they are before they get there.   

[Alchase]

A double tap, is nothing but two controlled shots (a controlled group) shot quickly and accurately.

When starting out, grip, trigger control, and sight picture, then re-acquiring your sight picture after the first shot, are more important then hitting your target or speed between shots.

After lots of practice shooting controlled groups, will eventually lead to the ability to perform what most people refer to as double taps "effectively"!

You can not become proficient in double taps without a substantial amount of shooting practice.

Most shooters, who have not been trained, just do not practice enough to become proficient in double taps.

This is also why allot of shooting ranges do not allow Double taps.

The only time I would advocate point shooting over controlled sight shooting, would be under extreme situations, danger close, or on your back, etc.......

For someone just starting out, grip, sight picture, trigger control, are the foundation for controlled groups. Everything else comes from these.

And putting lots of ammo down range.

Band, if you have access to an outdoor range, or an indoor range that will let you move your targets to withing 2-3 yards, 5 at most (most ranges the close target line is set at 10 or 15 yards) shoot starting with controlled groups of two, then three, five. Once you are comfortable shooting controlled groups at that distance, then move to 10, start over with controlled groups etc...

Dry firing(depending on your weapon of choice) is an excellent way to practice grip, sight picture, and trigger control when you can not get to the range.

[300rum]

The origin of a "double tap" is two shots with one sight picture, pulling the tripper twice (fast) on one sight picture.  It was all the rage awhile back and is a great way to miss.  It gets confussed with hitting the target twice, a lot. 

Then "point shooting" became popular and then it was, "point or index your pistol on the target with out using your sights and pull the trigger fast twice".  That was even worse. 

Two individual, sighted shots on the same target is the way to go, always.  I guess you could call it a "controlled pair" or something like that but what it is, is two separate sighted shots that are entirely different from each other. 

The importance in the differentiation is that I am never really approaching a target for a "controlled pair".  I am approaching the target in order to shoot it as many times as I need to, if I miss, I want to pick that shot up as quickly as possible.  That is why knowing how to "call your shots" is imperative.  If I need to shoot twice, I shoot twice and move along.  If I shoot twice and see a miss, my follow up shot is immediate and repeated as needed.   

[Alchase]

I have never seen anyone successfully shoot a double tap, with the same sight picture.
Recoil prevents this.

A double tap or controlled pair is a shooting technique where two well-aimed shots are fired at the same target with very little time in between shots.[1][2] Instruction and practice of the double-tap improves overall accuracy as shooters often do not have the gun fully extended on the first shot meaning the second of a double-tap is usually the better.