THE DETAILS ON P&S, AND WHY IT MAKES SENSE TO USE IT

If you are one of the millions who have a handgun for self defense, AIMED Point Shooting or P&S may be your key to staying alive in a real Close Quarters shooting situation.

AIMED Point Shooting or P&S, is a natural method of aiming and shooting that is fast and accurate. It can be used in good light or bad, night or day, and in almost all conditions. It works when shooting multiple times, when moving, and against moving targets, even aerials. And it can be used when you can't see or have time to use the sights.

P&S is simple, reliable, and EZ to use, and it can be learned with little or no training.

However, it does not happen by magic. You first have to know about it, and learn how to do it.

It is much like riding a bike or tying your shoes. Both seem like impossible tasks until done. But once mastered, they become almost automatic.

P&S is compatible with a wide variety of pistols, submachine guns, and assault rifles.

Walter J. Dorfner, the retired and now deceased lead firearms instructor for the Vermont State Patrol, developed and experimented with P&S on his own. He found that it was compatible with a large variety of guns.

HOW P&S WORKS?

You just place your index finger along the side of the gun, point at COM (Center of Mass), and pull the trigger with your middle or opposite hand index finger.







That's all there is to it. Point-n-pull. Point-n-pull. No more, no less.

With P&S, you get automatic and correct sight alignment and sight placement.

That is because the sights are usually in correct alignment and in parallel with the barrel. So, when the index finger is extended along the side of a gun, the index finger, barrel, and the sights will be in parallel. Then, and as we can point automatically and accurately at things, the gun barrel will be AIMED at anything pointed at.

To prove this to yourself, grab your gun with the index finger along the frame and in line with the slide. Point at a doorknob or a light switch and as soon as you are pointing at it - STOP!

If you are like me, your gun and hand will not be up at eye level. Now, keeping your arm steady, move your head so that you can see the alignment of the sights and their placement on your target.

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P&S is cognitively simple (requires little active thinking decision making). And it utilizes large muscle groups and gross motor skills which produce optimal performance during high levels of stress.

It requires no special grip, stance, indexing, breathing, specific positioning of the arms, hands, or thumbs. Nor does it require you to go thru the "proper" sight alignment steps, squeeze or manipulate the trigger, etc..

THE GRIP

With P&S, you grab the gun and hold it in the natural, strong, and level shooting platform made up of your thumb, the web of your hand, your index finger, and your ring and little fingers, which help with the grip and add tenacity to it. It is a strong 4 finger grip.

The middle finger, which can be flexed and extended independently, is used to pull the trigger. Its base also adds to the grip.

And the index finger, when extended along the side of the gun, helps to naturally lock the wrist, which strengthens the grip and improves recoil control.

The thumb and index finger DO NOT have to be held aloof from the gun.

You can squeeze the begeebers out of the gun if you wish, using the natural pincer made up of your index finger and opposing thumb. All the increased pressure will do, is strengthen your grip on the gun.

And the P&S grip can be maintained even when the gun is jumping and bucking in your hand with rapid firing.

When used in conjunction with a "wrist lock" grip, elbow smashes to the left or right can be made, as well as forward punches. Recoil will be dampened considerably.

P&S can be used with, and to enhance Sight Shooting and other Point Shooting methods.

WHAT THE US ARMY SAYS

Here is what the US Army says about our ability to point at things. It is found in the US Army's Field Manual 3-23.35: Combat Training With Pistols M9 AND M11 (June,2003).

"Everyone has the ability to point at an object.

"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 a soldier to rapidly and accurately engage targets."

At the range, or if you are using an airsoft pistol at home, when you shoot, point-n-pull the trigger as soon as you are pointing at COM or what you are pointing at.

Don't point, and then stop, and then pull the trigger.

Point-n-pull, point-n-pull.

As the Army says, you will know when you are on the target.

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In the following pic, at the "in home" distance of 12-13 feet, I put four out of five bullets in a nice small group while shooting as fast as I could point my finger at the target, and pull the trigger.



The sights were not used or relied on.

That is important, because the precision hand eye coordination skills and fine motor skills, which are needed for Sight Shooting, will be lost to use in real life and death Close Quarters threat situations due to the activation of our Fight or flight response. And as such, Sight Shooting will not be able to be used.

NOTE: At the range, or if you are using an airsoft pistol at home, when you shoot, point-n-pull as soon as you pointing at COM or what you plan to hit. Don't point, and then stop, and then pull the trigger. Point-n-pull, point-n-pull.

Here is what the NRA says about shot groups in its: NRA Guide To The Basics Of Personal Protection In The Home that was published in 2000. "...the ability to keep all shots on a standard 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch sheet of paper at seven yards, hitting in the center of exposed mass, is sufficient for most defensive purposes."

At 7 yards, the shot group in the picture above, could be expected to expand by about one third in size. The four hits in the black would still all be in the black which is 4 1/2 inches across. The 5th hit would be at the edge of an 8 1/2 sheet of paper.

AIMED Point Shooting or P&S, is not new. It has been mentioned in books as far back as 1804. See Chapter 21 for more info.

Back in 1954 when in the Army and qualifying with a grease gun, I was told to shoot from the hip with my index finger along the side of the grease gun to aim it.

I had never shot that way before, but with NO practice, I hit the center of the target when shooting from the hip using P&S. I knew I hit the center of the target as a 1x4 length of wood was used to hold the target up, and it ran up the center of the target. When I shot I saw wood splinters come off the target.

P&S worked then, and it still does

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P&S is the simplest of Point Shooting methods, and as such, the most likely shooting method to be employed in a real Close Quarters life threat situation.

P&S is deadly effective. Jack Ruby used it when he shot Oswald at a press conference at the Dallas Police Headquarters on 11/23/63. Images of "Ruby shoots Oswald", can be found on several web sites.

One image shows Ruby more than 3 feet away from Oswald the split second before he shoots. Ruby, the two Officer who were escorting Oswald, and Oswald, were all moving and the target area was small. So, there was no time to use the sights.

Ruby points where he is going to shoot, and shoots where he points.

Another image shows Oswald a split after he was shot. In it, you can see that Ruby used his middle finger to pull the trigger, as it is seen sticking out from the trigger guard. And his gun is way below eye level, so he clearly did not use the sights.

Oswald died.

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C A U T I O N:

The P&S method is free, and anyone is welcome to try it and use it as long as they assume full responsibility for any and all results.

Note: common sense is required when using P&S. For example, if your index finger rests over the ejection port, or if it will be hit by the slide, then DON'T use it with that gun!

Also, P&S may not be able to be used with some guns because of their size or design or a design fault.

One such gun is the beloved and ubiquitous M1911. The slide stop pin projects from the right side of the frame of the 1911, and the index finger can rest over it when using P&S. If the pin is depressed when the 1911 is fired, it can jam.

Click here for more on this design flaw and its possible fatal consequence.

I believe it is best to have a gun that you can aim naturally, fast, and accurately, and also obtain an automatic and correct sight alignment and correct sight picture with, by just grabbing it and placing your index finger along its side, and then pointing at a target in good light or bad, when standing still or moving, or whatever.

One that there will be no worry about the slide stop causing a possibly fatal jam, or having to obtain and maintain a proper grip and stance, or use proper breathing, or being able to see the sights, or having the time to use them, etc..., and for each and every shot in a life or death Close Quarters situation.

THE P&S INDEX FINGER REST OR P&S AIMING AID

In normal circumstances, correct index finger placement is easy. But in the dark, in a high stress Close Quarters life threat situation, or when shooting rapidly, it may be difficult to place your index finger correctly, and keep it in place and away from the slide.

The P&S Index Finger Rest is a simple, reliable, and easy to use aiming aid that can help you do that.

It makes correct finger placement mechanical and automatic. That is important, because per the experts, in a real Close Quarters life and death situation, thinking ability is limited, and fine motor skills will most likely be lost to use.

When you place your index finger against the aiming aid, your index finger and the barrel will be aligned mechanically and automatically.

And when you point at a target, the barrel will be aimed automatically, instinctively, and accurately at the target.

And when you shoot, the aiming aid will protect your index finger from the slide, and it will help keep your finger in place and aligned with the barrel.

It also helps in supporting the gun. But, it is not a "must be met" requirement for using P&S.

With a P&S aiming aid, your hand and gun will fit together like a hand and glove, and you will have better gun control.

And because you will have improved gun control, you will have better control of the situation, and there will be less of a chance of someone being accidentally shot. The possibility of a shoot first and ask questions later situation, will be reduced.

Finally, no change to the gun action is needed.





In the picture of the SIG P239 above, the attachment on the side of the gun was cut from a piece of plastic, and attached with 3M Very High Bond double sided adhesive tape which forms a semi permanent to permanent bond. The aid keeps the index finger away from the slide and in place along the side of the gun, when firing rapidly.

You and Police Agencies are welcome to make and add an aiming aid to your/their personal/Agency weapon/s, and at your/their own risk and expense.

ADDED ADVANTAGES WITH A P&S AIMING AID:

Adding a P&S aiming aid also provides improved weapon support because you will not only be able to grasp and support the firearm in the strong and level platform made up of your thumb, the web of your hand, your index finger, and your ring and little fingers; with the aid, the weapon will actually rest on and be supported by your index finger.

That is not the case now. Most handguns are supported using a 3 finger grip that employs only the middle, ring, and little fingers. And that is done to leave the index finger free so you can squeeze the trigger to shoot.

That works good on the range. But in a high stress situation when shooting multiple times with a gun jumping and bucking in your hand, it is very likely that your grip will change. The index finger will not remain aloof and independent for use in squeezing the trigger, and the thumb will press against the gun.

According to Applegate, a shooter will have an extremely tight and convulsive grip in combat, and will exert great pressure when firing.

And as the main gripping fingers will be the thumb and middle fingers, which are not opposed, the gun will be torqued down and around clockwise, and shots likely will go low and to the left.

MAKING YOUR OWN "TEST" VERSIONS OF THE AID

As I believe the aiming aid can be a real lifesaver, individuals and Police Agencies are welcome to "roll their own" and add them to their personal and Agency weapons if done at their own risk and expense. That includes gunsmiths that may be needed to do the work.

Police agencies and individuals also may wish to add them to the trigger grip area of their less than lethal weapons. And they may wish to add them to the front grips of their weapons if there is a front grip that is fixed or attachable. That can allow both index fingers to be used to engage and re-engage a target.

"Test" versions of the aid are very easy to make from 3/4 inch plastic corner molding. Double sided adhesive tape can be used to stick them to guns for testing. Very high bond tape can be used to make a semi to permanent bond.

I also used Loctite's "Stick'n Seal" to attach an aid to a piece of aluminum. The resulting bonding of plastic to metal was very strong.

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