Demonstrates the differences and similarities between what is traditionally taught as "Combat Marksmanship" vs. "Reality - Behaviorally Based Combat Marksmanship" with the pistol.
1. The Fundamentals of
“Combat Marksmanship” and Reality-
Behavior Based Combat Marksmanship
• Grip • Trigger Control
• Stance • Breath Control
• Sight Alignment • Follow-Through
• Sight Picture
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2. The Fundamentals of
Marksmanship
GRIP TRIGGER CONTROL
Controlling the weapon while shooting and Independent movement of the finger on the
through recoil with pressure and friction and trigger moving it straight back until the gun fires
leverage. with minimal movement of the sights and gun.
STANCE BREATH CONTROL
A body position that allows effective movement, A method of controlling breathing to minimize
fighting, and shooting, with control of recoil. gun movement as the body expands and
contracts during inhalation and exhalation.
SIGHT ALIGNMENT
The relationship between the front and rear FOLLOW THROUGH
sights. (Gun-wrist-body alignment for point Consciously maintaining the shooting
shooting) fundamentals for a brief time after the shot is
fired. Preparing to fire the next shot.
SIGHT PICTURE
The placement of the aligned sights or weapon
on the target or exact aiming point. Combined
with sight alignment = “Sight Package”
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3. Grip
GRIP: Controlling the weapon while shooting and through
recoil with pressure and friction and leverage.
Grip is reality based- under duress you will probably squeeze
the weapon hard. Get used to the convulsive grip in training.
At close range against sudden encounters, shooting will often
be done with one hand.
It is quicker and allows the other hand to be used for grasping
items and for balance. The strong side thumb can be straight
or curled down for better contact and control.
For Marksmanship, Two hands are better than one, and a firm
grip with the support and a lighter grip with the strong hand
will allow better trigger manipulation and is the most desirable
for accuracy.
This will most likely require anticipation and control of duress.
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4. Grip: Strong Hand
Initial “Vee” Web of hand high up on Thumb rests on frame
placement- gun backstrap with no space or ‘rides’ safety.
directly in line showing. Middle finger Thumb can be straight
with forearm. tight under trigger guard- or bent for better
Trigger finger on no space. pressure.
frame.
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5. Grip: Support Hand
Second hand always Second hand fills the gap; Thumbs and trigger
comes from the rear- strong side thumb rests on finger point along
thumb pointed forward top of support hand, or slide. Notice change
fingers down at 45 ‘rides’ safety. No space in wrist angle
degrees. under trigger guard.
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6. Stance
STANCE
A body position that allows effective movement, fighting, and shooting,
with control of recoil.
Reality Based Combat Stance is based on the instinctive response to
threats- facing, flinching, fighting:
• Toes to threat
• Lower the center of gravity
• Toes Straight
• Bent knees
• Back Straight
• Head, Shoulders forward
• Strong, tight base
• Aggressive forward lean
• It is also an important part of aiming as the body aligns and points
the weapon and the eyes simply verify it is on target with minor
correction
• Traditional marksmanship will direct shooters to bring the gun to
their eyes. We teach dropping into the fighting stance as the gun is
brought up because that will be your natural reaction under duress.
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7. Sight Alignment:
Wrist-Gun-Body Alignment
SIGHT ALIGNMENT
The relationship between the front and rear sights. (Gun-wrist-
body alignment for point shooting)
One of the most important parts of point shooting is the alignment
of the gun to the body, via the bend in the wrist
Initially the gun is grasped and aligned parallel to the forearm, but
as the gun is brought to the center of the body, the wrist must lock
and bend to keep it oriented directly to the threat
The gun is oriented perpendicular to the upper body along the
center line or dominant eye based on the shooters dominance
If the upper body and lower body are squared to the threat, point
shooting will be much easier
If the body must turn, the triangle between the arms and the body
still must project the gun straight out from under the dominant
eye/center line. This will take more practice.
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8. Sight Alignment:
Full Sight Aimed Alignment
Equal on
FULL SIGHT AIMED FIRE “Sight Picture” both sides
• “Equal Height”
• “Equal Light”
• Final focus on the top part of the front sight
• Rear sights and target aligned but blurry
• Set up with combat breath control during the
respiratory pause
• Mostly useful in pro-active and offensive situations with
the ability to fully anticipate the need for the shot
• Front sight should not move during trigger pull
• Check using dime and washer and unknown empty
gun anticipation drill
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9. Sight Alignment:
Wrist-Gun-Body Alignment
Peripheral Vision-
When learning the technique, it
helps to verify your wrist-gun-
target alignment based on the
outline of the weapon
Errors:
• The side of the slide is showing
in either direction
• The front sight is not visible at
all
• The top of the slide is showing
T
too much- (greater than half o
R
the width of the back of the p
e
a
frame outline) r
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10. Sight Picture:
Sight Package
SIGHT PICTURE Sight package involves the entire body
The placement of the aligned sights or weapon and weapon- not just the sights- and the
on the target or exact aiming point. Combined related target
with sight alignment = “Sight Package”
It is uncommon for anyone at any level of
training to take the time to verify their
„Sight Package‟ includes the level of aiming sights when directly and immediately
verification that takes place before shooting under close range threat.
Sight package in reality based shooting is based This is primarily due to the instinctive
on: stress response requiring clear visual
1. Primarily the level of duress of the shooter focus on the threat.
(immediate survivability)
2. Secondarily on
• The accuracy needed to hit the target;
combined with (target profile)
• The situational concerns (situation)
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11. Sight Picture/Sight Package
Continuum
Continuum of sight package:
1. Index Shooting (body point)- no to little visual verification of the gun. Indexed by body posture, body
part, or on the target itself. Gun may be partially visible in field of view.
2. Target Focused Point Shooting- only peripheral and eventually subconscious rough alignment towards
the target. Top edges of slide form a ‘Runway” to the target below line of vision.
3. Target Focused Flash Sight Picture- rough visual alignment of the sights/weapon while primarily focused
on the target. Front sight anywhere above rear sight is sufficiently accurate.
4. Full sighted fire- lining up the sights completely as in traditional marksmanship. Front sight centered
and level; final focus on front sight.
1 2 3 4
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12. Sight Picture:
Sight Package
Point Shooting Sight Package
• We want to practice while being focused on the threat
as much as possible, with only peripheral verification of
the sight package
• The amount of peripheral verification will be slowly
reduced over time until it is subconscious
• The primary shot zone is high center mass- the top part
of the sternum
• With precision, we want to be focused on a small part
of the threat: “Aim small, miss small.”
• We are looking for “railroad tracks” or a “runway”
along the edge of the outline of the sides of the gun’s
frame straight to the target like a perspective drawing.
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13. Trigger Control
• TRIGGER CONTROL- Independent movement of
the finger on the trigger moving it straight back until
the gun fires with minimal movement of the sights
and gun
• Trigger control is probably the greatest source of
error in pistol marksmanship
• The trigger must be pulled or squeezed straight
backward to avoid pulling the weapon out of
alignment during the shot
• Ideally a shooter wants to squeeze the trigger back
slowly until there is a “surprise break” and the shot
is fired
• Trigger control and grip work together to eliminate
shot anticipation
• Finger placement on the trigger is highly
individualistic, and can greatly affect
marksmanship. (A) may be too much trigger for
some and may push shots to the left. (B) is the
preferred point, but not best for every person
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14. Trigger Control
• The trigger should be released only far enough so a
“click” is felt and heard, which indicates the trigger has Fully
reset Forward
• Trigger reset is part of good follow up
• After the final shot, always prepare to take one more
• For combative marksmanship, the trigger and gun are
often squeezed convulsively. This requires a harder
grasp on the weapon to keep it steady
Fully
• Single shot- Shot is fired with a single sight picture
with careful and full follow through as if firing another Back
shot (always prepare for one more during follow
through practice)
• String (Tap)- Each shot is fired separately with a new
sight picture, but with minimal time between shots. As
shooters improve, they are able to do this rhythmically
and quickly. Reset
• Burst (Hammer)- One sight picture is acquired and
weapon is fired as fast as the weapon can be
controlled, useful only at very close range
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15. Breath Control
BREATH CONTROL
A method of controlling breathing to minimize gun
movement as the body expands and contracts during
inhalation and exhalation.
• Ideally, one should shoot during the respiratory pause
after exhaling while the body is the most motionless
• If the shot is not made in time, another full breath with
release should take place
• Combat breathing should start as soon as you are
alerted to the potential need for violence
• Against a spontaneous threat, you will most likely hold Example: Run, Stop, Shoot
your breath while shooting; stop doing this as soon as Officer chases and armed bad guy until
you recognize it and make breathing part of your tactical
response and follow through he gets a clear shot, the officer stops
• If you make the deliberate decision for a perfect shot, quickly, forces out a quick exhalation,
you should set up the breath, which sets you up finds the sights fully and shoots in a
mentally for the fundamentals of marksmanship; The compressed time frame.
skill is to snap into position, breath out, and take a
deliberate fully aimed shot as quickly as possible
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16. Follow Through
• FOLLOW THROUGH- Consciously maintaining the shooting fundamentals
for a brief time after the shot is fired. Preparing to fire the next shot.
• In real-life situations, this will only happen if taking one perfect shot,
otherwise it will be highly compressed FAST-5
• Combat follow through is shooting the threat until it is no longer a threat-
typically to the ground and/or with weapon dropped Fight
• Next the shooter follows the threat down and assesses, while still aimed in Assess
and ready to shoot
Scan
• If the threat does not need to continue to be shot, the shooter should
place the finger on frame, compress the weapon, and scan his
Take off
surroundings Take Cover
• If the shooter is more comfortable staying extended, it is not a major error. Talk
The purpose of the compression to a ready position is to break tunnel Top Off
vision and protect it from a potential attack Treat injuries
• The shooter should scan “left, middle (back to check the threat), right,
middle (checking the threat one last time)- this can be done on the move
• The shooter should then “take off” and “take cover” getting behind cover
or moving to a flank while checking the rear for un-expected threats
• Other “T’s” are Talk, Top off, or Take care of injuries
• Verbal commands should initially be “Don’t move” or “Stay down”
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17. Differences Between Combat
Marksmanship and Reality-Behavior Based
Combat Marksmanship
FUNDAMENTAL “COMBAT” MARKSMANSHIP REALITY-BEHAVIOR BASED
COMBAT MARKSMANSHIP
GRIP Heavy squeeze support hand; light Strong ‘convulsive’ grip with both
squeeze strong hand hands
STANCE More upright; gun brought to eyes Combat Crouch, body dropped as
gun brought up
SIGHT ALIGNMENT Focus on front sight perfectly Focus on threat; body-wrist-gun
centered in rear sight forms runway to the target under
eyes
SIGHT PICTURE High upper chest (when available); High upper chest (when available);
again final focus on front sight; focus on small part of target; gun in
target blurry peripheral vision
TRIGGER CONTROL “Controlled Surprise Break” “Convulsive grip” and straight
rearward pressure if possible
BREATH CONTROL Respiratory Pause Combat breathing before and after,
or forced exhalation for a fast shot
FOLLOW THROUGH Preparing for the next shot Preparing for the next shot and
tactical response
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Notas del editor
Let them know there is a test question on this and that the fundamentals do not include anything about storage or holster selectionTell them the rest will be covered at the range- STOP HERE. The rest is for their reading enjoyment.
Let them know there is a test question on this and that the fundamentals do not include anything about storage or holster selectionTell them the rest will be covered at the range- STOP HERE. The rest is for their reading enjoyment.