Use of Handguns


  Choose a handgun which best fits your hand. Experiment with various grips to find a comfortable fit. With the proper handgun and grips for it, you should be able to look at a target close your eyes and bring the handgun up to where it will be on target, even with your eyes closed. A 38 caliber comes with at least 4 different frames, from small to large. There are at least 20 different kinds of grips for each revolver. Automatics also come in various size frames with numerous grips for each frame size. Selecting the proper handgun with the proper grips is something not many gun owners do. But it is extremely important if you want a handgun to point at the target without consciously aiming at the target with use of the sights.

  The main purpose of the handgun is for self-defense. You should practice with the handgun with the view that it will be used in a self-defense shoot-out.

  Numerous police agencies have conducted studies of actual gunfights between the police officer and the bad guy. These studies show that neither the police officer nor the bad guy, use the sights in firing their weapons at each other. They simply point their handguns at each other and open fire. They miss the target a lot more than they hit the target.

  What happens to you mind and body under the stress of extreme danger of a shootout? You develop tunnel vision; the only thing you see is the threat, the man pointing the gun at you. All your attention is focused on him; you do not look at anything else. Your adrenalin is pumping through your body. You loose your fine motor skill of your fingers, but your grip on your weapon is much stronger, you also drop into a crouch.

  Knowing how your mind and body react under stress is most important. You must act in accordance with that stress. The best method you can use is, point aim shooting.

  Point aim shooting can be practiced in this manner. Stand in a slight crouch, no more than 10 yards from the target. Hold the handgun with one hand with a strong grip. Bring the gun up at arms length in front of you until the handgun is just below eye level. As soon as the weapon reaches eye level squeeze the trigger twice. Lower the weapon slightly, bring it back up just below eye level and squeeze the trigger twice upon reaching eye level. Continue this until the handgun has fired every round. Immediately reload the weapon. Form this habit of immediately reloading an empty weapon.

  It is important to visualize in your mind point aim shooting. See yourself crouched before the target, holding the handgun with one hand. See your extended arm holding the handgun in a proper grip. See your arm raising to a point just below eye level. Feel in your mind the trigger being squeezed as the weapon reaches eye level. Feel your strong grip on the handgun. See the holes being punched in the target exactly where you are looking. In your mind hear yourself saying, “Squeeze the trigger twice and stay on target,”



About the Author / Axioms of the Warrior / Common Items Used as Deadly Personal Weapons / Eight Deadly Mistakes in Hand-to-hand Combat / Elements of Personal Sceurity / Single Strike Deathblows / Ten Deadly Errors in Judgment / Ten Exercises For Martial Arts Toughness / Final Thoughts / Email / Index