But in the military, I did…
When I initiated the shooting, it didn’t matter the distance or the position I was in (prone, sitting, standing, etc), I always used the sites.
When they initiated the engagement, distance did play a part. If the shots came from a respectable distance, say outside 50 yards (lets assume a single sniper, an ambush that was prematurely tripped is different), I didn’t return fire until I had an idea of where the shots came from (I was carrying a CAR and was the team lead, so suppressive fire was not my job in those situations). When I had something to shoot at, I would use the sites (but then that’s really me initiating).
For ambush situations, which in my case were inside 50 yards, it was everyone’s responsibility to put out rounds (suppressive fire), and I never used the sites during the initial engagement.
Now the situation was considerably different since it was a free fire zone, so you didn’t care about innocent civilians. Also, the weapons were long guns, not pistols, and you weren’t by yourself. Also, and this is a big point, during the initial seconds of the engagement, I don’t remember actually “seeing� the other guys so it’s debatable what benefits there would have been to using sites. But it still tends to show what my instincts are when caught off guard and not in the initiator role.
Later in my career, when I was working as military attached to civilian agencies, the weapon was often a pistol (9mm or 45acp) and some of the engagements were more along the lines of what a civilian would face (inside 30 ft). I can’t think of a single time that I used my sites during the initial shots.
When training on the range, I would always use my sites, but on the range it was different. By that I mean I’m not caught off guard by the movement of the target or the suspect suddenly going for a weapon, or charging…on the range, the buzzer sounds, I draw and shoot the silhouette target…the two, for me, are inherently different.
On the range, my ego and a desire to beat the clock, my buddies time, my last time, or something similar are what’s driving me, I know my survival is not at risk. But in the field, I was scared, not excited as in competition/training, and that elicited a different response. Higher brain level functions seemed to shut down and I just “responded�, and that didn’t include looking for the sites.
I’ve noticed I have the same tendencies when doing FoF with airsoft. If the “opponent� is an average Joe, I sometimes use the sites, sometimes not, but it’s always a conscious decision to try one or the other and see how it works. But if it’s an aggressive, fast moving opponent that catches me off guard with an exceptionally fast or unexpected attack, I fail to use the sites.
Based on my own personal reactions to stress, it seems wise for me to practice what I call instinct shooting. After all, it’s probably what I’m going to do.
Of course I still practice sited shooting. The logical part of my brain knows sited shots are better…the problem is when I’m in combat, the logical part isn’t in charge.
When I practice what I call instinct shooting, I can consistently hit COM at close distances, so it’s not really just throwing lead downrange and hoping I hit the right thing (I believe some call it “spray and pray�).
Now to be clear, I am not advocating un-sited over sited shooting for anyone else. What I am saying is that for me, I have to accept the probability it’s what I will resort to, no matter how much I train myself to use the sites, and by practicing I increase my chance of survival, and those of bystanders…for me it’s right.
I think each person needs to look at this from their anticipated reactions, and train accordingly. If you think you’ll fall into the group that will naturally resort to un-sited fire, then practice it. The learning curve is not really that steep assuming you are comfortable with your weapon and are already good at sited shooting, and your survivability will be increased.
Charles:
Excellent topic and one I hope generates a lot of responses…both pro and con. I’m never too old to learn...despite what my wife says
