JUNE 6, 2013

Skill Set: Combat Accuracy

A sniper needs a weapon with surgical precision capabilities. The majority of us regular people that need to defend ourselves, our family, friends or partners from a lethal threat just need to shoot well. When it comes to accuracy people get way too caught up in what their weapon can do as opposed to what they can do with the weapon under actual combative conditions. Your pistol can fire a one-inch group off a rest at twenty-five yards. Ok, cool. In a fight it ain't gonna make a bit of difference what size group your pistol can fire from a bench. Fights are dynamic. Everyone is moving. You're moving to create distance or get to cover and the threat(s) are doing the same thing. It's probably going to be dark. Adrenaline and other chemicals are dumping into your body, your heartbeat racing. The deciding factor will be you, not the accuracy of your pistol. Place hits into the chest, pelvis and/or the head until you stop the threat. The same is true for rifles. The fact that a rifle can punch a one-inch group on paper off a bench at a hundred yards on a bright sunny day won't really be a factor when things get really ugly. What you need to know how to do, no matter what all kinds of hell are breaking loose, is get a good sight picture, press the trigger smoothly - in a short span of time - and follow through, preparing to hit them again if necessary. Also, remember there's no guarantee you'll be fighting with your weapon. You may be forced to work with whatever you can get your hands on, which means what your pistol or rifle will do won't even be a factor. Owning and shooting extremely accurate weapons is cool, but when it comes to fighting the size group you shoot with your weapon under pristine conditions won't matter much. Spending time on a bench shooting small groups is a cool hobby. Shooting small groups builds confidence and lets you know what the weapon can do. But if you own and carry a weapon for self defense your time, money and ammo are better spent learning how to fight. Accuracy in a fight is a completely different definition from accuracy stated in an advertisement. Firing a six-inch group while moving is better than a two-inch group standing still. The ability to produce the same results while both you and the target are moving is even more impressive. Combative accuracy is something we all need to spend more time practicing. This means being able to place accurate hits into the chest or pelvis rapidly at close distance, and the discipline to slow down and make precision shots when necessary. Your task, regardless of conditions, is to discover a balance between speed and accuracy, always ensuring when you press the trigger the bullets go where you want and need them to. This is combative accuracy. Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns," writes for several firearms/tactical publications, and is featured on GunTalk's DVD, "Fighting With The 1911 - http://shootrite.org/dvd/dvd.html Website: www.shootrite.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shootrite-Firearms-Academy/156608611038230?ref=ts