American Handgunner: Point vs. aim

"At a distance over two meters, you're gambling on point shooting," says Frank. "If I can't reach out and touch the target with my gun muzzle, I want to see the front sight." A perfect sight picture is not necessarily required, he explains, depending on, the size and distance of the target.

"Ninety-percent of the time you 11 be better off using a floating sight picture. if the front sight is floating somewhere in the center of the target and yon re still looking through the rear sight, that's all you need for nine out often situations. Where you need the hard focus on the front sight, and the perfect sight picture, is what I call a danger target: only a small portion of the target exposed, or a hostage target, or anything beyond ten meters."

To gain speed on multiple targets, "The eye goes first, and the front sight follows. Don't dip the gun muzzle: that consumes time. Always move the weapon in a straight line, driving it aggressively to the next target. The gun should move in a sprint," says Frank.

Garcia is a believer in the double tap, the fast two-shot burst that Jeff Cooper calls 'the hammer. 'Times like .18 to .20. with the hits inside the A and C zone of an IPSC target, is world class, and it's doable by anyone serious shout practice," Frank notes. And sure enough, he quickly had us making two good hits in the .18-.20 second range, at 10 meters.

Commonality of training is emphasized. When moving with drawn gun, or reloading it, Frank wants it "in the pocket," a space close to the body and level with the chin with the muzzle downrange and the trigger finger of course on the frame. The gun intrudes into lower periphery of vision, where you can always see it without it blocking your view.