Monday, June 18, 2018

Gut shot

This is the first target I type I ever shot at.


But many are in the same style.  We are trained by targets and whatnot to aim for center mass.  And good enough for what it is.  Hit a bad guy there, that's much better than missing him.

But this is the hit zone.


I figure Patton won't mind.  He was all blood and guts, enthusiastic about martial training, and he has been dead 75 years and he is a manequin here.

Now, you've ruined his day, but is that the best shot placement to end the fight, a hit to the liver like that?

Guess where I hit in the simulator with video of people moving, under stress, trying to get a shot off before the baddie in the video turns that pump shotgun toward ME after offing his hostages?  Yup, the belly.  Automatically.  Because I have been trained with those paper targets.

Ok, the first shot hits the video person in the belly, then the person drops so my next shot misses, over, and the next shot hits the pelvic girdle of the video person on the ground.

Though sometimes the first shot of mine hits the hand or wrist the weapon is held in.  You fixate on the weapon and that is where the first shot goes.  Also sub-optimal.  Or super optimal if you are really lucky, but I don't want to count on luck.

Ideally, and what I am working on, is to try to retrain myself to hit a little higher, up nearer the ribbons on the General.  And do that instinctively instead of belly holes.  To shift where I assume the bullseye is, mentally.  To get that marginally better stopping-shot up in the center of the chest area instead of the center of gravity.

"But a baddie can take one in the pump and still fight back, T-Bolt."

True.  But he is less likely to want or be able to continue a fight with a shot there.

"What about body armor?"

The sim throws in that, too.  Three good shots with no result and I pretty automatically switch to the face right now.   If I could always hit a target in the eye, quick and on the move and accurate, we wouldn't be discussing this now, tho, would we?   

3 comments:

Jeffersonian said...

Best shot placement that most us will never master is base of the nose. Above the teeth. That palcement sends the projectile thru the base of the brain and seperates it from the brain stem. The bad guy might still be technically alive for a short bit, but he will never voluntarily move a muscle again. Instant incapacitation. My MD brother taught me that fact. Good luck.

Comrade Misfit said...

Another spot is at the notch of the collarbone. Most covert body armor doesn't go that high. Lots of vital stuff in that area.

Will said...

Jeffersonian:

Don't aim there. The problem is that teeth are incredibly good at stopping handgun bullets, and most people can't ensure they won't shoot low. Plus, if you are at any sort of rotated angle*, you won't hit the brainstem, and the odds are really good he won't be disabled, just enraged. It's a wasted shot, a lot of times.

*the nose makes an attractive aiming point, and most people won't be able to calculate the 3D offset needed to line up the brainstem when the head isn't exactly facing you. There are good reasons the preferred aiming area is the eye sockets on a forward facing goblin.