The argument about how to stand when shooting a handgun is almost as old as the pistol itself. Today that debate has essentially boiled down to two positions; The Weaver and Isosceles. Both positions have adamant supporters among the various camps of competitive shooters. Each group can come up with hundreds of examples of so-called Combat Masters who have experienced success using either one. Thus the fuel which keeps the fires of this debate burning.

Most people, however, are not competitive shooters: they own and carry a gun for personal protection. Survival, not trophies, is their goal. Unfortunately most of what is being written for, or taught to them are techniques developed in or based upon success in competition.

At the foundation of this debate is the old feud between Jeff Cooper and Rex Applegate. Complicating the issue is the general belief that people will perform in a crisis the way they performed during training. While this is typically true, there remains instances where the individual will react in a certain way; almost as if it were instinct. Those who commit themselves to ongoing, almost religious practice of a certain discipline will perform the technique when under stress, but then, as studies show, only in circumstances. However, most people are not willing, nor financially able to be so committed. The Applegate technique was developed by adapting to the shooters natural tendencies when under survival stress. More importantly the Cooper-Applegate controversy launched intensive research into the survival stress effects of the Sympathetic Nervous System. We simply call this, The SNS Effect.

The SNS Effect

Miami 1986; The FBI became embroiled in a protracted gun fight with two heavily armed, and known, killers. At battles end, two FBI agents lay dead and another five had been wounded. The Miami shoot-out sparked an extensive review of police training methods and ammunition terminal performance, or wounded ballistics. Hidden among all the details of the event is the little known fact that one of the agents killed had lost his glasses in the opening moments of the event and, while standing and looking at his assailant, was shot to death. The agent had at one time been the FBI's champion pistol shooter; well aware of what a sight picture was supposed to look like. Yet, since he couldn't see his sights, he did not respond and was shot down where he stood.

This is a prime example of exactly the situation the Applegate Technique was designed for. Additionally, year after year, decade after decade from urban America to third world jungles, a big majority of deadly conflicts occur at close quarters in light to dim to see the sights. Applegate argued these points, year after year, to the point of frustration and exhaustion, right up to the day of his death. But, since he didn't own a famous school, few listened.

One of the few who did listen was Bruce Siddle, author of the book Sharpening the Warrior's Edge. Last year Mr. Siddle completed a research paper titled, "Scientific & Test Data Validating the Isosceles and Single Hand Point Shooting." A paper the Colonel believed would "nail the lid on this issue for good". Prominent in this paper is the SNS Effect, and its impact on shooter performance under survival stress situations.

The report warns that the activation of the SNS is automatic and virtually uncontrollable. It occurs anytime the brain perceives a threat to survival and results in the immediate discharge of stress hormones. The response is characterized by an increase in arterial blood flow to large muscle groups, resulting in an enhancement of gross motor skills. Conversely, there is vasoconstriction of minor blood vessels, pupil dilation, cessation of the digestive process and muscle tremors. Once activated the SNS will dominate all voluntary and involuntary systems until the threat is eliminated. Greatly impacted by this reaction is the individuals complex and fine motor skills, visual capabilities and cognizant reasoning powers. These observable reactions have resulted in the phrases "Tunnel Vision" and "Flight or Flight Syndrome".

Motor Skills, Vision and Cognizant Thought Processing are the three most prominent performance inhibitors when under the SNS Effect. For these reasons the gunhandling skills taught an individual who is training for combat must rely, to the greatest extent possible, on gross motor skills. The impact on thought processing has coined the phrase "Keep it Simple, Stupid", or "KISS". Many of our course participants know how I feel about that term, and "KISSS" will be the feature article in the next issue of The Shooting Star.

Until I read the Siddle paper I had no idea of the extreme effect SNS has on vision capabilities. In fact, vision may be the very reason people "square off" to the threat as noted by Applegate. Most noted of these effects are:

• A reduction of blood flow to the rods and cones of the eyeball.
• Up to 70% loss of peripheral vision.
• A significant reduction in our ability to focus on close small objects (such as our front sight).
• Poor night vision and color recognition.

As a result a would-be victim will split their field of vision by squaring off to the threat, and then focus their eyes on that threat. This binocular effect and peripheral vision loss, makes it essential that we train shooters to shoot with both eyes open, and that we teach them to scan in an exaggerated fashion by looking from shoulder-point to shoulder-point.

The validation for Siddle's conclusions were the result of three separate studies which evaluated officer responses to a variety of threat scenarios. These scenarios included:

• Spontaneous threat under 10 feet.
• Non-spontaneous threat under 10 feet.
• Spontaneous threat over 10 feet.
• Non-spontaneous threat over 10 feet.

The collective results of these studies were:

• Spontaneous attack under 10 feet:
  96.7% used Isosceles.
  4% remembered using their sights.
  62.1% shot 1-handed.
• Non-spontaneous attack under 10 feet:
  74.1% used Isosceles.
  4% remembered using their sights.
  100% shot 2-handed.
• Spontaneous attack over 10 feet:
  92.6% used Isosceles.
  5% remembered using their sights.
  14.8% shot 1-handed.
• Non-spontaneous threat over 10 feet:
  60% used Isosceles.
  13% remembered using their sights.
  100% shot 2-handed.

All of these results occurred regardless of which stance the shooter had been initially trained in. The squaring to the threat, (Isosceles Stance), is a natural tendency when under survival stress.

Remember Cooper's statement from nearly 40 years ago, "While most conventional courses ignore it, (point shooting), it is only necessary to point out that statistical surveys indicate that 92% of pistol situations take place in light too dim to permit sights to be seen, (LAPD survey at the time). If you are trained to hit only if you can see your sights, you are only 8% effective."

Point Shooting, as advocated by both Cooper and Applegate is a method of aimed fire. Today it has a more appropriate name. It is called the Pistol Silhouette Sight Technique. This method requires the shooter to:

• Grip the gun properly so it is a natural extension of the body.
• Focus on the threat.
• Raise the gun to eye level and point it at the threat.
• Press the trigger straight to the rear.

Poor grip and trigger control is usually the reason shooters miss at any distance. Point Shooting, however, can be effective out to a distance of 7-yards and even more. We teach a comprehensive approach to combat targeting which requires the use of sights at varying stages based upon the distance to the target and the available target size. In this fashion the student progressively builds their shooting skills to adapt for the more usual CQB encounter, yet be prepared to deal with other threat situations.

As to shooting position, we use the Isosceles as the basis for virtually every type of firearm, not just handguns. From there we teach a variety of alternative and less-than-ideal positions so the individual can adapt to any cover opportunity available or any unusual or difficult circumstances they may find themselves in. In other words we use aimed fire, front sight fire, precise sight fire, Isosceles stance, Weaver stance, military squat, urban prone, holly-cow-Batman stance, and the oh-shit stance. Our goal is to build survivors, not competitors. We call it "Integrated Firearms Training", because, after all "bull's eyes don't shoot back".

See you at Top-Gun!