Bullseyes Don't Shoot Back: The Complete Textbook of Point Shooting for Close Quarters Combat Paperback – January 1, 1998

I am a retired police officer with 35 years on the job. During my life I have studied numerous different fighting styles, I have trained with numerous Weapons, both lethal and nonlethal. I have been SWAT/Special Entry trained. In those years I was involved in numerous firearms incidents. During this time I have seen several firearms methods come and go. The best I can say for most of them is that they are usually fads and hopefully didn't get too many officers killed. Most police shooting incidents take place at less then 7 feet. Less then 3 feet in the shooting incident I was involved in. In these incidents most training goes out the window and it comes down to draw and shoot. This also explains why there are so many stray bullets in most police shootings. When you are looking down the barrels of a 12 gauge side by side that is closer then 3 feet and it was just fired at a police officer all them nice little things you learned at the range are going right out the window.. For these reasons I have looked for years for a firearms training method that is natural and instinctive so that it won't go out the window when the panic hits. I think Col. Applegate comes as close to that as anything I saw in 35 years.

I have been involved with firearms training for 13 years, military and law enforcement. I consider myself a student first and have always been open to new ideas. Having attended a Hocking Tech Point Shooting class in 2000 I walked away from the class disappointed. I purchased this book a short time after the class and have read it several times since trying to wrap my brain around this method. The problem with adopting the "Point Shooting" method is that there are several types of point shooting methods and all the methods differ in many areas and all of them claim their method is the best. This book is less about teaching a method and more about slamming Sighted Aimed Fire method. The book and author attempt to validate their methods by continuing to state "This is what happens in gunfights" or "This is how you react to extreme stress" and "Statistics show...". The problem is they are only partially true. The fact is we, the tactical community, know that people will default to their level of training, you never rise to the occasion and shooting is not instinctive.The tactical considerations in this book are extremely flawed. The draw method and presentation method having been proven time and time again to be slow and ineffective during weapons retention. You fight the way you train.I believe this book does more harm than good to people's training. The methods in this book do work once you get everything just right but then toss in moving targets or shooting on the move and smaller more realistic targets and it falls apart. The truth is, point shooting is a byproduct of properly practiced sighted aimed fire. This is based on using solid motor programs and practicing them. The "point shooting methods" are attempts at short cutting and in the end require just as much if not more practice to stay proficient than training sighted aimed fire method.Do yourself a favor and read The Art of Modern Gunfighting by Scott Reitz. Scott Reitz is a retired LAPD officer who was involved in several gunfights and numerous stressful incidents. Also spend the money and take a class from a reputable instructor/facility like Thunder Ranch, Rifles Only, VTAC, Vickers Tactical, Chris Cerino Training Group etc...

I have been a student of the methods of Applegate, Fairbairn and Sykes since the early 90's. From time to time, during this early period of my CQB development, I would call Col Applegate on the phone in order to get clarification or advice in dealing with problems or questions that would come up. He was always very helpful and gracious. Anyway, I have owned all of his books for many years now and, for some reason, never got around to buying this one. Well, I finally did and it has exceeded all my expectations. It is very well put together and any student of these methods will benefit from this book.

This book is a basic introduction to and overview of Rex Applegate's point-shooting method. Inside you will find history of point-shooting starting with the method developed by W.E. Fairbairn and E.A. Sykes while serving with the Shanghai Municipal Police in the early 20th century, which Applegate further refined. Also included are practice drills, technique, how, why and where point-shooting works, and even how some police department training curriculms are including point-shooting in light of low scores/hit-rates with the use of other methods. There was also a video produced called Shooting for Keeps, I recommend you buy this video and watch it before you read this book, you will be ahead of the curve. Is point-shooting the be-all, end-all of shooting methods? No it is merely part of a continuum, however in the ranges it was intended for use in it will work.

Although I agree with much of what the authors say, I also believe they fall into the same trap they accuse the "gurus" of, and alternate between valid points and contradictory statements:1. Gun "gurus" are wrong to emphasize two-handed sighted fire.2. "Realistic combat shooting technique is a continuum which ranges from extreme close range body point firing to two-handed sighted fire techniques."3. You should emphasize one-handed point shooting.A better approach would have been to emphasize statement #2 and then show the benefits of one-handed point shooting without trying to make it sound like the "holy grail" of combat shooting.Overall a good book that is worth your time to read. If nothing else, it gives some historical perspective on the evolution of combat shooting and offers old/new ideas for consideration.

Excellent information and practical but seems rather dated now.