Since 09-26-06
Handgun or Pistol Quick Kill [ QK ] Shooting Technique © TM
Since 09-26-06
By Robin Brown
http://www.threatfocused.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46
I was fortunate enough to have been involved with a group of men in the early
1980's, directed and led by one of the original OSS operatives whose function
was to protect VIP's as well as establish security measures for major US
corporations in and outside the US borders.
Maj. Gen. Mitch WerBell, who was given that rank by the Afghanistan president
for his efforts in fighting the communists and training security forces in
Afghanistan, held training at his 66 acre compound in Georgia, USA. It became
affectionately known as "The Farm" by many.
The training center was known as SIONICS and was an acronym for "Studies In
Organized Negation of Insurgency and Counter Subversion". Mitch brought men with
military backgrounds, or those who had specific martial and "sneaky pete" skills
to his SIONICS training facility. They instructed us in the finer points of
staying alive under various adverse conditions.
Not quite 400 private citizens were allowed to attend before the operation
closed down due to his death in late 81 while working in Cal. for a major
corporation where I was with the team. I say, "allowed to attend" as your
background was checked and you were accepted once cleared that you were not
affiliated with a terrorist state or subversive group.
Former military personnel were given preference as well as people in the
security profession but just about anyone could attend if they passed the
background check. The course was intensive and lasted for 10 days at 18 hours
per day. Only 10 individuals were allowed in each class. The cost in 1981 was
$3000.00 to attend and it needed to be paid in advance.
One of the instructors was Lucky McDaniel, a colorful figure who had developed
his "Instinct Shooting" program which was later adopted and renamed the Quick
Kill (QK) rifle technique by the US Army.
Lucky demonstrated and trained us in the long gun Quick Kill as well as the
pistol Quick Kill over two days of the 10 we were there at the compound. One day
on long guns and one day with pistols. The long gun training started with bb
guns and hitting aluminum disks varying from 3 inches to 1 inch in diameter
which were thrown into the air. The rifle training regimen was also found in the
US Army training text 23-71-1. From there we went to shotguns and shooting clays
thrown from every angle using this long gun/rifle Quick Kill technique.
In the pistol Quick Kill course, we went directly to 1911's that had the sights
removed. We trained from 3 feet to about 36 feet. There was a different
technique for less than three feet which was not QK, and which protected the gun
from a gun grab or swipe.
The following is how I was instructed and then executed/used the Quick Kill
technique with a pistol or handgun based on that instruction.
Find a light switch across the room. Any object at about that distance will do.
Then with the light switch or object in your view, raise your arm/hand and point
your finger naturally at the object, like you are scolding a dog. Looking at
your target, you also should be able to see in your peripheral vision, the end
of the finger that's pointing at it.
When you point, you naturally do not attempt to sight or aim your finger. It
will be somewhat below your eye level in your peripheral vision, perhaps 4-6
inches below eye level.
Now, place the end of that finger about 2 inches below your target. Move your
arm, NOT JUST THE FINGER. Then, lower your head and try to sight along the
length of it. You will be on the object. Raise your head and you will see the
end of the finger still about 2 inches below the object. The reference point can
be different depending on the person and gun being used. Many handguns have
different natural pointing abilities. Just start out at 2 inches below the
target initially.
If you find you are above the target when checking the finger, you may need to
use three inches below, as the reference point for you initially. Conversely, if
you are low, you may need to raise the reference point a little. Once you find
the reference point for you, you can point at anything using this Quick Kill
technique and know that you are hitting the object automatically, and when not
looking at anything but the target. Your finger will be in your peripheral
vision but not looked at.
Now go get a handgun, make sure it's empty, and do the same thing on the same
object across the room. Use the end of the barrel and/or the front sight now
instead of the end of your finger in your peripheral vision.
Once you have referenced the end of the barrel and/or the front sight about 2
inches below the target, DON'T MOVE THE GUN, and lower your head and check where
the sights are pointing.
As above, when you could see the end of the finger pointing at the target in
your peripheral vision while focusing on the target, you will now peripherally
see the end of the barrel and/or front sight while looking at the target. Once
you have tweaked the reference point for that gun, you can repeat with follow up
shots as soon as the reference has been reacquired peripherally. You have not
looked at the gun or front sight, just the target. And the gun will be anywhere
from 2-6 inches below your eye level, more or less.
With Quick Kill, the focus is always on the target, never having to adjust ones
gaze or focus even remotely on the near object [the gun or sights]. I don't have
need to worry about 0-3 yards or 7-10 yards or beyond 10 yard methodologies, the
commonality of one focal point in using Quick Kill with a handgun under the
stresses of self defense is easier to ingrain into memory once it has been
mastered.
Some will achieve this immediately while others will have issues and questions.
I hope that I have explained this well enough for most. It's much easier to show
and guide one, than just describe Quick Kill. As with most things, practice can
improve performance, and the same is true with Quick Kill with a pistol or
handgun. You can practice at home or on the line. Draw, raise the gun up into
your peripheral vision, acquire the referenced distance from the end of the
barrel that includes the front sight to the target, and dry fire or blast it for
real. Try different distances from 3 feet to 20 yards. The reference point can
and should be tweaked up or down until you know where you need to keep it at
those distances with that handgun.
With one focal plane to worry about when utilizing the Quick Kill methodology,
the older I get, the more I appreciate the way it works. Though admittedly, when
I was enlightened I was still capable of quickly adjusting between focal planes.
Lucky McDaniel never published or wrote about the handgun and pistol Quick Kill
technique. The verbal information he imparted at SIONICS during our training had
never been seen in print before. I’m aware of a few firearms and knife
instructors as well as some in the private sector who have searched for over two
decades for this technique with pistols and handguns with no success.
Handgun or Pistol Quick Kill [ QK ] Shooting Technique ©, as described above,
uses a very specific peripheral reference point from the end of the barrel
and/or front sight to the target while ones conscious focus is on the intended
target. That not only is different than any other method of sighting previously
discussed anywhere but it is what makes Quick Kill continuously repeatable by
utilizing a specific reference point between the end of the barrel and/or front
sight and the intended object one wants to hit.
I first wrote something similar to this on February 22, 2004 on the internet
that also included the long rifle Quick Kill technique as shown to me that was
referenced above in the army manual. I registered the copyrighted material and
the document is filed with the Library of Congress, Copyright Office in
Washington, D.C.
I've carried this knowledge of the Handgun or Pistol Quick Kill [ QK ] Shooting
Technique © since 1981 but had never put it into print until 2004.
__________________
The mind is the limiting factor
Brownie