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Originally Posted by frostfire
*deep breathing....gulp* natural point of aim exercises...?
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Short answers. Natural point of aim contributes to precision marksmanship. A couple of points to keep in mind:
1. Natural POA implies standing flatfooted and using a traditional stance. Get in stance, close eyes, point gun, open eyes, shift feet to put gun on target, repeat as required. Ask TS what he thinks of the idea. (I'll save you some effort - If somebody is shooting back at you, it's suicide.)
2. Combat marksmanship is based on a series of "range rings" depending on weapon type. Pistols are usually (YMMV) < 7 meters, between 7 and 15 meters and > 15 meters. Each distance will have tradeoff between speed and accuracy. As range increases you lose speed to gain accuracy. Close range uses a "flash" sight picture and "aimed quick kill". Find the front sight, put it in the target's abdomen (with just front sight bullets strike high), and start pulling the trigger. Intermediate range uses "rapid aimed fire". This is a compromise sight picture - ensure both sights are visible, align left/right, don't worry excessively about up/down (kill zone is taller than it is wide), and pull the trigger. Long range (no room for error) uses "slow aimed fire" - proper sight alignment/sight picture and application of marksmanship fundamentals. Speed and the amount of time available/required for acceptable accuracy is relative. That doesn't mean you are doing anything "slowly"; it just means that compared to short and intermediate range shooting, you are taking more time to ensure the more difficult shot. Gunfight statistics show 1st round hit wins 80+% of gunfights. 1st round miss wins less than 50%. There is more to this but I have to go get the pizza for dinner.
Now that I'm back from pizza - edited to add:
3. If you're worried about Natural POA one of two things applies:
a. You're not in a gunfight. Relax, enjoy your day at the range, and work on developing the skills that make the pistol an extension of your will.
b. You're using a pistol to engage a threat at rifle/carbine ranges. Look for another solution, especially if the other guy has a long gun. The time you spend trying to make a low percentage shot can be better used seeking cover, evading, calling reinforcements, etc.
Deep breathing has nothing to do with good shooting - hyperventilate on your own time.
Peregrino