I train others in rifle quick kill using bbguns first ad then shotguns. Hitting moving targets with a shottie on clays thrown in the air as McDaniel taught it to me [ rifle quick kill ]. Can a shottie be used point shooting? You bet, here's an aar from just such a class. If one can hit movers in the air within a few minutes time with regularity than yes, a shottie can be used instinctively for self defense, and it doesn't take but a few hours at most to learn to hit moving objects in the air with one, so the home defense scenarios with shotties is quite valid.
What did I expect?...another weekend spent humoring an old man while he goes on about the ability we all have but have never tapped?....not really…ok…kind of…ive had the privilege of attending so many of brownies classes as a student and range assistant that I know when I step onto the range with a firearm in my hand and an open mind that I am going to discover something new, exciting and enlightening while reinforcing everything hes taught me in the past…
once again brownie has not disappointed any way shape or form….and I’m sure as the reports start rolling in that will be quite obvious…
bb guns on 9mm brass, shotgun shells, pebbles, other bb’s and in a few instances including one of my own, cutting a piece of grass with a bb, along with ariel shooting of tossed pop cans….i kid you not…the class picked up on the skills pretty quickly and everyone was pounding the berms with bb’s and having the time of their lives…the most popular targets were clay pigeon pieces that we would whittle down to specs on the berm and then drill them until they disappeared…
move on to shotgun ariel clay pigeon shooting…several in the class had no experience with ariel shooting but in a surprisingly short time were dusting the little guys with great regularity…I grew up shooting skeet and trap but haven’t shouldered a shotgun in over 18 years…my training involved memorized leads and tracking fliers with a bead site to take them when the sight picture was right…I was quite accomplished at it and had a shelf full of trophies to show for it…in addition I hunted upland game birds and rabbits for years…that required the ability to acquire and take down targets in a hurry….had I had this training back then new york state would be devoid of partridge and peaseant altogether…I was starting at the hip position, raising my gun after the clay was released, acquired it in flight and as the gun hit my shoulder I could immediately take a shot and dust clays…at one point I ran 24 for 25 clays hit…in another string I was able to run about 35 birds with 40 shots as 5 were an initial miss that I was able to pump the gun and take the clay with a second shot immediately…none of the clays hit the ground whole in that string…this stuff works…
time to sling some brass…out come the .22 rifles and we’re back on the berm with plastic golf balls, paint balls and assorted flotsam…same results as the bb guns from greater distances with many golf balls going airborne when hit and launching over the berm…pretty much everyone demonstrated the ability to take targets repeatedly as they rolled down the berm or skipped across its face…the line was on fire…
incrementally the line was moved back until we were shooting sightless from a pretty good distance…the same golf balls were getting tossed around on the berm pretty regularly…as a rule even a miss would usually be close enough to be spitting dirt on the intended target….and at that distance hitting those small targets were pretty impressive using the quick kill skills…there was no time spent looking for sight pictures…once your index was established repeatable accuracy was excellent…
then it had to happen….wall of bullets drills with .22 rifles…load up the 30 rounders and lets play….the teams had some fun demonstrating some great accuracy while moving and as targets spit across the berm they were tracked and continuously hit…yahoooooo…
we also ran drills moving laterally along the berm acquiring and shooting targets as we approached them…running both directions showed the accuracy was available regardless of how the targets were approached….
Back to shotguns and some defensive drills….taking multiple separated targets quickly with defensive shotguns…everyone was taking targets down quickly and with excellent accuracy….
Enter a threatening cloud cover and some intermittent light sprinkles with a range covered with tiny .22 brass….a quick cleanup of the brass and the trash we had been shooting on the berm and it was time to call it a day…reluctantly…although I think some were experiencing a bit of shotgun shoulder and weren’t too unhappy about having to put that guy up for the night…I have a rather large red tender area on mine but I think the adrenaline that comes with owning the skills that brownie shares with us takes the sting out of it pretty effectively…
Standouts…
the beacher smile…that almost childlike grin that crosses his face when he gets something and it just seems to last the whole weekend…he was on fire on the clays and even took some using the pistol grip with no shoulder stock…impressive stuff…
teter and his dad…a formidable team who once dialed in on the clays were running them regularly and making it look easier than it could possibly be…
an unstoppable amount of enthusiasm was demonstrated by all and it was great to see everyone again….
Saved for last is my genuine and overwhelming gratitude to brownie for sharing these skills with us, helping us find and apply natural ability weve always had and changing the way we think about how firearms work and what we are capable of doing with them along with his devotion to making sure everyone present gets his full attention and walks away understanding everything he presents…above all however, I have to mention what a pleasure it is to have him as a friend and mentor which goes well beyond firearms training…
Here's another from that class:
Can't add much to what others have written; except to say that, as always, Brownie exceeded my expectations. This is the third class I've taken with him, and the third time I've come away with some new skills. You will not be disappointed if you train with him.
I was amazed how easy it was to knock clays out of the air without looking at the sights. I didn't believe I'd be able to cut a blade of grass with the BB gun either, but actually did. I think Brownie's grin was wider than mine when he saw me do it.
I don't believe there's any other way to run a shottie but instinctively. The students prove the trainings worth when they step up and hit clays thrown in the air within minutes of hearing the "how to" of it all with a little coaching. If one can hit a moving 3" clay at 30 yrds instinctively, one can use a shottie for about anything that needs being shot.
This excerpt as well from another student:
The brains ability to center a 1" tube on an object just .177 in diameter from 7-10 feet without consciously trying to do so is quite revealing isn't it? Every one of the students this weekend could do it automatically as everyone discovered. Just trust it, and use it. It's there for the taking.
Though that was using a bbgun, the same skills apply with the shottie, and the shottie will deliver a "pattern" of shot that can't miss when the skills are use defensively. In my own training world, we used Benellis at HK for swat entry one day. Making head shots on perps at room distances using the quick kill skill [ I used that method as i already owned it ] was eye opening on the patterns produced inside a room. The rule of thumb was 1" pattern for every 3 feet of distance. Putting the shottie in the same category as a rifle inside the house for the most part. It needs to be aimed, but should be used with an instinctive skills set.
The take away from the aar's would suggest there's no other faster way to get rounds on threat than threat focused skills, that's all that's needed to be accurate and fast on threat. Takes minutes to learn the "how to" with the right guidance.