VIDEO HERE (11:02 minutes)
Monday, April 08, 2024
Why Was Hip Shooting Ever a Thing?
For a span of about 40-50 years in the middle of the last century, the majority of people who carried a gun for a living were taught to fire it from hip level at 10 yards or less. Shooters before and after this generation knew that hip shooting had an enormous accuracy penalty with no benefit to speed. Today, we're looking at how one FBI gunfighter convinced the whole country that hip shooting was the next best thing.
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I knew Jelly Bryce, he was a friend of my father's and when he came out to do a demonstration at a 4-H camp that I was attending I started talking to him and became his 12 year old assistant for the next two hours. He gave a lot of safety lectures and then he was fantastic with his pistol shooting fifty cent size washers out of the air, he put masking tape over the holes and shot through the holes. He wore a large diamond ring and used the reflection in the ring to shoot bulls eyes in targets 30 feet away.
ReplyDeleteHe used a shotgun, holding it sideways and when the shells ejected he shot them with the next shot and then for his finale he used a Thompson .45 with tracers and spelled out 4-H in the sky. I helped clean up and took a lot of brass home with me and years later I wished I had kept track of my 'used by Jelly Bryce' brass. He was a nice man and remained friends with my father the rest of their lives.
I don't buy that. My father shot from the hip and could hit a running skunk or rabbit at 15 yards consistently.
ReplyDeleteHe proved how accurate he was from the hip in army basic training (WWII) the first time at the firing range. Pissed of the Sargent who had just made fun of him by saying "Let's see if any of those hit the target". He had a nice group right in the center of the target. He was told do it the army way from now on.
I haven't had time to watch the video. Years ago when the agency I worked for carried revolvers we were taught the hip draw. It was for situations that were under 7 feet or Warrant service at the door, very close range stuff. It was definitely going to be a low belly or groin hit.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago I took a class at my LGS, it had one of those simulators where you shoot a gun with a laser at a screen, and various scenarios are presented to you.
ReplyDeleteIt didn’t occur to me later that I never used my sights. I did pretty good too.
I shot a lot from the hip, over my head and probably other ways. From the hip I was pretty accurate. Close enough to make the son of a bitch shootin at me duck.
ReplyDeleteDont know so much about hip shooting per say but point shooting is a thing. I learned how and practice it still. Great skill to possess with pocket pistols.
ReplyDeleteOnly hits count. How you get them is on you.
ReplyDeletePoint shooting used to be commonly taught for close-range situations. Bill Jordan's book('No Second Place Winner') shows how he trained, which was up very close you kept the gun close to the body, and as distance increased you held it further out. If the distance was sufficient, always extend out so you can use the sights.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the number of times he came out of fights on his feet, I'd say he had something.
I was taught point shooting as a kid and got pretty good at it, much later in my life some trainer in a safety class said I was not supposed to do that......
DeleteJD
I cracked up! "Shooting from the hip"... been doing that as a teen almost ever night.....
ReplyDelete@Luis-Fap....
After 2,000 rnds through my Single six, I could point shoot like a mtfr. Hard to keep it tuned up, though I expect it would be natural eventually. Like throwing a baseball. How'd you aim that?
ReplyDelete