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Handgun or Pistol Quick Kill [ QK ] Shooting Technique ©

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#1 ·
Handgun or Pistol Quick Kill [ QK ] Shooting Technique © TM
By Robin Brown

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 2-4 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.

Brownie
 
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#68 ·
Indeed. My BB pistol is a Makarov replica with a front sight so tiny as to be nearly useless so I'll be using that as a starting point for learning this skill.

The older I get the more I appreciate two of Brownie's maxims ie you don't know what you don't know and the mind is the limiting factor. Definitely metaphors for life.
 
#67 ·
Hi Jeff, we're full presently, however I can add you to the list as an alternate should someone cancel. That possibility is quite good based on past courses. Let me know and keep you eye on the first page of the announcement page in that threat.

Just let me know, I'll add you to the list as 1st alternate.
 
#70 ·
Just spent 30 minutes with the BB pistol working on this and hip shot both strong and weak side. Targets were beer cans and liter coke bottles at about 10-12 feet.

The hip shot was a matter of working out how the gun points and keeping it oriented that way. When I did that I could hit the beer can consistently even fairly rapid fire. I've always wanted to be reasonably competent with any firearm put in my hands, but for the hip shot I can see why working with one gun wouldn't be the worst thing.

The QK was easier, but I found myself still using the sights for the first shot. Got to work on that. A big advantage of these techniques is keeping both eyes open seems easier/more instinctive which is a big deal for a cross eye dominant guy like me.
 
#71 ·
cmcc,

I'm also cross dominant. Shoot right, left dominant. Actually I'm ambi in most things but that's only due to double stick/double knife training which really ramped up the realm of ambi with handguns. Unless one sees two threats or two guns with both eyes open [ and there's ways to fix that ], when both eyes are open, the dominant eye takes over automatically.
 
#72 ·
I thought Tom Mix died in Florence Az. In the 1940's, but sounds to be well and kicking:grin
 
#75 ·
I was not making fun of anyone, I guess you would not understand because Tom Mix was before your time and I was trying to be funny. I said nothing about your shooting skills are the lack of and also find it odd that you and not the individual you claim I was making fun of said nothing. At one time I to was a pretty good shooter with both hands, but that was when I was on an Army pistol team in the 1960's and again in the 1970's. If you are lucky, as I have been, and live beyond 78 you would also find it very easy to decline a range outing with a much younger group of individuals.
 
#76 ·
Not to blow smoke up your butt, but with your history and experiences I would enjoy spending some time on the range with you and hearing what you have to say. Crotchety curmudgeon or not. [emoji2]
 
#79 ·
One of my range buddies turns 87 next month. :dunno
 
#80 ·
My Dad turns 87 January 1st, and we're leaving in his airboat in about an hour to fish our way up to the hunt camp.

This may be his last year for hunting, but I hope not!

I sure enjoy getting out with him, and seeing him run that airboat.
 
#85 ·
#90 · (Edited)
So, I went to my range, the Ocala Sportsman's Association, off of Maricamp Road in Candler this morning to shoot the bowling pin match. It was really hot and I was pretty fatigued after helping to set up, shooting the match and then helping to tear down, but despite being hot and tired, I stayed to try the Quick Kill technique on a few targets. Shooting at seven yards, my first shot was about an inch to the left of the bullseye, my second about an inch and a half to the right. It was downhill from there. My next 8-10 shots were low, off the paper. Then I got a few on the paper (8" paper plate). I ended up shooting around 200 shots using the technique as I understand it. I got a good number of hits on target, but have a pronounced tendency to shoot low, which I don't blame on the technique, but on myself. I'm definitely doing something odd and am in need of some coaching, and I need to try it again when I'm not so hot and tired, as I'm sure that contributed to my inaccuracy. I can see that if one gets proficient at it, shooting speed and accuracy could be quite good because there's no messing around with sight picture. I am looking forward to the class so I can get my technique ironed out. Thanks to brownie for posting on this technique.
-AD
 
#92 ·
Owb, iwb, at least 1000 rounds, 3+ magazines, mag holder, ears, eyes, sunscreen, appropriate clothing, prep for rain is always a good idea. Cooler with fluids, no Blackhawk serpa holsters still in affect I believe.
What did I forget?
 
#96 ·
For any new member who might be reading this- There is a class coming up in early November near New Smyrna Beach which will give you the chance to learn these techniques over one very intense weekend. If there is any way you can do so, I'd highly recommend that you sign up and take the course. It will forever change your perspective on defensive use of the pistol.
 
#98 ·
For any new member who might be reading this- There is a class coming up on December 15 at Okeechobee which will give you the chance to learn these techniques over one very intense day. If there is any way you can do so, I'd highly recommend that you sign up and take the course. It will forever change your perspective on defensive use of the pistol.Last time I checked, there were still 3 open spots. Look in the index for this sub-forum for more info. Exbluelight was the poster.
 
#99 ·
For any new member who might be reading this- There is a class coming up on December 15 at Okeechobee which will give you the chance to learn these techniques over one very intense day. If there is any way you can do so, I'd highly recommend that you sign up and take the course. It will forever change your perspective on defensive use of the pistol.Last time I checked, there were still 3 open spots. Look in the index for this sub-forum for more info. Exbluelight was the poster.
That’s for damn sure! :2thumsup
 
#103 ·
brownie: (over my shoulder) how's it going?...looks like youve got it...
me: this **** really works...
brownie: see that hole you just put in the target right above the 7?...put another one in the same hole...
me: you friggin nuts?...
brownie: just do it...
me: (raise gun and boom...siamesed the original hole)...holy ****...i did it...
brownie: i told you...youve got it...
:D
 
#104 ·
brownie: (over my shoulder) how's it going?...looks like youve got it...
me: this **** really works...
brownie: see that hole you just put in the target right above the 7?...put another one in the same hole...
me: you friggin nuts?...
brownie: just do it...
me: (raise gun and boom...siamesed the original hole)...holy ****...i did it...
brownie: i told you...youve got it...
:D
And that’s the way it goes.

You don’t know what you don’t know; until you do, and it IS an epiphany!

Then it becomes “they don’t know what they don’t know;” and often they’re the first to tell everyone they can that “you must use the sights to hit anything,” and refuse to believe anyone who knows better...
 
#105 ·
Same here. It was evident within about 15 min that I didn't know what I didn't know when he had me hitting BBs with BBs, cutting blades of grass, and then the rest of that first course over a long weekend went the same with rifles, pistols, and shotguns. However, what brownie showed me I could really do with a pistol was most enlightening. The second time through the course was even better. I'm eternally grateful for brownie showing me what I didn't know that I didn't know then and will now never forget! (y)
 
#106 · (Edited)
We had a long run with the Florida courses, one of the highlights of my world, to have passed the knowledge to so many others. Paying it forward in honor of Bobby Lamar McDaniel and WerBell III was something I'd have never dreamed possible. Just a conduit from mentors to others and it was only possible because students had an open mind and stepped up to the plate.

Thanks for the memories, Tom, what you recited will always be one of the highlights of the courses for me. That light bulb going off in you at that very moment was priceless.

I started this venture at 52, and there's a few around the country that have advanced most of the skills for about the same time, but we're all now getting older, and the number still holding court on the skills that CAN impart them properly has dwindled down to just a few. In the next couple of years, there may be no one advancing them to others. That will be history repeating itself, unfortunately.

To the students who've passed through my guidance, the best thing you could do is pass what you know to as many as are willing to listen. A few of us took up where the real mentors left off, now it's up to others to take it up where people like a few of us who trained with the masters have left off.
 
#107 ·
I still treasure the memories from the Rifle Quick Kill course. hitting BBs with freaking BBs was, well it was mindblowing after the fact. in the midst of the situation there was only time for the shocked face, followed up by shat eating grin followed up by hitting more BBs. and the piece de resistance...... Tears of the Sun maneuver. Good times sir!!!! Forever thankful for that weekend
 
#108 ·
68230
 
#114 ·
Brownie, you have no idea how much I enjoyed the handgun and H2H training. As many have said, it’s been eye opening and mind opening to say the least. I will always treasure the full-day one-on-one H2H training at your home in AZ. The extras you threw in like the mind blowing stories of your adventures, QK with the BB gun, disarms and seeing some of the goodies you own.

With that said, this thread is beginning to sound like a eulogy. I’m hopeful we will be able to train again soon. You still have much to teach and we still have much to learn.

Jose
 
#115 ·
Brownie, you have no idea how much I enjoyed the handgun and H2H training. As many have said, it’s been eye opening and mind opening to say the least. I will always treasure the full-day one-on-one H2H training at your home in AZ. The extras you threw in like the mind blowing stories of your adventures, QK with the BB gun, disarms and seeing some of the goodies you own.

With that said, this thread is beginning to sound like a eulogy. I’m hopeful we will be able to train again soon. You still have much to teach and we still have much to learn.

Jose
Jose, we had a great one on one training day here. It was my pleasure to have you here while you were in the area. I've tried to get enough interest in another H2h/blade course for the last couple of years. Seems my time has passed, along with a lot of knowledge passed to others along the way.

Stay sharp out there sir. Thanks for your thoughts
 
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