GUNS Magazine August 1957

Moving forward to 50 yard line, shooter sits, draws, fires 5. from knee rest and 5
from prone with fist rest. He then rolls behind' barricade, reloads and fires 5 each,
right handed and left handed, keeping his body behind barricade as if in combat.
business, are man-size and man-shape, not black bull's-eyes
on white paper. Proof of the successful application of this
type of training lies in the fact that the men who have had
it are respected wherever police use of firearms comes under
discussion. FBI agents, and police graduates of the FBI
police training courses, have set new standards of police
pistol marksmanship, with disastrous effect on crooks and
killers who have come against them.
The FBI course emphasizes rapid "point" shooting at
short, in-fighting range, plus deliberate, carefully aimed fire
at longer ranges. There is no emphasis on "quick draw" or
any of the leather-slapping dramatics of the Wild West.
~ihe, and not too muchof it,is a factor, but not to the point
where a split-second draw is essential. The shooting in the
first, rapid-fire, stage is from about waist level, without use
of sights. With a revolver, the gun is fired double action.
The long range shooting is done the way shooting should
be done when it is something other than a same~with careful
sighting, and with the shooter makinguse of every aid
to accuracy and to his own safety that is available to him.
He shoots from a rest if he can find or provide it, and makes
every shot count.
The combat shooter does not use the classical, feet-apart,
arm level position of the target shooter. That's fine for
scoring on a bull's-eye target, but it's hardly practical when
the target may be shooting back at you. Target shooters
who have spent lifetimes perfecting the conventional target
techniques are inclined to be somewhat patronizing when
they note that the gun arm is allowed to rest on the ground
or against a wall.
"Heck, how can you miss that way?" they say.
You'll be surprised! On their initial attempts, hot competition
shooters have been known to miss the silhouette
target completely, although it is enormously larger than an
ordinary target, On the other hand, some indifferent target
shooters are stimulated by the tricky course, and do very
well on it.
The worst hazard by far is the left-hand shooting. Give
yourself plenty of left-handed practice, in the privacy of
your basement or back yard, and save yourself some embarrassing
misses when you get on the firing line. Anybody
can do it; it's just a question of developing a few new
muscles and then letting your left hand learn what your
right hand knows.
This is the only kind of handgun or rifle shooting that
attracts a gallery the way golf matches do. It is something
on the style of an obstacle course, and that makes it interesting
and provocative. You can fully expect other club members
to make good-humored but uncomplimentary remarks
about your shooting ability as you hit the dirt instead of the
target, or when you drop your cartridges while reloading.
Laughs and occasional applause for a real G-man type performance
add to the enjoyment of the event.
While the course is timed for the center-fire revolvers
generally used by law enforcement officers, there's nothing
to prevent you from shooting it with any automatic.
The accompanying pictures showing how the course is
fired were posed by Valentine B. Cleaver, president of the
Gunners Club. And that 95 target at the end is no phony;
Val really knocked it off. It's mighty good shooting, as you
will see when you fire the course.
The total time allowed for the FBI course is six minutes
.'