There are three main positions a shooter should know to make functional use of the carbine. These positions are: standing, kneeling, and prone. While these three positions have been useful for resolving interpersonal conflicts through ballistic means for quite a while; modern conflicts have shown that some times variations on these three positions are needed to maximize the shooter’s ability to end a shooting engagement in the quickest manner possible while reducing the probability of getting injured.
When we start moving into these alternate positions (SBU prone, rollover prone, using a fence for support) the shooter stand a chance of losing the dot/reticle of the optic he is using. Once this is lost, the shooter will often have a sudden since in panic and start moving the gun and/or his head around in order to reacquire the reticle. If you’ve found this happening to you, simply think “pinch the dot” and everything will work out for you.
So what do I mean by “pinch the dot”? Back in the 1990’s, there was a comedy program called “Kids in the Hall” that was broadcast on HBO. On the more popular skits involved a guy that would stand at a distance and use his fingers to act like he was crushing people’s heads. While doing this he would always say “I’m crushing your head.” The skit generally looked like this:
To “pinch the dot” simply bring your support hand back to the body of the optic and pinch it with your thumb and index finger. Since your mind always knows where your hands are (in addition to other body parts), your brain will automatically place your eye in the center of the object you are pinching; in this case the optic. With your eye looking at the middle of the optic, the reticle should appear and you will only have to move the gun confirm dot placement on the target. Here is what it looks like in use:
It is an extremely easy concept to grasp and I’ve yet to see someone not be able to use it when needed. Just remember, if you can’t see the dot “I’m crushing your head” and boom!!!!! it’ll appear like something from a Criss Angel show. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you.
Until next time