# Natural Point of Aim



## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

Found this on the internet..... You decide...... It was mentioned in a review of the XD9 by Bryan Hyde...
Gun Review: Springfield XD-9 | The Truth About GunsThe Truth About Guns

A simple test to determine how well a pistol works with your natural point of aim: pick a spot on the wall and close your eyes. Aim the unloaded pistol at the spot. Open your eyes. If your sights line up to your chosen spot, a fair idea whether the ergonomics of the pistol are working with you, or against you.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Well, my understanding of "natural point of aim" was developed in the military, where it was primarily used to adjust your body's left/right alignment with an intended target of your long gun. Elevation was usually controlled by muscle power, or in a supported position (such as prone) by where your support hand grabbed the rifle (pull hand closer to your face, muzzle goes up; reverse to lower).

With a pistol (unlike a long gun), the firearm is only anchored to the body at one point, and there are several joints between the torso and the pistol; misalignment of any of these joints will affect where the pistol is pointing. I am of the opinion that there is really no such thing as a "natural" pistol grip angle or point-of-aim for anyone who has reached adulthood in a first- or second-world industrial society; we have ALL previously been exposed to items that have already built-in a preference for certain hand/wrist angles (hand tools like saws/drills, hair dryers, cycle grips, cap guns, even that suction-cup-dart-pistol you used as a kid). If it's a learned behavior, it can be changed, so really, a person can adapt to anything.

When I was a young pup, I agonized over installing a flat mainspring housing on my Colt 1911 pistols, as I thought it was going to radically change my grip, forcing me to dump all the efforts of my previous training into the trash. Little did I know that 15 years later, I'd willingly trash all that 1911 training time/effort to gain the advantages of Glock pistols' low bore axis and minimal muzzle rise. Now the 1911 initially feels a bit weird when I first pick one up, but after a few shots, I'm back in the ol' groove.

I still check my natural-point-of-aim (left/right) when I am intending to do any one-handed bullseye-style target shooting, as minimizing the amount of muscle strain to hold the pistol on target will usually improve my score. For defensive-type shooting? Not nearly as important IMO, as the circumstances (including time, or the severe lack of it) will almost certainly impact your response, and you'll be muscling the pistol's sights onto the target for a (hopefully) very short string of rapid fire.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I think that the referenced test is valid, and can help you choose a gun.
I think you could even do it by lining the gun's sights up at a blank wall with your eyes open, then closing your eyes for a count of 10, and then noting, when you reopen them, whether the sights are still lined up properly.

Bear in mind that you can learn to hold the gun differently, to keep the sights lined up with one-another, if you're stuck with only that gun, or of everything else about it fits you properly.


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## rex (Jan 27, 2012)

I agree with Steve but my method is different.Don't close your eyes,that's stupid.With the gun in hand (either still in a holster or low ready) pick a spot,any spot,and draw on it as you'd shoot.Your body will know where the gun should be pointing at it,does the gun agree?Don't aim at it with the sights,pull it up and hold focused hard on the spot,if you aren't doing a sight over look at your sights now,if you are in a slight sightover tip your head foward and down to see the sight picture.

I've shot 1911s the most in my life but have owned many others,but they point similar and quite a few I never owned do.I don't expect the gun to be dead on my "1911 intuition" but if it's an inch or so it's workable.


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