If you look at any video of a competition shooter, you will find them looking at their guns the entire time they are manipulating them. On the other hand, if you see a salty soldier in the middle of a fight, you may notice that they do not stare at their guns while reloading or manipulating their guns, unless operating a complex set of levers in a safe area behind sufficient cover. This is because you learn in your combat training and experience that security is the priority 24/7 and for 360 degrees, no matter where you are fighting. Situational awareness is a subject I have discussed in detail in the past, and this definitely fits snugly in that subject. If we relinquish focus on security and observation of our threats in order to perform an action that should require no visual assistance, we are tearing down our security. I always found that my threat is alot more important to observe than watching myself successfully reload or correct malfunctions.
To add on to my point, why would you get in the habit of staring at your gun in the first place. It is not the object of concern if you need to do a quick reload. If you have ever fought in the dark on a night operation, you will remember that you have to use your feelers and natural hand coordination from thousands of practice hours, to perform all corrective actions and reloads. Now I do understand that some people believe that they will be so fast to reload that they won’t miss anything of importance, but unless you are only a competition shooter, you will find that in a fight where you are shooting and moving, you have little freedom to stare at things aside from the immediate threat to your life.
When I say stare, I literally mean people pointing their heads down at their guns. When I say stare at your target, i don’t mean to stand static and get shot. I mean to move, and observe your surroundings and keep thinking, stay aware of your situation and surroundings. Gun fights are not romantic and are not one way streets to good healthy living. It is rough, brutal, and demanding of your full concentration of violence in order to win. This is why setting your combat training to act instinctively is important. This is why not staring at your gun is a bad idea in training. It sets you up to fail when the time comes, instead of setting you on the path to succeeding and surviving in a fight.
https://youtu.be/8QuILVDQono
David served in the USMC for a few years. Deployed twice and got wounded. Retired and moved to Alaska. Has a passion for reviewing and testing guns and gear of all kinds. Enjoys working to dispel myths and show that you can train and practice in a realistic, safe, and practical way.
