Quick Kill.

This is coolbert:

Here is a training technique as instituted by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

Quick Kill. A method of point shooting designed to be used by those wielding the M-16 rifle as carried by the infantryman of the Vietnam era.

"Point Shooting is a method of shooting a firearm that relies on a shooter's instinctive reactions and kinematics to quickly engage close targets. Point Shooting does not rely on sights . . . the shooter focuses on the target."

[emphasis here upon CLOSE TARGETS!!]

A technique and training method instituted in response to the close-quarters, jungle warfare fire fight type of engagement as fought between American and Viet Cong/North Vietnamese [VC/NVA] soldiers. Gun battles fought at a range of twenty [20] meters or less were the rule and not the exception in Vietnam.

American infantrymen, taught rifle marksmanship in the classical style, Breath-Relax-Aim-Sight-Squeeze [BRASS], were ill-prepared for the type of combat as found in the jungles of South Vietnam? Carefully aimed and sighted shots were the exception. State-side training did not suffice for the type of instantaneous and instinctive reaction required to kill the enemy [VC/NVA]?

Surprisingly to many, Quick Kill was taught using a sightless, Daisy BB gun. An air rifle. Proficiency first obtained at hitting targets with the BB gun, only later graduating to the M-16!

"Another method of point shooting, developed by 'Lucky' McDaniels [a trick shot artist] and taught by the US Army beginning in 1967, was the 'Quick Kill' method. It was taught using an air rifle . . . a special Daisy BB gun that had no sights . . . The students began by firing at 3.5" diameter metal disks thrown in the air slightly in front of the student and 2-4 meters above the student's head. After an 80% hit rate is attained firing at 3.5" disks, the student is then presented with 2.5" diameter disks. Once proficiency is attained with the aerial targets, it shows the student has mastered the fundamentals, and training moves on to stationary targets on the ground, first with the BB gun and then with a service rifle [M-16]"

Quick Kill was used by soldiers in Vietnam when engaging suddenly appearing targets at a range of twenty [20] meters or less? I am attempting to confirm or deny with someone who should know.

Is this method still taught? I would suspect not. Modern battles such as fought in Iraq seldom require an instinctive and immediate reaction with the rifle AT CLOSE RANGE??!!

The intuitive reaction is that this is chickenshit!!?? The response from a marksman trained in the classical manner [BRASS] would be that if you can hit a target at three hundred [300] meters with the M-16, surely you can hit a target at twenty meters or less just as easily [quite more so]? I guess reaction time and instantaneous response are much more critical during a close-range fire fight than careful sighting, breath control, etc.?

coolbert.