1927, 1929, and 1941. Several US patents have drawings showing the method used with firearms: US Patent # 694969 issued Mar. 11, 1902, US Patent # 896099 issued Aug. 18, 1908, US Patent # 2270707 issued Jan. 20, 1942, US Patent # 5166459 issued Nov. 1992. Early 20th century shooting experts such as William E. Fairbairn and Rex Applegate advocated point shooting, while many experts later in the century advocated the use of sights. Later sight-reliant methods include Jeff Cooper's modern technique method which became popular after World War II. The modern technique is also known as "sight-reliant shooting" or "sight shooting". The issue of using sight-reliant shooting, which relies on the use of the sights for aiming in close quarters combat situations, versus point shooting, which does not rely on the sights for aiming in close quarters combat situations, has been debated since as early as 1835. Basis for the use of aimed point shooting The one thing that point shooting methods have in common is that they do not rely on the sights, and they strive to increase the shooter's ability to hit targets at short range under the less-than-ideal conditions expected in close quarters, life-threatening situations, self-defense, and combat situations. Aimed point shooting employs humans' innate ability to point accurately at targets in such a way that the shooter can use that ability to hit targets with a firearm. The following is from Chap. 2, Sect. II, US Army Field Manual 23-25, Combat Training With Pistols & Revolvers: When a soldier points, he instinctively points at the feature on the object on which his eyes are focused. An impulse from the brain causes the arm and hand to stop when the finger reaches the proper position. When the eyes are shifted to a new object or feature, the finger, hand, and arm also shift to this point. It is this inherent trait that can be used by the soldier to rapidly and accurately engage targets. Walter J. Dorfner SSgt VSP, the Vice Chair of the Use of Force Committee of the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford, Vermont, wrote a paper that details his experimentation with using that method of aiming and shooting. He also was the lead firearms instructor for the VSP. In military doctrine Point shooting is often included in military tactical training, alongside other topics such as combatives