If I want to “point shoot,” it is a mistake, for me, to “index my elbow against my torso for a more repeatable shooting position.” Well, actually, at two yards’ distance, I used to fire the first stage of my annual pistol qual, with my elbow against my torso, because that was exactly what I was required to do, by PD policy. Some time, in the past, that was how the PD had interpreted point/hip shooting. The problem, here, was that it only worked well for windage. (Left and right orientation.) Control of elevation was poor. This technique also required that the shooter stand with the feet placed just so.
Notably, during those quals, at the two yard line, I tended to string my shots vertically. The first was usually high, the second was usually low, and the third tended to be about where I wanted, in the ten-ring. There was a cure for that vertical stringing, but it required extended my arm farther forward, with my elbow not in contact with my torso, as described below.
The late, great Bill Jordan, in his book, _No Second Place Winner_, described a better way to point-shoot, and it had nothing to do with indexing against the hip, or placing the elbow against the torso. Bill Jordan wrote words to the effect that the shooter extends the arms farther than either of those methods, until a tightening of shoulder muscles was perceived. I cannot provide an exact quote, as most of my books that survived a flood, 5+ years ago, are in storage. My take, on what Bill Jordan wrote, is what I developed into a reasonably effective point-shooting technique, which is optimized by using a revolver with four or more inches of barrel, or a full-sized, 5”, all-steel, Government Model-sized 1911 pistol. In addition to the shoulder muscles being somewhat tightened, it is better if my bicep is tightened against the pec.
To qual, for the record, I could not use Bill Jordan’s point-shooting technique, because “hip-shooting” was what was required at the two-yard stage.
Later, in 2005, during Shivwork’s Extreme Close Quarters Concepts class, ECQC, I learned to index the flagged thumb against the pec muscle, to fire high into a standing opponent’s torso. This position was much more effective for retaining one’s weapon, than hip-shooting, or the Bill Jordan technique. This is something that I would ONLY use when necessary, to keep a pistols out fo the physical reach of an opponent. If an opponent is farther away, the weapon is extended, accordingly.
Which one handgun “point shoots” the best, for me? Well, an SAA-pattern Single Action, a Ruger GP100, assuming original-pattern factory grips, are about tied. An S&W revolver can be about as good, with aftermarket or custom grips. The barrel needs to be 4” or longer, for best results, and not thin-walled; the balance needs to be a bit out there, toward the muzzle.