So, why would "you dogfighters" go on a HO cource at all if you never pull your trigger in such situation?
HO cources are easy to avoid, taking a HO cource is 99,9% times intentional.
If/when I decide to take the HO cource, I surely also let some shots fly at the enemy before I dodge him.
I suppose "you dogfighters" can hardly ever engage bombers, because their guns are often facing your way
The shortest distance between two points... merging... after a rope... and all the times when your maneuver crosses your nose over the enemy plane. Just because your pipper is pointed towards the target doesn't mean you have a high percentage of hitting and it certainly doesn't mean you have a high percentage of avoiding being hit if you're not behind the 3/9 line.
The point being made is there are plenty of pilots out there that only care about having a target in their sights (point & shoot) without regard to the situation it leaves them in, such as running into another plane, stalling out or out of position for dealing with the next maneuver. It's usually plainly obvious to experienced pilots when a target is intent of merely pointing their nose and shooting. Your orientation at that point is largely irrelevant to the prevailing attitude of your enemy. Their mind is set on shooting at whatever you provide them not having a dogfight. This can be reinforced as in SkyRock's scenario after the merge where the enemy will maneuver again for ill-advised or dangerous shots leading to collisions/stalls etc.
Simply maneuvering for better shots does several things:
1) Leads to a better fight
2) Gives a higher percentage of getting hits
3) Saves ammo
4) Increases survivability
5) ACM education
I don't doubt that people get kills in the above manner, but rarely have I seen anyone actually use it to great effect beyond a 50/50 chance of win/lose.
(Mossie is exempt from this too, if I'm in the mossie I will shoot you from 1K+ at any orientation, those guns are evil
)