Typical Range Training normally includes shooting specific courses of fire…
We’ve all heard these stereo typed quotes spewed as facts when it comes to defensive shooting scenarios!
Shoot 2 hits center mass to the body that will neutralizes the target…
It takes 3 hits to the body to neutralizes the target…
I’ll shoot 2 to the body and 1 to the head they won’t get up after that…
But how much does that mesh with real life?
The terrorist mass stabbing in St. Cloud Minnesota in 2016 is a prime example of the fact that specific courses of fire, like I listed above, don’t always cut it. And just because an attacker has sustained a fatal injury (eventually) doesn’t necessarily mean that they stop being a threat immediately. So, today, we’re going to talk a little bit about what happened in Minnesota and we’re going to talk about specific changes you can make with your training to be more prepared for real life violence.
Terrorist Stabbing Shows Reality vs. Paper Training
The relative ineffectiveness of defensive handgun rounds at stopping threats means that “stopping power” and “one shot stops” aren’t impossible, but incredibly unlikely with a determined attacker. As an example, take a look at the mass stabbing in September of 2016 by the radicalized Somali refugee at the St. Cloud mall in St. Cloud Minnesota. He was stopped by Jason Falconer who was carrying concealed at the time. The press overstated Falconer’s status as an “off-duty police officer” because it sounds better than implying that non-law enforcement person could ever be good with a gun. Falconer is a volunteer reserve officer for the town of Aden, MN – population 1,396, so he’s hardly what you would typically think of as “off-duty” when he was at the mall. His reserve status allowed him to legally carry in the mall, which was a “gun free” zone, thank goodness. His training, proficiency, and expertise were a result of his personal commitment to firearms training, not official training from his department. His personal training went way beyond what typical volunteer law enforcement personnel receive. But, if the media calls him an “off-duty police officer” it allows them to ignore the question about how absurd and dangerous it is to declare malls, schools, theaters ETC, as gun free zones and keep legally licensed concealed carry holders from carrying and being able to stop madness like this.
Back to the shooting – after stabbing 10 people, the terrorist ran headlong into Falconer. Falconer told him at gunpoint to get on the ground. He did initially, but then got up and rushed towards Falconer. Falconer shot him and he dropped to the ground, got back up, advanced again and again and again. We’ll know the whole story soon, but Falconer hit the terrorist with at least 6 rounds, good solid hits with a proven round, but the terrorist was still able to keep getting up and advancing toward Falconer (3 separate times) and finally crawled towards him, knife still in his hand. Falconer had to shoot the terrorist who kept advancing toward him, Falconer backed away, keeping distance from the terrorist. Falconer even fell to the ground while backing up but was still able to get shots off while on the ground, while getting up, and while turning corners. At one point, Falconer maneuvered so that clothes racks were between him and the terrorist. He did an incredible job and his commitment to personal training is evident. Does that sound like anything you can train for on paper at your local range? So what’s the takeaway here?
First, if you always shoot a prescribed course of fire on a target without training yourself to assess whether or not the rounds were effective, how will you magically create the habit/ability of visually assessing in a self-defense situation? In short, it’s very difficult with paper targets. Paper targets are vital for developing fundamentals of marksmanship, but defending yourself with a gun also requires that you execute those fundamentals while assessing the effects of your shots that you fired. Shooting too few rounds to stop the threat, and you endanger yourself physically. Shooting beyond when the threat has been stopped and you endanger yourself legally.
Second, make sure that you’re not developing linear range training when you’re practicing. When you’ve got your gun out in front of you after shooting a bad guy, don’t be in too big of a hurry to bring it back to a high or low ready position. (If you don’t understand these two terms you need training.) You’ve got all day to bring it back after you make sure that the threat has been eliminated, but if the bad guy gets back in the fight, you’ll be able to respond faster if your gun is already out in front of you. You want to make certain that everything that you’re doing when you’re shooting has a defined purpose. Sometimes it’s fundamentals, sometimes it’s reality based, sometimes it’s focusing on individual components of your technique. No matter what, it should be purposeful. A lot of this practical training is hard to do down at your local range. There are safety considerations when you’re learning to shoot and move and there are safety considerations with the guy in the next bay wanting to try the same stuff you are. As a result, most ranges don’t allow much in the way of realistic training. That’s why it’s so vital to train as realistically as possible. My recommendation and preference is that you use an inert training platform, like laser training or dryfiring practice. These types of pistol training curriculum will let you get away from the limitations of square range training and get you prepared for a real-world 360-degree gunfight. These are things that you want to master NOW – not things you want to try to figure out on the fly when your life’s on the line.
If you’ve not already started your personal training, consider learning the basic fundamentals and then I can teach you how to protect yourself, and you family.
Wayne
ACT Personal Defense, LLC