Most readers of this site regularly carry a firearm, both concealed and when they are on duty. We also practice regularly with our weapons to keep our skills sharp, but often times we don’t practice the necessary skills that will save our life in a real gunfight. This article is a tactical analysis of many common instances where we might be called to use our firearms. There are many commonalities in these situations and a few principles that will allow us to prevail in the fight.

Often times we get stuck in ruts in life, and it’s the same in our training. We go to the range, practice the few drills we like, hit a few reloads, and generally have some fun. We do this and we tell ourselves that we are now better prepared to handle a deadly force scenario, but are we? Does dumping some rounds from 7 yards away, from the ready position, really make it likely that I will win in a gunfight? Hint, hint it doesn’t. In fact, if we are really worried about self defense, shooting isn’t even the first thing we should be practicing. Check this video out.

No before we get started critiquing this video it should be said that I am not personally criticizing these folks. They are put in very tough situations and for the most part they handled them well, but we do owe it to ourselves to learn from their mistakes.

This video is a good example of using deescalation as much as possible. The assailant is clearly deranged and willing to fight anyone who happens to cross his path. This is the first lesson I want to highlight. Do not assume that because you are rational, your adversary will be as well.

This man knows the guy he is pushing has a gun. He is open carrying and when he goes back into the store he draws the weapon, keeping it at his side. This is probably the right choice when you are within touching distance with your adversary. Putting a gun in his face makes a very easy target to grab.

One critique of this shooting is that the defender really had no option other than to use his gun. Objectively, the assailant was pushing and pulling him, but he was not attempting to hurt him. If you do find yourself in this situation, there is nothing wrong with hitting him with your fists or any thing else that’s within reach. That being said, you might be better served to put your gun away to better defend yourself with two hands.

The biggest error in this video is when the man shoots, the clerk is directly behind the assailant. There’s probably a 50/50 chance that bullet will pass through a person. That could have ended very badly for the clerk and the defender, who ultimately was cleared in the shooting. It’s vital that you know your back drop and what is beyond it.

In the next video we will discus when to draw your weapon and when not to.

No the first part of the video is hard to watch, especially for those that wear a uniform everyday. When you are in contact distance with an assailant who has a drawn weapon you cannot go for your gun. You will be much better served attempting to disarm the assailant, if you have the skill and the practice, or running away.

The later half of the video shows the off duty cop performing amazingly. He plays it cool initially, raising his hands to show that he isn’t a threat. Once the bad guy’s attention is diverted, he is able to draw from the appendix and take him out. That shot is pretty damn hard given the immense stress and the cover provided by the hostage. He did a damn good job. Remember only draw when you have the advantage.

This video shows the good guy drawing when he has the advantage, but again, he does have an innocent directly behind his line of fire. Ideally he could have maneuvered to his right and engaged him using the middle ATM as his back drop.

This next video demonstrates a very good reaction to carjacking. This guy was successful because he paid attention to his surroundings and was not surprised by the attempted car jacking.

He kept his head on a swivel and gave the lead car jacker the last surprise of his life. He then turns and engages the others with him. Now I have to say you might be on shaky legal ground in the US. Here, you can only legally engage someone who’s a threat to you or others, and someone running away is probably not a threat. Just food for thought.

The last video of this article isn’t a good day for the bad guys or the good guy, but it does teach a valuable lesson.

His first mistake was standing and drawing his weapon in a dramatic motion. The human eye is most attracted to movement, so when you draw, attempt to disguise it as much as possible. He also get’s stuck in the corner when he is hit, but to his credit he keeps firing and makes the assailants pay. Now that we have seen all the videos lets discuss our key take away’s

First, all of these shooting were within lunging distance, approximately 4-7 feet away. This distance is going to be much more common for those that carry for personal defense. I believe that a lot of the drills you see in the shooting community originate from military tactics, where you are more likely to engage someone at a further stand off. This is not likely to be the case for us. This means that we must be able to draw our weapons, and manipulate them, in a dynamic situation.

The gun must be where we need it to be and we must be able to draw it with one hand. A lot of people are use a technique where they pull their shirt up with their off hand, then pull their gun from an inside the waist band holster. This will only work with stand off. If he can take a swing at you then you will need at least one hand up to defend yourself. Practice drawing with one hand only.

The second take away is learn some basics in self defense. In our first video we might have been able to prevent a shooting with a few swift strikes. Remember, if you are thinking of shooting someone you are probably justified to hit them.

The last take away is practice a surreptitious draw. Boxers call it telegraphing your moves, when you see a punch coming from a mile away. Do not telegraph your draw. If possible draw your weapon when the assailant is distracted or your body is bladed away from his line of sight. You can’t out race a drawn gun.

You’ll notice that these scenarios don’t much look like your normal range practice. Ideally you should practice these skills with dummy pistols and a buddy. You need a solid one handed draw, some basic self defense, and a surreptitious draw. You can practice these in a variety of scenarios without spending a dollar on ammo. Add these drills in with your usual range practice, because you never know when you might have to give someone the last surprise of their life.