All Posts by Marcos Avellan

VIDEO: Vicious Stabbing vs Guns (21 Foot Rule)

WARNING!  *Graphic Violence*  This video shows the devastation that one man with a knife was able to do versus a squad of police officers armed with guns.  This is a tragic case which resulted in a fatality… source article in Spanish here: http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2006/02/16/nacionales/975369-asesinan-a-jefe-policial-en-juigalpa
A lot of mistakes were made by the officers – but the main “take home” from this video is to respect the 21 foot rule and see how easily the tables can be turned on someone with a gun by a person with a blade.  

The “21 Foot Rule” is a rule of thumb that says that if someone is within 21 feet of you with a knife, if you have your firearm holstered, they are likely able to stab you before you are able to draw and stop them with shots.  

Have you tried the Tueller Drill?  To find out how close someone has to be to stab you or tackle you before you’re able to draw your pistol, simply do this: Face a paper target with your pistol in its holster (use the actual holster you use for concealed carry) and have a partner right next to you but facing the opposite direction.  Your partner will give a signal and start sprinting as fast as they can (so they will be running away from you behind you – obviously NOT in front of you and in the field of fire) and you will draw and fire at the paper target.  When the sprinter hears the gun shot, they will immediately stop.  Then the shooter will reholster their firearm, turn around, and see the distance created… that is the distance the sprinter would have been able to cover before the gun shot if they were charging you…  

A variation is for the sprinter to carry an object, such as an empty magazine, and for the shooter to fire two shots, and for the sprinter to drop the object when they hear the first shot and then to stop when they hear the second shot – so you can see the amount of distance they were able to continue covering between your first and second shots.  

Obviously, for these shots to count – they need to be hitting the target.  

This is something we practice with our Shooting Club, we even have a mechanized charging target that will sprint at you from 21 feet away so you can practice drawing a firing a charging torso.  If you’d like to learn more and train with us, text or call me at 305-551-0100.
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