Journal capoccia's Journal: Tueller Drill 6
One would think that a gun beats a knife every time. With superior weaponry, the fight should be easily won. But Dennis Tueller showed that it was not that simple.
Dennis Tueller was a sergeant in the police department of Salt Lake City, Utah. A common test of handgun skill was to start with one's hands at shoulder level with a holstered gun and place two shots on a target 7 yards away within 1.5 seconds. Typically, those trained with handguns can complete the drill in 1.3-1.4 seconds, although some have managed the task in less than one second.
Sgt. Tueller wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife could cover those same 21 feet. So he measured as volunteers raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds. These results were first published as an article in S.W.A.T. Magazine in 1983 and in a police training video by the same title, How Close is Too Close?
A "good guy" with a gun has a dilemma. If he shoots too early, he risks being charged with murder. If he waits until the attacker is definitely within striking range so there is no question about motives, he risks injury and even death. The Tueller experiments quantified a "danger zone" where an attacker presented a clear threat.
The Tueller Drill combines both parts of the original experiments by Sgt. Tueller. There are several ways it can be conducted (See also Dan Young's Handgun Drills, Standards, and Training Page).
- The "attacker" and shooter are positioned back-to-back. At the signal, the "attacker" sprints away from the shooter, and the shooter unholsters his gun and shoots at the target 21 feet in front of him. The "attacker" stops as soon as the shot is fired. The shooter is successful only if his shot is good and if the runner did not cover 21 feet.
- A more stressful arrangement is to have the "attacker" begin 21 feet behind the shooter and run towards the shooter. The shooter is successful only if he was able take a good shot before he is tapped on the back by the "attacker".
- If the "shooter" is armed with only an ASP Red Gun, a full-contact drill may be done with the "attacker" running towards the "shooter". In this variation, the "shooter" should practice side-stepping the attacker while he is drawing the gun.
This article is taken from Tueller Drill, my first entry at Wikipedia, the free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
right-o (Score:2)
A nice shot to center mass doesn't mean the assailant is done right away. Especially if in the time to shoot they are now just a few feet away and following through with some type of swing. Say with an axe or pipe or something.
I saw a good write up on a guy who was jumped in a parking lot by some gang members. One of the gang members he shot walked across the street and into
Re:right-o (Score:2)
Especially if they are on drugs, or just out of their minds.
Some people can be shot and, maybe because they watched too much TV or something, the first hit takes them out of the fight because they THINK it should. They think one shot = death. That is, of course, not necessarily the case.
Gabriel Suarez recommended that if two shots to the torso don't stop the attack, go for the head. He says "studies have shown" that after two bulle
Re:right-o (Score:2)
Wikipedia (Score:2)
Make the first sentence the definition. "A Tueller Drill is an demonstation developed by Dennis Tueller showing yadda yadda yadda."
The way you started it would be appropriate for a magazine article, but not an encylopedia article, IMHO.
But great job. It was a pleasure to read, which is the most important point.
Re:Wikipedia (Score:2)
It seems rather difficult to write an accurate single-sentence definition of the drill.
For example, the two problems with your suggestion are that:
Re:Wikipedia (Score:2)
True. I was just pointing out a 'rule of thumb' which is a good thing to keep in mind. Like all rules of thumb, there are exceptions and acceptable deviations.
I just clicked around on the Wikipedia main page, and all the articles I looked at followed that style.
For example, the two problems with your suggestion are that:
Yeah, I kind of fired off that example pretty clearly, not for content so much as demonstratio