"Don't try to close the distance..."
This is a really loaded line with very much to consider.
It has become an everday and thoughless adage in the gun training world to proclaim...get distance. Get and make distance. But really, there is a breaking point in distance between you and shooter where that always "getting distance" idea is an invitation to a bullet. Sims shooting brings this out.
The military deals with rifles and distance. It is often a unique battelfield when compared to most common police and civilian shooting incidents.
If you are really close with the opponent to start with, as with some 40 to 60 per cent of annual police/civilian gun shootings, the only hope you have is to charge in. You either charge, control the his shooting arm and beat the snot out of him; or charge, control the shooting arm and draw and shoot. AND then you must then RIDE THE GUN DOWN so he will not shoot you on the way down. This entire episode is a one-handed shoot. If you are brain-washed to always shoot with two hands, or ALWAYS back away for distance... this is a muscle memory problem.
You select the pistol grip. The pistol grip does not select you. You select to charge or flee.
If you already are distant from the shooter, then you must make more distance toward cover, then without cover, even concealment. Sure, but this rule should not enter into the statistaclly more common extreme police-civilian CQC situations.
Through the years now, getting to be decade, I have experimented with this idea, with simulated ammo, and with some of the top competition shooters, police officers, soildiers, SWAT. I would venture to say 1,000s of them who come to me seminars. I do this through the "Rambo Drills" format. The distance makers, stand close, draw and both back away to "create distance." There is am almost 100% death rate between both parties when they do this. Experts and novices alike! Gun gods! They usually move straight back (still in the easy line if fire) and die like dogs, too. It reminds me of the old sniper line- "go ahead and run. You'll just die tired."
With just a few charging tricks/tactics and maybe two hours of training, one of the parties charges in, with fighting or with fighting and shooting. The survival rate goes up to 70 or even 100 percent. Going in, not going back.
Now if you are NOT close enough to charge in? You are two things. One, you are not in the common civilian/police shooting distance percentages and two-you must make distance and find cover.
Simulated ammo shooting has brought these realities to the forefront. As you can study the steps happening right before your eyes.
It is odd that I was taught these things by vet cops from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Back in a day when the proliferation of information was slow and stunted and travel for these experts was more difficult. Limited to book publishing, I guess. Today we are monopliized by a younger, innocent paper-target, range mentality, a foundation upon which future construction is often shakey. Shakey foundation and then shakey dictums. Dicums like, "always get distance!"
Paper target shooting is supposed to only accessorize gun fight training, not monopolize it. Not twist it off into dangerous directions.
God Bless simulated ammo training. God bless it! We can take back this ground- this vague, paper training ground and produce more succinct and realistic methods.
"One hour training? 15 minutes on the range with live fire. 45 minutes shooting live, thinking people who are shooting back."
Hock
(Hey, much of this is demonstrated and explained in Gun Level
