You need to learn to fight at arm’s length. If you are training for self-defense, don’t spend a lot of time on long-range pistol shooting. You will most likely NOT be engaging in a gunfight from 25 yards away. Gunfights are close. They are fast and they are violent. You need to protect yourself, get to your gun and put rounds on target quickly — all while under intense stress and at very close range.
The first thing you need to remember is to not shoot yourself. At close range, you might want to try to push the attacker away. Resist that urge. Pushing the attacker away can put your hand into your line of fire. If you shoot yourself, you have much less chance of winning the fight. Drive your elbow up to help protect your head. Move slightly to the attacking side, draw and fire directly at the belt buckle.
At that point, you will have the chance to step back, assess the situation and decide if further deadly force must be used. Remember, when the threat stops, you MUST stop using force. So you need to quickly assess the situation after that initial encounter. If you need to continue using force, by all means, do so. But if the attacker is out of the fight, stop using force, move to cover and call the police.
The Shooting Is the Easy Part…
We used UTM rounds for this demonstration, but you can practice this as a dry-fire drill by using a SIRT pistol or other training guns. The key is to work on the movement and the access of your firearm. The shooting is the easy part.
Sources:
UTM: UTMWorldWide.com
SIRT: NextLevelTraining.com
