How Much Time Can You Afford?
As pointed out in this excellent article by Gila Hayes, the average trained police officer can draw and fire in about a second and a half.
That does not mean drawing from concealment. And it most certainly does
not provide for racking the slide to chamber a round in a semiautomatic pistol.
So, what if you do have to draw and fire from concealment in a real defensive situation? How much time would you likely have? Would that second and a half suffice?
Never mind that the likelihood of ever having to do so is remote or less. Anyone who knows the first thing about risk management will realize that that is not a relevant consideration. One must consider the
conditional probability--and should the need present itself, that likelihood is then
unity--100%.
Back to the question: how much time can you afford to take?
Consider first what you have to do.
- You have to recognize the need to draw. You aren't psyched for drawing against a clock. There won't be a buzzer. You are not standing still awaiting a signal to fire at a target that you just happen to be facing. No. You have to first become aware that someone somewhere very close presents an imminent threat that can only be addressed by the immediate use of deadly force.
- You have to draw and make ready. For most of us that will require moving a jacket, vest, or shirt tail, and that probalby means that it will more than a second and a half from the time you have recognized the immediate need to the time you have fired you first shot.
- You have to shoot, from a position that creates the least danger to bystanders, as many times as you have to, unless the presentation of your firearm has ended the situation by itself.
- Your hits have to stop that moving target, one way or another. That will not happen immediately.
That all has to happen before the assailant has harmed you. If he has a blade, that means before he has closed to within arms reach.
Now, we have all heard about that so-called "21 foot rule". That derives from the fact that an average person can start from a standstill and cover 21 feet in that average second-and-a-half draw time. A lot of people actually go to the range and practice shooting at torso targets at a distance of 21 feet.
Think about it--chances are that, you will be engaging your target at a much closer distance than that. And
if you are lucky, it will not be too late.
There are plenty of videos on the web that show people practicing the Tueller Drill, reaching for their firearms at the moment that persons whom they are waiting for start moving at them from 21 feet. You will notice that few of them can draw and fire, and that does not even begin to allow for the time it takes to stop an assailant, or to take into account the need to stop the attacker before he can reach you with a blade.
What that means is sobering--it means that that second and a half is woefully short, and it means that adding the time it would take to chamber a round would compound the danger to the defender. It means that the defender should start moving immediately, if possible. And it means that that separate step needed to deactivate the safety switch on some kinds of firearms could make the all important difference between success and failure.
One more time, people should avail themselves of some relevant training.
In the mean time, I strongly recommend that everyone read this: