Could you make this shot at 43 yards with your carry pistol?

I remember when this one happened. When I 1st heard it on the news, I thought they must be wrong about the distance. They were not.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/austin-cops-sure-shot-stopped-crazed-gunman

I think most people could learn to.

I could learn to hit a human-sized target at 50 yards with enough practice.

If I practiced a lot on targets that were 50 yards away and moving, I could probably learn to hit those, too.

It might take a very long time, like months or years, but we've all learned to do difficult things.

Personally, I have nowhere to practice firing handguns at that distance, so it seems doubtful that will ever become part of my skill set.

In those circumstances? Who knows? Probably not.

But I do occasionally shoot 9" plates at 50 with my pistols and can keep over half on the plate most of the time. So there's a chance I could at least be pretty close to the torso anyway

Trey Veston said:

Could you make that shot at 43 yards, with five tries, and with full adrenaline rushing?

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Five tries? Yep. Done it in one, head shot at 50 yards. But have actually trained for this; a brisk 50 or 100 yard dash to a barrel, draw holstered pistol or pick up loaded pistol from top of barrel and fire one shot, attempting either head or center mass.

Retired Puyallup (WA) PD Detective Scott Bramhall made an 80-yard shot back in 2015 to end a killer's rampage. With a 1911 Commander IIRC. Ayoob did a great profile in "The Ayoob Files" on the event, unfortunately it seems to have aged out of American Handgunner's website.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...016-officer-of-the-month-award-300333977.html

Yes. At practice sessions, pretty much always go to 50 at least, and when I can, do 100 yds. With the full size pistol can get body shots 100% of the time at 100. With the subcompact the same at 50. Both are more delay or more attempts to get headshots. I wouldn't try a hostage shot at that range!

BUT I can only achieve that performance because it's more or less what I demand of myself. My eyes have gone bad over time, so I was not doing too well at TEN yards, so finally shifted to RDS on both my carry guns. Now I can shoot as expected, and of my many guns those are the two I carry because of scrupulous reliability, and I shoot them well.

I am not that great a shot. Most anyone can do that, just takes some messing with your stuff to make it as good as it can be and a decent bit of practice. Also good to give confidence that you can do shorter range engagements without fuss. I always suggest trying to get good at 50 so that 25 seems like a snap and 3 or 10 is no big deal even when moving, dark, and raining.

ETA: Yes, it's harder under stress and maybe injury/shock of the accident, etc. That was assumed and is why you train that hard, that far, etc. Also, I do plenty of FOF stuff, and have resorted to a handgun when my rifle ran dry and with low-velocity training rounds hit someone on the move at 30+ yards once even then So all that is due to the officer in the OP, but most of us can do that with proper training/equipment was rather my point.

A big difference between doing this in training and doing it after your adrenaline is already ramped up due to the circumstances of multiple homicides, you are then violently rammed by the suspect, and he is also shooting at you.

Sistema1927 said:

A big difference between doing this in training and doing it after your adrenaline is already ramped up due to the circumstances of multiple homicides, you are then violently rammed by the suspect, and he is also shooting at you.

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Well, yeah.

But having accomplished it in training can go a long way in having the confidence to try the shot when the stakes are much higher.

I could not, under the same circumstances, have made that shot. Major props to the LEO!

Having not had an adrenaline rush, or be in a hostile situation, or be rushed I could absolutely make the shots. Jacked up, rushed, and under fire, not likely.

So many with little faith in themselves.

There was a time that 43 yards would be an easy shot for me, at least under calm conditions. I was shooting alot of IHMSA silhouette then.

Maybe not so easy with an adrenaline rush though.

I'm out of practice these days. I'd have no idea where to hold my pistol to make a reliable hit at that range.

Different people will react differently on an adrenaline rush. Some act like a lab rat on crack and others will be calm and collect.
I’ve been in several situations where the death was on the sideline to collect the loser. I’m one of those people that gets very calm when things go sideways. Could I make that shot with a handgun under the same conditions? I don’t know.

I have a remarkable russian Tokarev in 7.62x25. It is capable of ringing the 18" steel gong somewhat consistently from 100 yards standing, no rest, using milsurp Polish ammo. I am not any expert and others have shot it and can do same with some practice. I think its the high speed and barrel lenght that do it. Poor thing was a $99 special from Century arms and had the awful unsafe safety added (now gone). To make that shot with a slower, heavier bullet was amazing.

With my .38 snub probably not. With my S&W Shield maybe. With my FN 5.7 I might get one or two on target out of 20.

A hundred plus yards for this BA cop using his issued SW M&P .40
https://www.foxnews.com/us/austin-cops-sure-shot-stopped-crazed-gunman

Not second-guessing this officer's amazing feat at all, but isn't that what long guns are for? No patrol rifle, or maybe no time to access it?

Quite possibly, IF I was carrying a revolver-



A little embarrassing....I snuck up to what I thought was about 25 yds. for this shot. Turned out to be 44 long paces.



35W

GunnyUSMC said:

Different people will react differently on an adrenaline rush. Some act like a lab rat on crack and others will be calm and collect.
I’ve been in several situations where the death was on the sideline to collect the loser. I’m one of those people that gets very calm when things go sideways. Could I make that shot with a handgun under the same conditions? I don’t know.

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I've only had a few situations like that, all in traffic but some were certainly at least catastrophic injury on the line; one was dodging a moron who took the wrong highway ramp and DIDNT REALIZE HE WAS GOING THE WRONG WAY. Passenger started cussing me out for shifting lanes so suddenly until I pointed out we missed a Headon by just a little and he needed to call the Sheriff.

But in those situations I'm definatley a calm and detached reaction.

I suspect there was some divine intervention going on with that shot.

toivo said:

Not second-guessing this officer's amazing feat at all, but isn't that what long guns are for? No patrol rifle, or maybe no time to access it?

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Yup, the handgun is what you have. Heard from several and talked to a good friend who was in a shooting where the rifle 5 ft away sure would have made things easier but it was five feet away the situation is happening Right Now. Aside from the delay, where the incoming bullets ended up it would have been a very bad idea to go get the rifle.

Trey Veston said:

There was a mass shooting in Tucson, AZ last Sunday in which an individual murdered a woman, set the house on fire, then shot the responding EMTs and firemen, killed a neighbor, and tried to kill several others.

Crazy story, but most probably have not heard of it since the POS was of a preferred status of the MSM and the preponderance of victims were first responders, which are frowned upon by the MSM.

That's about as non-political as I can make it for THR...

Anyhoo... The hero cop that ended the rampage did so after a high speed chase, crash, and then jumped out of his patrol car, and fired 5 rounds at the POS at a distance of 43 yards, striking him in the head, and ending the fight.

Pistol used was a S&W M&P9 2.0.

Analysis of the shooting is here...



Now, I am a good shot. I can get 2.5" groups at 25 yards, off-hand, with my carry gun.

What kind of groups can I get at 43 yards? I have no idea, since I have never tried. I did recently fire 5-shots at 100 yards using two different pistols. I got one hit each, that were in the black. But that was with a rest and not under duress.

This hero cop fired five rounds after crashing his car, at a moving target, while being shot at, and ended the fight. Amazing.

I don't think I could do the same. Maybe. Stress does strange things to the body.

Could you make that shot at 43 yards, with five tries, and with full adrenaline rushing?

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Back in the day when Air Force SP's carried Model 15 S&W's an AFSP on bike patrol in Alaska( I think) put a hostile down at a range of about 50 yards . Course he may have cocked it and fired Single Action. Still not out of therealm of posibility

I had a guy tell me once “the more I practice, the luckier I get”

But no, I have no confidence I could make that shot. At that distance my front sight blade would probably completely cover the target.

But you know, the more you practice the luckier you are.

MedWheeler said:

The cop, if asked prior to the incident the same question, might not have been certain himself. What he would have been certain of is that he would surely try.

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I will take it a step further, he shot four times or more and at best he was running a 25% chance of getting a stopping shot. The others may well have done the same after a few more minutes.

This was a very determined adversary, no idea until the ME reports what may or may not be in his system re: drugs. For most, tho, a hit tends to slow the action down a lot more.

There is another aspect, why do we practice at shorter distances? If you fight like you train, set up clays, and while walking down the line point to point shoot them in sequence while moving. That is closer to what the officer was doing. You can't hit a target while moving unless you practice moving while trying to hit a target, and if your range doesn't allow it, you are practicing at the wrong place.

Yeah me on my soapbox again. Jus' sayin'. Want to hit a target at extended range while moving, then move while shooting at targets at extended ranges. Ranges which practice with all the participants carrying loaded in holsters instead of shelved open on a bench is what you seek, and why a lot of folks with land make their own ranges.

And, don't shoot your eye out.