NYPD Shooting Report

[Mikhail Weiss]

Just because they only qualify twice a year doesn't necessarily mean they only shoot twice a year.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mortablunt
I have a suspicion that the Police are less skilled at shooting than the average civilian gun user.

I would say this suspicion is very likely to be totally true.

I suspect a connection.

 

[mbt2001]

Well, reports like this cannot be taken quite at face value because of legal liabilities, so whether they used sights or did not is really a question of what their lawyer thinks will help there case more. In the world we live in, even "good" shoots need lawyers and a public relations expert.

 

[gym]

From most people who have had the unfortunate experience of being in a gun battle, who I have met, pointing is about the only type of aiming that you have time for "most or the time". Just clearing leather and getting off a shot is really all you usually have time for unless it's an on going type of "back and forth" kind of fight. "Maas" has written several times on this very topic, and I don't want to misquote him, but I do believe he has a similar opinion. If you have the unfortunate experience of someone shooting at you from a short distance of less than 15 feet, it's going to be a point shoot unless you are sure you have time to grab the gun with both hands and take proper aim. I was taught a long time ago, and we did a lot of drawing from holsters and shooting one handed also, especially if there was a threat from another side, where it was just faster to point the weapon than turn your body and re position for a 2 handed shot. Much is the way you learned and what works for you, if you can use your front sight at close range, that's really the fastest way to shoot and hit your target. You should be able to hit targets with your weak hand, at that range also. But there are people who have very bad eye hand co-ordination. They need training, but are too full of themselves or think they are fine the way they are. They also just never adapt to the whole process. I always noticed from day one, the biggest mistake people make is looking to see where the shot went instead of putting a couple more into the target first.That's a bad habit to get into when practicing self defense. Also keeping at least one round left in the chamber in case you don't see the entire picture and someone pops out of noware and is with the person or persons who you dispatched, "hopefully". Counting your shots is indeed important. I try to know how many I have left at all times. Putting in a fresh mag when you have a couple left, isn't a bad idea if you have time. It's a good reason to have a firearm that allows it to fire with the mag out.

 

[Sport45]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mortablunt
I have a suspicion that the Police are less skilled at shooting than the average civilian gun user.

I would say this suspicion is very likely to be totally true.

I think this suspicion is false. My guess is the police shoot worse than the folks we see hanging out at the range, but better than the "average" gun owner.

I think we're a minority.

BTW, to maintain a CCL in Texas we only have to qualify every 10 years.

 

[Strykervet]

95% of all the LEO's that I know couldn't shoot the broad side of a barn from the INSIDE! I took a select few under my wing and worked with them. Had to teach them muzzle safety and trigger safety. Thats pretty damn sad when you have to teach those 2 things to a person that carries a sidearm at work! And past 10 feet, forget about it. I would have worried about them even at closer ranges under stress. If they couldn't touch the perp with the muzzle, they would have probably missed! Sad Sad Sad. And people expect police, with this pitiful firearms training, to protect THEM? Good luck with that.

Dude, I totally get it. I taught advanced marksmanship to infantrymen in the army, and you'd think they could shoot too... NOT! Officers were the worst, they'd lose a duel to a five year old girl.

On the other hand, the marines, they put some effort into marksmanship at the basic level.

 

[mortablunt]

^ The Marines have a strong marksmanship tradition. Don't kill me over this if I'm wrong, but don'y you have to qualify at being able to reliably hit a man torso sized target at 600 yards in order to graduate basic training?

 

[rcmodel]

According to the TV5 news I have seen lately, whatever the K.C. police are doing in training must have some merit in practice.

The BG's don't run away when they get in a gun fight with a KC cop!
More often then not, they are DRT.

rc

 

[Smokin Gator]

If you look at all of the gun owners out there, it's probably a pretty small percentage that actually go out to the range regularly, even doing some casual shooting or plinking. An even smaller percentage regularly go to some kind of real training or shoot competitively. Most of the guys I shoot with at various matches shoot a couple of matches a month or more. Most of the gun owners that I know that don't compete get out plinking a couple of times a year. Mark