Week 426: Stop Shooting

[Mr_White]

Week 426: Stop Shooting

Results may be posted until August 20th, 2021.

Designed by: Gabe White
Target: 6" and 2" circles - download here - http://pistol-training.com/wp-conten...ch-circles.pdf
Range: 7 yards
Rounds: up to 48
Other equipment: Shot timer with a random start function

We are going to look at the time it takes us to stop shooting, prompted by a simple audible signal. Start with the handgun loaded and either holstered or in ready position of your choice. We are going to fire up to six shots per repetition.

Procedure: Press the button on your timer to commence the unknown countdown to the randomly timed start signal. Upon pressing the button, do not wait for the beep - instead present the gun and begin shooting up to six shots to either the 2" or 6" circle target. When the random start beep occurs, that is your signal to stop shooting, get your finger in register, and bring the gun to ready position of your choice. Record the number of shots the timer detected and their times (the timer should record any shots after the beep starts), as well as whether the target was the 2" or 6" circle. Repeat, alternating between the 2" and 6" circle targets, until you have done eight total repetitions.

Timer considerations: It may be hard to hear the timer while you are firing. Consider enlisting another person to hold the timer near your head, or try clipping the timer onto your hat, ear protection, or the collar area of your shirt, getting it closer to your ears.

It's not important that you fire six shots. What we are actually practicing in this drill is the act of being mentally, visually, and physically in the shooting process, then stopping shooting when we decide to. Ideally, you will start shooting, get multiple good shots fired, then halt the firing process before the expected number of shots are fired, put your finger in register, and bring the gun to a ready position. That's what we are trying to explore and practice.

You may need to adjust the random start of your timer. Mine is set to start randomly from 2-4 seconds after the button is pressed. So for me, I am going to start with the gun holstered, press the start button, count silently 'one thousand one, one thou', and draw and start shooting the six shots. Based on how long I know it takes me to draw, it is likely that the second beep will come before I have finished the six shots, which is what we want, because then I have the opportunity to practice responding to a stimulus by stopping shooting, and observe on the timer how long it took me to stop shooting and how many rounds I fired during that time.

Alternative to timer: If you don't have a timer or your timer doesn't have a suitable random start function, you may enlist another person to blow a whistle or otherwise give the stop signal while your are firing. You won't have specific times, but the person can count how many rounds you fired while reacting to the stop signal.

Please report:

Gun and holster/concealment or ready position used

For each repetition report whether it was to the small or large target, the number of hits you got on the target, how long it took you to stop shooting (last shot on the timer), and how many shots you fired after the beep began.

Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.

[backtrail540]

92d with ltt rdo slide and holosun 407c
concealed under a summer shirt in a phlster floodlight on an enigma
target was b8 black instead of 6" circle
timer set with 2-4 second delay

.26 hit after the beep.

I'm not sure what a good stop time is, other than 0 as in no shots after simulated imminence is gone?. Does the old saw about human reaction time come into play, .3 or whatever it was? I noted that being on the other side of the beep was an odd feeling. Not sure how to explain it other than it was like stopping for a green light. I'd be interested in hearing others results if any of you can spare the ammo to run it. My friend, who is a very casual gun owner, said it seemed like this type of drill seemed like it was more important than most of the other "nonsense" we did all day and that most gun owners should be running this type of stuff.

[Clusterfrack]

Bumping this DOTW.

Modification to the procedure: shoot at "practical accuracy speed". Fire each subsequent shot as soon as the sights/dot are on target. Do not wait for a stable sight picture. Splits should be in the 0.35-0.45s range.

Report how many shots you fired after the beep.

[BobM]

I like that. I’ll probably work that into our next in service

[Clusterfrack]

@JCL and I ran two strings of Stop Shooting today. 7yds, aggressive shooting, All A-zone hits.

Clusterfrack, Glock 26.4 / EPSc:
String 1: 0.3x splits, 6 shots, zero after the beep.
String 2: 0.2x splits, 10 shots, zero after the beep.

JCL, Glock 19.4 / RMR:
String 1: 0.3x splits, ~6 shots, zero after the beep.
String 2: 0.3x splits, ~6 shots, zero after the beep.

[Clusterfrack]

Bumping this DOTW for more participation...

[fastbolt]

While the ability to maintain sense-of-mind in adhering to directions is a good thing to assess, just working to rely upon an audible stimulus might be a bit limiting. At least when it comes to real world conditions. It's not unusual for the sensory deficit of auditory exclusion to kick in when things are happening in a set of frantic circumstances outside the (relative ) safety of the training and competition range.

Then again, it's also arguably more difficult - from a range training standpoint - to measure how quickly someone may see and react to a changing set of drill conditions, too. Especially when transitioning among visual threats/non-threats in some fast-paced sequence. You can see whether someone recognizes and properly reacts to a "stop/no-shoot" visual situation, but that's about it, and what you're actually looking to see and evaluate is shooter judgment at the point where they can recognize that their justification for shooting is gone.

Range drills can be fun and relaxing, though.

[Clusterfrack]

While the ability to maintain sense-of-mind in adhering to directions is a good thing to assess, just working to rely upon an audible stimulus might be a bit limiting. At least when it comes to real world conditions. It's not unusual for the sensory deficit of auditory exclusion to kick in when things are happening in a set of frantic circumstances outside the (relative ) safety of the training and competition range.

Then again, it's also arguably more difficult - from a range training standpoint - to measure how quickly someone may see and react to a changing set of drill conditions, too. Especially when transitioning among visual threats/non-threats in some fast-paced sequence. You can see whether someone recognizes and properly reacts to a "stop/no-shoot" visual situation, but that's about it, and what you're actually looking to see and evaluate is shooter judgment at the point where they can recognize that their justification for shooting is gone.

Range drills can be fun and relaxing, though.

Good points. You could rig up a light at the target? Or have a partner tap you on the shoulder?

[fastbolt]

Situational context, meaning asking what you're trying and hoping to achieve. Are you looking to replicate and evaluate shooter reaction under stress using an auditory or physical (shoulder touch) when things are happening fast & furious in a dynamic drill? Are either of those things what you anticipate as a stimulus to cause the shooter to stop shooting in your anticipated conditions?

We can (to a degree) test shooter reaction to various stimuli recreated in a training (or competition) range environment, but a live-fire range has some inherent constraints (for safety).

Being able to set up Force-on-Force scenarios is an arguably better tool for a variety of reactions/actions, though. You can test shooting skills under duress, awareness of conditions and all cues (visual, auditory, physical) and identification abilities and exercising judgment, to list a few.

Reacting to a timer (whistle, verbal command, physical touch, etc) on a range can be helpful for some things, but are those the things you're looking to 'test' and evaluate, and/or are they helping the shooter access and utilize their existing skills in new situations?

It's question like these that helped drive the training staff at my former agency to continually vary the qualification scenarios, as well being constantly on the lookout for gems picked up from other FTU's at other agencies. Granted, sometimes the scenarios were based upon real-life incidents that pointed out some issues with current training, and sometimes they were adopted to reinforce awareness and understanding of the use-of-force policies (or new court decisions), but there was always a reason for them. There came a time after the 90's when FTU staff who wanted to incorporate a new scenario were required to write up the learning goals and objectives for what they proposed, including explaining why/how they were more beneficial compared to existing scenarios. Being able to point out where a recent OIS incident involved conditions where the new training might've benefited a shooter was also often requested for justification.

[Clusterfrack]

@Mr_White used the Stop Shooting drill on a regular basis, and my understanding is that was simply to develop the skill of aborting a shot. I think it's interesting to measure how fast we can stop shooting, and whether trigger type and weight make a difference. This seems similar to other skill focused drills like how fast can you reload or clear a malfunction and and fire another accurate shot.

Putting the skill of aborting a shot into a more tactical or scenario-based context would be great. Want to brainstorm a drill for that?