If true, it's probably important to know in what context he might have made that statement.
If true, it's probably important to know in what context he might have made that statement.
A few comments here in reference to the topic and article.
First, it is my firm belief (outside of luck) that the outcome will have more to do with the skillset of the individual rather than the equipment used. I have heard over and over through the years about the high capacity semi auto and how that somehow leads to a person suddenly just doing the "spray and pray" method, or what I call "accuracy through volume" method of engagement.
But if the same person is carrying a revolver or 8 shot 1911 suddenly they are a calm cool head and will place single shots with surgical precision. Funny thing is that I have pointed 1911s, revolvers and high capacity semi autos at bad people doing bad things and never once was I inclined to potentially change my application method of projectiles.
For many years I was a firearms instructor for law enforcement, .gov high threat protection teams, as well as doing some civilian EP work. In training some protection teams I would start them out cold each time with a "The" test. 10 rounds, 10 yards, 10 seconds, on a B8, with the focus 100% on accuracy. I always pounded into them, don't shoot a lot, shoot well/precisely, as it was highly likely that if we had to shoot, it would be in a very crowded situation and I wanted them to take a single precise shot to end the problem. In fact after pushing for precise accuracy standards for my guys, most switched from Glock 19s, to carrying Glock 34s.
I always said the same thing "Make your first shot your best shot and alter the course of the battle". In the civilian world that still holds true. Make your first shot your best shot and stop the violence.
Reference the "Headshots aren't as hard as you think", I am going to have to throw the flag on that one.
I do not know what martial background Rhett has, but saying "headshots are not hard" and being in a gunfight when someone is shooting a gun at you from 10 feet away (or closer) and trying to put a bullet into their head as they are scrambling around is not the same as shooting at a piece of cardboard or a simple steel moving target on a USPSA range.
There is cardboard theory, and then there is reality.
I am not saying I am against headshots in some situations, but from my observation and experience it is an extremely limited amount of people who have the experience of getting shot at enough to be that calm under pressure to have the focus to block out all the chaos and make that shot when you are taking fire like that.
For sure...Originally Posted by DMF13
As far as the context of that comment, I *think* Mr. Smith went on to say something to the effect of, "When there's a guy in your hallway and your heart rate is 180 and you've got shit in your shorts, it's not gonna be a problem to shoot fast at that point." Not a direct quote, but I believe it captures the spirit of what he said. The corollary to "no timer in a gunfight", is "Shoot good, not fast..." Again, this, from Mr. Smith. And I think that is part of what Mr. River is saying in his post above.
The way *I* translate what Clint Smith is saying is, he wants people getting in "perfect" reps and greasing the neurological groove with the best movement patterns that we are capable of. And then the unspoken part is that, if we will do this, speed will be there when needed. My other interpretation of why he is saying these sorts of things is to push back against the IG emphasis on speed (which is typically demonstrated without documenting how good the hits are).
Personally, I think we should practice both. While running LE quals, I always felt like people who always used all the time allowed for a string of fire were really shortchanging themselves. My message was always to shoot the qual strings as fast as they could execute with good accuracy. And those two variables are always different for every individual (and even the same individual at different times), but get good hits as fast as you can, without regard for any external time limitation/allowance. My context is/was stopping another human from assaulting me. My (perhaps erroneous) thought was, if I can get a decent, if imperfect, hit on the other guy first, that helps me climb the curve for subsequent better hits,... if that makes any sense. Would I rather hit a switch instead of a timer? Of course, but most of my dealings were, literally inside living room/bedroom distances, so time and space was probably not a luxury I was gonna have. I was willing to trade a round through a femur *right now* (and continue working if needed), rather than me taking a hit while I tried to get the perfect shot placement. Again, I may be wrong.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
No one is coming. It is up to us.
If that is what Clint is saying, I strongly disagree with him.
It is true that people 'wont have an issue shooting fast in a gunfight'. The problem is that if all of your training is based around 'slowing down to get your hits' and if that means shooting much slower than you would in a gunfight.... Well, then the technique you use when actually shooting fast in a gunfight cannot be the the same technique you normally employ when training on the range. That means all the skill and technique you've spent time developing gets thrown out the window when you actually need those skills. You aren't going to magically shoot as precisely as you do at 1 second splits, while shooting .3s splits, just because your life is on the line. In fact the opposite is the case, you will have developed techniques and neurological pathways well tuned to shooting at 1 second splits, which cannot be applied to the massive stress and speed of a gunfight.
I think we all know this from experience when we push ourselves faster on a drill and those great results we had when we shot at a comfortable pace are frustratingly nowhere to be seen. Our hands are tensing at the wrong times and with different pressure, we arent getting a proper sight picture, our hands/arms/wrists are moving in funny and unexpected ways at the worst time.
Far more gun owners can make 'precise' hits at slow speeds, then can make acceptable hits at realistic gunfighting speeds.
It's always a good idea to read the article before commenting.
Even more critical is the possession of surgical skills while shooting. Center-mass hits are good, but may not solve your problem. Shooting at playing card size targets under the balance of speed and using a powerful weapon — all done on a regular basis — may be the foundation of these kinds of surgical skills. These skills may be needed under the duress of a true fight. Multiple shots in the center of mass may garner your opponent’s attention, but may not stop them from continuing their evil ways. Precision fire should hit the center of mass, but surgical fire may win the fight. Practice both.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
“It worked pretty good if you could shoot.” -Pat Rogers
"To get fast, you have to practice faster. . .
. . . you have to go so fast that you miss. That doesn’t mean mindlessly spraying the backstop with lead. It means that if you really want to push yourself to be faster, you need to go beyond your current comfort level and accept that some of your shots won’t be in the x-ring."
https://pistol-training.com/slow-is-fast/
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"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am. Send me." - Isaiah 6:8
What Clint actually said. Found it!. Here it is guys. Note: the tag line is "Instagram Operators." Not sure who put that in there because he doesn't mention IG at all. The part that is relevant to this thread starts at 4:19.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
No one is coming. It is up to us.
Yes. This is some of the stuff that those who take a class a year from Tactical Timmy instructors and never improve over decades of “training” don’t get.
ETA: Damn, I just noticed your username. You might be the rare Timmy who knows how to get better at this stuff.
Quoted, for truth.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
Yup, in a fight, your opponent is a meat timer, and he gets a vote.
The situation will dictate he required ratio of speed vs accuracy so you'd best be able to do both.
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