Don't know if this is the most appropriate place to put this. If not, Mods, please move.
Force Science News #66 February 23, 2007
http://www.forcesciencenews.com/home/search.html
=======================================
I. NEW TESTS SHOW DEADLY ACCURACY & STARTLING SPEED EVEN INEXPERIENCED SHOOTERS CAN ACHIEVE IN SHOOTING COPS
The latest round of experiments in the Force Science Research Center's on-going "hit probability" study has produced preliminary findings with surprising and unnerving implications for LEOs. Among the new discoveries:
--even "naïve shooters," untrained and unpracticed with handguns, are amazingly accurate in making head shots at close range, and tend to shoot for the head instinctively;
--shots intended for an officer's vested area often end up in unprotected vital parts of the body because of a suspect's poor gun control;
--the speed with which an officer can be put behind the reactionary curve, even by assailants who have no expertise with firearms, is startling.
"These findings deepen our understanding of the true dynamics of a gunfight," said FSRC's executive director Dr. Bill Lewinski of Minnesota State University-Mankato. "We've now established that even unskilled offenders, to the shock of everyone involved in these tests, are capable of much faster and more accurate shooting at close range than previously believed.
"This gives us a better idea of the speed at which officers need to act to protect themselves, and it raises a very challenging question for trainers: How can we get officers to respond faster without compromising good decision-making?"
That dilemma will be addressed, Lewinski promised, as the long-range research advances to new levels.
FSRC's 3-phase hit-probability study, which kicked off with field research last spring [6/06], is intended to document the speed and probable accuracy of assailants and officers trying to deliver sudden on-target rounds from various distances within the time frame of most OISs...to confirm which tactical options seem most likely to protect officers...and to determine what training systems seem most effective in increasing an officer's ability to make fight-stopping hits, as well as imprinting other survival skills.
The years-long project was designed by Lewinski and Ron Avery, an FSRC technical advisor, president of The Practical Shooting Academy, Inc., and executive director of the Rocky Mountain Tactical Institute. Avery, himself a world-class shooter, is in charge of all field testing.
The latest research, concerning attacker shooting performance, was carried out during a recent 2-week period at the indoor range of the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, with the cooperation of Ed Janke, associate dean of the school's Public Safety Division and a member of FSRC's National Advisory Board, and Brown County (WI) Sheriff Dennis Kocken.
Trainers Bob Willis, Randy Revling, and Erik Walters assisted Avery with the courses of fire.
The participating subjects were 103 volunteers from NWTC's 2-year corrections and law enforcement program.
Predominately, they were males in their late teens and 20s, with a few in their 30s or 40s. "In terms of age, gender, and physical ability, they tended to be very representative of the felon pool" that attacks peace officers, Avery told Force Science News.
"Several had long-gun experience, hunting with a shotgun or rifle, which is not the same as shooting a handgun," he explained. Over 1/3 had "never fired a handgun and only a few had more than a passing exposure" to sidearms, thereby qualifying them, group-wise, as naïve shooters. "A lot said they were very apprehensive and nervous about shooting," Avery said. "They were
not predisposed to like it."
Naïve shooters are important, Avery explained, "because they give us baseline data for human ability, without bias being introduced by training experience."
After a brief safety review with red guns, the participants were given functional weapons with live ammunition and, in a controlled sequence, were told to address targets especially designed by Avery for ultra precise measurement of shot placement [See Force Science News Transmission #48, sent 2/17/06]. Those with no experience were allowed to fire half a dozen "familiarization" rounds "to get the feel of sound and recoil" but were not told how to hold the gun, except to "grip it firmly" and to avoid touching the trigger until the muzzle was safely down range. Each shooter used his or her same assigned gun throughout the tests, either a Glock 17, a Springfield XD in 9mm (supplied by Springfield Armory), a Beretta 9mm, or a S&W J-frame short-barrel Special.
The shooters each started from a series of 4 positions, reflecting how offenders commonly have guns when confronted by LEOs:
1. Hand on the gun, which was concealed at the rear waistband;
2. Gun hidden at the front waistband, with a garment covering it;
3. Gun in hand, hidden behind a leg;
4. Gun held to a baseball hat which the subject was holding by the bill, simulating a hostage situation or an intended suicide with sudden homicidal capabilities.
Holsters were not used, consistent with the recent FBI study documenting that run-of-the-mill street punks rarely carry weapons holstered. [See Force Science News Transmission #62, sent 1/8/07]
Each shooter presented the gun and fired from each of these starting positions at 9 different distances, ranging from 1 to 25 yards from the target. The controlled lighting was "dimmer than daylight, but not low-light," Avery said. "They could see their targets clearly."
The shooters were told that at the sound of a timer they should "shoot as fast as you can, as well as you can, trying to hit the target with every shot but not slowing down in an attempt to gain accuracy," Avery said. "We wanted them to get the first round off in under 1 second and to complete 3 shots within 1.7 seconds. That's similar to a real assailant bringing a gun
out and firing as rapidly as he can." They were not told what part of the target to try to hit, just "wherever you feel is best."
cont in next post
Force Science News #66 February 23, 2007
http://www.forcesciencenews.com/home/search.html
=======================================
I. NEW TESTS SHOW DEADLY ACCURACY & STARTLING SPEED EVEN INEXPERIENCED SHOOTERS CAN ACHIEVE IN SHOOTING COPS
The latest round of experiments in the Force Science Research Center's on-going "hit probability" study has produced preliminary findings with surprising and unnerving implications for LEOs. Among the new discoveries:
--even "naïve shooters," untrained and unpracticed with handguns, are amazingly accurate in making head shots at close range, and tend to shoot for the head instinctively;
--shots intended for an officer's vested area often end up in unprotected vital parts of the body because of a suspect's poor gun control;
--the speed with which an officer can be put behind the reactionary curve, even by assailants who have no expertise with firearms, is startling.
"These findings deepen our understanding of the true dynamics of a gunfight," said FSRC's executive director Dr. Bill Lewinski of Minnesota State University-Mankato. "We've now established that even unskilled offenders, to the shock of everyone involved in these tests, are capable of much faster and more accurate shooting at close range than previously believed.
"This gives us a better idea of the speed at which officers need to act to protect themselves, and it raises a very challenging question for trainers: How can we get officers to respond faster without compromising good decision-making?"
That dilemma will be addressed, Lewinski promised, as the long-range research advances to new levels.
FSRC's 3-phase hit-probability study, which kicked off with field research last spring [6/06], is intended to document the speed and probable accuracy of assailants and officers trying to deliver sudden on-target rounds from various distances within the time frame of most OISs...to confirm which tactical options seem most likely to protect officers...and to determine what training systems seem most effective in increasing an officer's ability to make fight-stopping hits, as well as imprinting other survival skills.
The years-long project was designed by Lewinski and Ron Avery, an FSRC technical advisor, president of The Practical Shooting Academy, Inc., and executive director of the Rocky Mountain Tactical Institute. Avery, himself a world-class shooter, is in charge of all field testing.
The latest research, concerning attacker shooting performance, was carried out during a recent 2-week period at the indoor range of the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, with the cooperation of Ed Janke, associate dean of the school's Public Safety Division and a member of FSRC's National Advisory Board, and Brown County (WI) Sheriff Dennis Kocken.
Trainers Bob Willis, Randy Revling, and Erik Walters assisted Avery with the courses of fire.
The participating subjects were 103 volunteers from NWTC's 2-year corrections and law enforcement program.
Predominately, they were males in their late teens and 20s, with a few in their 30s or 40s. "In terms of age, gender, and physical ability, they tended to be very representative of the felon pool" that attacks peace officers, Avery told Force Science News.
"Several had long-gun experience, hunting with a shotgun or rifle, which is not the same as shooting a handgun," he explained. Over 1/3 had "never fired a handgun and only a few had more than a passing exposure" to sidearms, thereby qualifying them, group-wise, as naïve shooters. "A lot said they were very apprehensive and nervous about shooting," Avery said. "They were
not predisposed to like it."
Naïve shooters are important, Avery explained, "because they give us baseline data for human ability, without bias being introduced by training experience."
After a brief safety review with red guns, the participants were given functional weapons with live ammunition and, in a controlled sequence, were told to address targets especially designed by Avery for ultra precise measurement of shot placement [See Force Science News Transmission #48, sent 2/17/06]. Those with no experience were allowed to fire half a dozen "familiarization" rounds "to get the feel of sound and recoil" but were not told how to hold the gun, except to "grip it firmly" and to avoid touching the trigger until the muzzle was safely down range. Each shooter used his or her same assigned gun throughout the tests, either a Glock 17, a Springfield XD in 9mm (supplied by Springfield Armory), a Beretta 9mm, or a S&W J-frame short-barrel Special.
The shooters each started from a series of 4 positions, reflecting how offenders commonly have guns when confronted by LEOs:
1. Hand on the gun, which was concealed at the rear waistband;
2. Gun hidden at the front waistband, with a garment covering it;
3. Gun in hand, hidden behind a leg;
4. Gun held to a baseball hat which the subject was holding by the bill, simulating a hostage situation or an intended suicide with sudden homicidal capabilities.
Holsters were not used, consistent with the recent FBI study documenting that run-of-the-mill street punks rarely carry weapons holstered. [See Force Science News Transmission #62, sent 1/8/07]
Each shooter presented the gun and fired from each of these starting positions at 9 different distances, ranging from 1 to 25 yards from the target. The controlled lighting was "dimmer than daylight, but not low-light," Avery said. "They could see their targets clearly."
The shooters were told that at the sound of a timer they should "shoot as fast as you can, as well as you can, trying to hit the target with every shot but not slowing down in an attempt to gain accuracy," Avery said. "We wanted them to get the first round off in under 1 second and to complete 3 shots within 1.7 seconds. That's similar to a real assailant bringing a gun
out and firing as rapidly as he can." They were not told what part of the target to try to hit, just "wherever you feel is best."
cont in next post
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