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Editor's Notebook: The "21 Foot Rule"
by Rich Grassi
Draw fast as you want, you still can't beat the knife wielding psycho who's charging at you! Even if you get a hit, he may NOT stop!
That old saw you have heard that if someone is 7 yards away from you and he has a knife means you can shoot him . . . well, to start with, it's not 7 yards (21 feet) and it's not a "rule." It's been horribly taken out of its original context.
Just "having a knife" isn't enough to cause a deadly force response anyway. You have to determine the attacker possesses the Ability (to kill or cripple), Opportunity (he can employ his Ability immediately) and Jeopardy (he's acting in such a way to make you conclude he's going to attack with lethal force). Today, we'll examine the context of this "rule" and chat about how the concepts can be applied practically.
In an article, "How Close is Too Close?" which appeared in an issue of SWAT Magazine in 1983, Dennis Tueller wrote of a class of trainees he had at the range. He was a police officer and firearms instructor at Salt Lake City UT PD. One trainee noted that he knew what to do if the criminal actor was armed with a gun but what about a knife? With the gun, if he can see you he can for all practical purposes shoot you. The knife he has to carry to you.
"How close is too close," he asked. A good question, Sgt. Tueller answered the way a number of us have answered over the years: "You'll know when it's right," he said.
Like the rest of us, Dennis felt guilty and wrestled with the issue. The next day, the trainees put the guns away. Dennis came out with a knife and put the trainees at seven yards. Why? It was the closest marked distance to the target and the old FBI close combat range. Timing each individually, Dennis would order the student to "Go!" and time the trip the student made to stab the target. When the knife entered, he stopped the timer.
He found it took only 1.5 seconds to cover 7 yards and stab a target after a start signal. He noticed that the troops tended to shuffle the last steps, decelerating before the impact. This increased their time, as did the student/attacker having to react to a start signal before launching. Actually, 1 ½ seconds is long. Many people cover the distance quicker.
In the Gunsite 250, one stage of the School Drill is to deliver two hits to the center of the target in 1 ½ seconds from the holster. Now we're faced with an unpleasant reality: if you go for your holstered handgun when the attacker lunges and you're really, really good, you can get a pair of slugs into him just as he sinks a knife in your chest or slashes your throat with a razor; or caves your head in with a pipe.
That doesn't seem like winning.
The way the test was refined was to make each student in class play three roles: defender, attacker and timer. The timer watches the attacker and starts the time when the attacker moves. The time stops when the attacker runs past the defender (who stands fast) and touches shoulder or outstretched hand simulating a fatal knife injury, bludgeoning or gun grab attempt. The defender stands fast simply considering whether he/she could draw and service the target in time to stop it. The attacker goes on by, slowing gradually after impact. Each student defends, attacks, and watches everyone else in the group do the exercise.
Armed with this information, the student can testify & show in notes that, in training, (1) he did this to someone else, (2) someone did this to him, and (3) he stood back and watched someone do this to someone else. This demonstrates the knowledge necessary to make a competent force decision - the student knew he was a second or so away from a potentially deadly impact.
Knowing this, if it's a real contact weapon assault - edged weapons, bludgeons, etc. - is standing fast and going for a gun a relevant plan? Not really. There are some things we can do to keep from having to shoot. One is simply movement; make him come to you as you move suddenly out of his path.
This short column isn't enough to lay out patterns of movement. I'd check in with NLETC in Kansas City if I were a cop, security officer, contractor or corrections officer. They'll help with that.
Another thing is cover. With guns, cover is something that stops, slows, or diverts incoming gunfire. In a contact weapon assault, it's something that keeps the offender from getting close enough to you. It could be furniture, a car, or, when standing in an open door, backing out and closing the door! It's anything that gives you time.
Having time helps you make good force decisions.
To learn more about firearms skills, learning how to teach firearms skills, or to learn how to conduct firearms training on a budget, check out Rich's book, POLICE FIREARMS INSTRUCTION: PROBLEMS AND PRACTICES, available from Amazon and other fine book sellers.
Rich wants to thank Massad Ayoob (www.ayoob.com), Dennis Tueller, and James Lindell, National Law Enforcement Training Center (www.nletc.com) for the concepts and the training that led to this column.