Question about side-stepping to the left

[r_magill]

A few years ago I read somewhere (I know, not helpful at all ) that if someone pulls a gun on you and you decide to sidestep while you draw, it is generally better to side-step to your left, given the choice. The rational behind this is that most shooters are right-handed and right handed shooters most often miss their left, which is your right (assuming they are not flinching) and, biomechanically, it is harder for a person to swing a gun to their right than their left (assuming an isosceles stance). By moving to your left, you are moving out of the line of fire and away from where they are most likely to miss. You also make it harder for the bad guy to adjust to your movements.

I tried searching several forums and databases, but I came up short. Has anyone else heard of this? If so, is this still seen as a valid course of action or has the tide turned on this idea?

Any "scholarly" documentation would be appreciated. If this is still a good idea, I am going to be swimming up stream with my department and can use solid resources to support my position.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[robmkivseries70]

I came to the same conclusion back in the mid 70's.
Best,
Rob

[moose_nukelz]

Get off the direct line and make them react to what you are doing instead of you reacting to what someone else is doing.

[Nnobby45]

By moving to your left, you are moving out of the line of fire and away from where they are most likely to miss. You also make it harder for the bad guy to adjust to your movements.

There's also a consideration where deploying our weapon is concerned. It's not all about him shooting us.


In order to handicap your assailant and make it harder for him to hit you, you move left and handicap your self to the same degree because you now have to shoot back to your right.



Practice going both ways. Shooting left will be closer to Weaver. Going right more like Isoceles. Practice both ways so it makes no never mind to you.

[mikejonestkd]

Here's a recent thread on the topic:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452982

Hope this helps.

[Helios]

The line of fire is whichever direction they are pointing the gun. To say that this changes by moving left or right is uncertain. I can point pretty quickly and I am by no means an expert. I would say moving left or right is good because you are moving and moving targets are more difficult to acquire. Don't kid yourself into thinking you moving one step left or right removes you from the threat of a muzzle pointed your way.

[JohnKSa]

The idea that it's harder for an attacker to track one direction over the other assumes several things, the most pertinent being that they're using a two-handed grip. If the attacker is shooting one handed he can easily track either direction. Even if the attacker is shooting two-handed, unless he lines up so that he's bladed toward you he can still track pretty well in either direction. And with some two-handed shooting techniques that use a lot of blading with the weak-hand side toward the victim, the attacker may actually be able to track better toward the strong side.

I think the movement is far more important than the direction you move. Most shooters don't get much practice shooting at moving targets with a handgun and almost none get any practice shooting at moving targets that shoot back.

All of the above assumes that you PRACTICE your movement/side-stepping and are reasonably proficient. It gets a lot harder to do a cost-benefit analysis of a technique if it significantly reduces your chances of making hits on the attacker. So whatever direction you decide to move, be sure to get enough practice that you can do it without significantly hurting your chances of making good hits.

[r_magill]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I am running under the assumption that the "victim" is trained to the point where shooting on the move is, at minimum, viable, as is shooting one-handed.

mikejonestkd - thank you for the link... my search-fu is horrible. BTW, do you have any sort of documentation for what you found, or is this something you have simply observed from conducting many trainings? I am not saying this to discredit you, but rather to have as much documentation about this as possible.

[MLeake]

Against a fist, club, or blade, I prefer to move to the opponent's "weak side." Against a right-hander, this usually means to his right, my left - because it's easier for him to pivot within the field in front of his hips (think the strike zone in baseball) than back to the outside of that field.

However, at close range, I would not just move left, but forward, pivoting as I advanced. (Keeping him in my strike zone, in front of my center, while moving to his weak side flank.)

There are times when other moves are dictated by circumstances, but as a fall-back, this one is pretty reliable against contact weapons.

I have no reason to think it would not also be advantageous against handguns.

[Frank Ettin]

It's important not to get fixated on moving in one direction or the other, no matter what the supposed advantage of one over the other might be. The thing is to practice and be prepared to move.

If you focus on moving left (or right) all the time, that's what you will do in an emergency. But what if there's an obstacle or moving in that particular direction is otherwise a bad idea at the time? Learn to assess and move -- but most importantly learn to move.

[smince]

We did this drill in the Suarez International Close-Range Gunfighting and 0-5Ft Gunfighting classes.

A side-step to the left or right probably isn't the answer (depending on terrain), but rather learn to move multiple steps to all points on the clock as quickly as possible. It's as much or more about not getting shot as it is about shooting back.

Try it with Airsoft guns man-on-man (as we did) and see how well it works (or doesn't) for you.

[FireForged]

If I am so close that any of this even matters, heck with some side step..I would rather go full on physical with the attacker.

[robmkivseries70]

You will have a tactical advantage by getting OFF the line of force before engaging.
Best,
Rob

[Lambdebois]

JohnSKa- "I think the movement is far more important than the direction you move. Most shooters don't get much practice shooting at moving targets with a handgun and almost none get any practice shooting at moving targets that shoot back."

Paintball seems like a great way for the average person to get some kind of practice regarding this aspect.

[Discern]

Their basis for saying 'move to your left' may be the following:

1. Many shooters have incorrect grip and form which usually results in POI left and low (shooting right handed).

2. You may have of a tendency to sweep yourself when you draw and move to your right - their left.

As stated in above posts, we need to practice all different types of scenarios. I would go in the direction I felt gave me the best chance of surviving depending on the conditions, cover and terrain. This is where advanced situational awareness can save your life.

Here is a clip of Todd Jarrett regarding shooting on the move.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncg9iFgT7GA

[moose_nukelz]

Another thing to think about is moving towards cover, if I can put something between me and the guy shooting at me when he is standing in the open I call that a huge tactical advantage for me.

[Pond, James Pond]

I have heard this arguement some years ago. (Not that many!) It was said to me by a South African colleague when we were talking about life in places like Johannesburg.

He wasn't the sort to run around getting into gunfights, but he did know about guns, and over there it pays knowing what you're doing!

He wasn't prone to BS either: a very sincere guy. In other words, I believe he believed what he was saying. Whether that makes it true.....

[smince]

Another thing to think about is moving towards cover, if I can put something between me and the guy shooting at me when he is standing in the open I call that a huge tactical advantage for me.

When it happens extremely close and fast, there won't be time for any 'cover'.

Moving off line quickly (possibly while returning shots) is the only thing likely to save you.

[threegun]

There are many factors during an event that can only be known during the event and should dictate our response. Location of cover, our position in the reactionary curve, the layout of our surroundings, even the weather (ice or snow on ground). My point is order of importance. Is cover more important that forcing the badguy to shoot in a certain direction, etc.?

I believe that at the moment of truth, I won't even be able to judge what hand the shooters gun is in vs my ideal direction of movement. To many other, more important, things to be concerned with and to many varibles.

Move fast while returning fire and seek cover asap. Make as much seperation as possible as fast as possible if no cover is available. These are far more important IMO.

If you have practiced hitting while moving your odds should be better than most badguys no matter direction.

[jgcoastie]

Move to cover, don't worry about whether it's to your left or right or to the perp's left or right... It really doesn't matter, IMO....

You're better off moving to cover, no matter what direction, than hedging your bets on whether the perp can track to the left or to the right....

[smince]

Move to cover, don't worry about whether it's to your left or right or to the perp's left or right... It really doesn't matter, IMO....

You're better off moving to cover, no matter what direction, than hedging your bets on whether the perp can track to the left or to the right....

Again, this assumes cover is even available and you may have a chance to reach it.

As has been mentioned, if the attack comes at less than 21 feet (or more like less than 10 feet), what do you do then?

Remember what we are talking about here: Gunfighting. Using a handgun to save your life or someone’s life you care about. It may (probably will) happen so close that you have to fight off the attacker (or control his weapon) before you can even access you own.

[threegun]

Remember what we are talking about here: Gunfighting. Using a handgun to save your life or someone’s life you care about. It may (probably will) happen so close that you have to fight off the attacker (or control his weapon) before you can even access you own.

The need to go hands on represents a catastrophic failure in ones Situational Awareness IMO. IMO the need to control an adversaries gun is very low and here is why. I would likely be held at gunpoint for this to happen. Behind in the reactionary curve (for you fluid situational response guys) meaning I'm looking down the barrel and my gun is holstered still. At this point the only way I draw or grapple or both is if I feel the robbery will end with my death anyway. Since the vast maority don't end in death the odds are low for the need to fight.

Now I agree that the proximity of the attacks will likely be close because we are in a populated area. I just don't like the odds of resisting whilst looking down the barrel of a gun. Again unless other indicators suggest eminent death either way.

Why resist on the terms of the badguy unless you are sure death will result anyway? I can't imagine a scenario that had me holding someone at gunpoint which ended well for the person at gunpoint if they tried to resist.

BTW Did you guys train the F.S.R. stlye of running in any direction while shooting when at Suarez?

[smince]

BTW Did you guys train the F.S.R. stlye of running in any direction while shooting when at Suarez?

To all points of the compass/clock, except 12 and 6. It wasn't thought to be smart tactics to try to stay in line with the muzzle and try to outrun a bullet.

The need to go hands on represents a catastrophic failure in ones Situational Awareness IMO. IMO the need to control an adversaries gun is very low and here is why. I would likely be held at gunpoint for this to happen. Behind in the reactionary

That's most likely when a BG will attack you or me. They have SA, too, and don't generally pick out someone who's head is on a swivel.

But I can't stay 'switched on' 24/7/365, and truthfully, neither can anyone else. Surely when out with wife and family, one gets distracted by them and just everyday life events in general, even if only momentarily and that's all it takes.

Lot's of things divert our attention, and you can't go through life without ever letting someone get within 7yds of you unless you become a lonely hermit.

Failure of the S.A. is what the 0-5 and H2H4CCW classes are for. If it never happens to you, carry on then.

[threegun]

I got you. I just think trying to lessen the lapses in your SA is more important than learning how to control your opponents gun while you draw yours.

Once you are caught off guard and now held at gun point its too late. Considering all the significant odds, compliance is almost always a safer option.

[45Gunner]

Survival in a gun fight depends upon many factors. The obvious is to train and practice your moves along with marksmanship. It appears that most of us are thinking in terms of getting to our guns while avoiding that of the opponent. In some instances, it may not be practical to get to our gun and we are going to have to disarm or take control of the opponents gun before he can shoot us.

The first step is to get out of the mindset that our own gun is our first objective. In some instances, for example, if we are confronted with an opponent that is wielding a gun or knife in our face single-handedly, it is very possible to turn and step into his mid section, grabbing his hand and arm, throwing the opponent off balance, completing your momentum and taking him down. The alternative to taking him down is to use your other hand and force his wrist in towards his own body, thereby making him shoot himself or at the very least, forcing him to release his grip on the gun or knife. It is difficult to explain, easy to demonstrate, and should not be attempted for real until practiced many times.

My point here is to open your field of thinking to other methods instead of racing for your gun, a race you may lose if someone already has the draw on you.