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"...when outdoors, civilians tended to begin firing from distances no greater than 30-40 yards!"
30-40 yards! Even drive-bys are closer than that. I find it hard to visualize a case of self defense at 40 yards, simply because at that distance it would be hard in most cases to determine that a threat exists. Unless the shooter knows his opponent, and knows there is immediate danger, I can't see how he could justifiably fire. Maybe it is just my old eyes, but I can't tell the difference between a pistol and a cell phone at 40 yards, and I don't think the cops would like me to blow away folks who are chatting on their phones (although I admit I have sometimes considered it).
I suppose someone can offer another view, but gunfight ranges, in my limited experience, seldom exceed 10 yards, and 3-4 feet would be right for 80% of them. There are exceptions - the Texas Tower killer, for example. But those are not the norm and I don't know of any police department that trains its patrol officers at those ranges. Snipers certainly work at those ranges, but I am not sure that is a gunfight and I don't know of a "civilian" gunfight at over a hundred yards.
Incidentally, I knew one of the two men who got into a gunfight (over a woman) and shot each other. The one I knew had a .45 auto, the other had a .44 Magnum. The man shot with the .45 died instantly from one shot; the man I knew was hit once with a .44 slug and died two days later. I don't know any other details, but the range was about five feet, across a bar-room table. One report said the woman ordered another beer.
Jim
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