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Fargazer · August 24, 2012, 07:33 PM

I've just finished reading about the shooting at the Empire State Building today, and there was one particular part of the story that just floored me:

The two policemen were EIGHT FEET AWAY, and only hit the gunman 7 out of 16 times!

Now, at first glance I'm a bit shocked; I would have thought at that range the hit ratio would have been much higher. On the other hand, I've never been in a situation like that - under threat, chaos all about, and so on; I also know police officers are not necessarily shooters outside of their qualifications. My only experience has been at ranges, with only a little timed shooting, so I can't make an informed conclusion without some help.

So here's my question for the inhabitants of this learned forum: does this actually reflect the kind of accuracy we can expect from ourselves under threat? Does this reflect the tendency of most police officers to not practice much with their firearms? Or is there some other factor I'm missing?

August 24, 2012, 07:33 PM	#1
Fargazer Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 466	Question About Marksmanship Under Stress I've just finished reading about the shooting at the Empire State Building today, and there was one particular part of the story that just floored me: The two policemen were EIGHT FEET AWAY, and only hit the gunman 7 out of 16 times! Now, at first glance I'm a bit shocked; I would have thought at that range the hit ratio would have been much higher. On the other hand, I've never been in a situation like that - under threat, chaos all about, and so on; I also know police officers are not necessarily shooters outside of their qualifications. My only experience has been at ranges, with only a little timed shooting, so I can't make an informed conclusion without some help. So here's my question for the inhabitants of this learned forum: does this actually reflect the kind of accuracy we can expect from ourselves under threat? Does this reflect the tendency of most police officers to not practice much with their firearms? Or is there some other factor I'm missing? __________________ NRA Life Member