Shooting or Gunfight: They're Different
and You Need to Train Accordingly

"Before we proceed, let's clear up a couple of definitions." said Ken Hackathorn, masterclass small arms and tactics instructor, to a class of a dozen or so gathered for a hybrid pistol/rifle class.

A shooting is when one party has a gun. A gunfight is when all parties involved have guns.

Ken went on to explain.

We hear the statistics about how the average shooting is three rounds, takes place at three yards, and it is over in three seconds. While that might be true for a shooting, where the average number of rounds fired is three, that's not a gunfight. The average number of rounds fired in a gunfight is whatever was in the gun when the fight started.

What are We Training For?

I mention Hackathorn's admonition because we at SOTGU were recently challenged regarding the practical distance for self-defense shooting. The assertion was that any training drills beyond the established 21-foot limit were impractical and unrealistic. …