The 21 Foot Rule (Tueller Rule)

Since taking Way of the Pistol at Tactical Response this philosophy has been on my mind a lot.For those that don't know the Tueller Rule or Tueller Drill is derived from an experiment that Tueller tried among other officers. He came to the conclusion that an officer on average can draw their pistol in 1.5 seconds and an officer can sprint about 21ft in 1.5 seconds.This is referring to the notion that an attacker with a knife can close the distance within 21ft (7 yards) before you get your gun out. But there is a huge misconception with this rule or drill. Not everyone can draw their pistol within 1.5 seconds AND make an incapacitating shot. Further, not everyone can sprint 21ft in 1.5 seconds and not everyone needs 1.5 seconds to sprint 21ft.In Advanced Fighting Pistol at Tactical Response (TR) they have students perform the drill. Some of the students barely made it 5 feet before the shooter got the shot off. Others, myself included, made it much farther than 21 feet before we heard the shot go off.Side note: Yes this was performed in a safe manor, relax.The point of what I'm saying is, there's a lot of misconceptions that are taken out of context that isn't beneficial to us laymen. For instance a cop tells us, "A bad guy with a knife can close the distance within 21ft before you get your gun out." While that isn't entirely false that isn't entirely true. I'm fairly certain someone like Jerry Miculek could make the bad guy take the room temperature test at a closer distance. However, can you?This is partly why at TR they have you side step, flank left/right, or move backwards when you draw because naturally you wouldn't just stand there like an idiot. But also any slight movement requires the attacker to think, that slight delay however small may just be enough to give you the edge. But its also to very important to work on your draw. Having a full firing grip before the gun comes out of the holster and when you present you have a consistent sight alignment and sight picture.I would highly recommend testing this yourself. Get a friend, a stop watch, or even a shot timer and set a par time and mark off seven yards and run it your self. See how far you can run it, see how far your friend can run it before you get your gun out and have a shot on target. Once you do it it'll either be an ego check or an ego booster. If your friend is heavyset you may want to find another friend to run it so you get a better gauge.I've also been reading this great book that talks about this drill and the legal aspects of self defense encounters that you can get for about $20. It's also free if you want your email box spammed and there's an audio book version. Here via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/MdW32U5