Unarmed vs the drawn handgun

What should you do versus a drawn handgun? There are a lot of techniques out there, including the techniques we show in our Gun defense category, so check them out (esp the videos). Gabe Suarez, in his May Warrior News piece writes:

AGAINST THE DRAWN GUN - A FORCE ON FORCE STUDY

At the recent Salt Lake City Interactive gunfighting Class we added a component dealing with facing the drawn gun. This was largely inspired by the Virginia Tech murders last month. The question being this. You are facing a man who has just drawn on you…or who is about to shoot you.

The method was not technical but rather conceptual. You get the gun off you, you keep it off you, and you either disarm the gun man or beat him into a bloody pulp while keeping the muzzle off your body line.

The examination of this difficult problem began up close. Literally within arm’s reach. I asked a student to point an Airsoft at me and advised him I would not be complying…even to the point of showing him the technique I would use. At full speed, full commitment on my part He was not able to shoot me at all in ten tries. His comment was that he could not pull the trigger fast enough, and by the time he did, the gun was pointing elsewhere.

We repeated this with the various students and at the close distances, the proactive “defender” has the advantage over the gun man.

We moved out farther…just outside of arm’s reach. Now it became challenging. The farther out we went the harder it became. Again, this was based on the idea that you had just come across the gunman and he was about to shoot you. Remember that the plan is to shoot you and kill you so anything that prevents or minimizes the damage to you is desirable. It very much fits in the Die Less Often chain of concepts.

Notice where he says, "At full speed, full commitment on my part He was not able to shoot me at all in ten tries. His comment was that he could not pull the trigger fast enough, and by the time he did, the gun was pointing elsewhere." This jibes with what my training group has observed as well. Emphasis should be on full commitment. One commenter on a disarm video post post asked whether it still works with full energy and airsoft (we practiced with real pistols in the video), and I have to say that yes, it works. Why?

I have always (yes, even at birth!) said that action beats reaction every time. As long as there's commitment. That's why, up close, a handgun disarm is a viable technique. By the time the gun wielder react, it's too late. Now, will it work every time? Assuredly not, which is why people get shot, even trained cops (and most aren't). If you have to choose between getting shot and possibly disarming, or at least redirecting a handgun...

Also, if you want the full copy of that newsletter, just email me (see sidebar), and I'll forward it to you. You can also subscribe to Suarez' excellent newsletter by going here.

Further reading:
Airsoft Pistols for Tactical Training
Handgun disarm, single hand from the rear - video
Handgun disarm - Double hands from the front
Handgun disarm - Single hand from the front
Rush a gun; Run from a knife
The Quick Pistol Disarm: An Aiki-Jujitsu method