Often people’s response to self-defense is a feeling of safety because they are carrying a gun. This is a MYTH and they are lying to themselves when they say things like, “I’ll be fine because I’ll just shoot them.”
The truth is that most people who make that claim, have very little knowledge or experience in defending themselves and have never really been in a conflict situation – especially with guns involved. As a result they have no idea how fast things can happen, or how difficult it can be to draw your weapon under pressure, or even recognize the threat has turned lethal.
Before I go any further, I want you to know I love our constitution and defend the second amendment. I am not against guns or carrying guns. I am 100% in agreement with a person’s second amendment right to carry a gun and I do so regularly! I am not “anti-gun!”
Having said that, anyone who uses any weapon [guns or other] needs to realize the limitations of carrying a gun and the limitations of using one to defend ourselves.
Most gun-carrying and gun-reliant people are woefully ignorant of the “21-foot rule” and it’s fallacies and assumptions! Many gun-owners don’t even know it exists! The ramifications could be deadly to those putting their trust in their sidearms!
Law Enforcement, Military, security officers and anyone who has ever taken a defensive shooting course should have been taught about the “21-foot rule.” There are training videos taught on this topic.
The 21-Foot Rule:
As the illustration above indicates, the 21-foot rule is the conclusion of studies conducted [starting in the early ‘80’s] when a Police department in Utah wanted to know essentially, “How close is ‘too close’ for a knife wielding attacker to attack giving the police officer time enough to draw, aim and fire before the attacker could reach the Police officer.” What they found through their experimentation was that the average person could run 21 feet in approximately 1.7 seconds from a standstill, drawing a knife and cutting the Police Officer BEFORE the Officer, could draw, aim and fire their weapon.
It takes the average trained Police officer about 1.7 seconds to draw their weapon, aim and shoot it. That doesn’t sound like a lot of time until you realize how far a knife wielding attacker can travel in such a short time!
Let’s think about this a little more realistically…
The average person can run 21 feet from a standstill in 1.7 seconds OR about 32ft in 2.0 seconds.
There’s much more concern here for the gun carrying person than you think, because they are setting themselves up for failure when they rely on the gun on their hip or in their bag! The 21-foot Rule is full of assumptions for law enforcement, that means it’s not applicable to the average citizen! Factors that matter a lot actually – here’s a few…
Assumption/Problem 1: You are aware of a lethal threat
The assumption here is that there is an awareness and caution about said attacker before they attack. That might be true for most Police Officers apprehending a suspect or walking in cautiously to a conflict situation that they already have information about over the radio. The 21-foot rule basically says if your attacker has a knife and is 21 feet away you better have your hand hovering over your gun and ready to draw it AS the attacker starts to run towards you.
However, it’s not realistic at all for the average person on the average day, just going about their business and a person attacks! The average person will be much slower to recognize the danger, and slower to react with their weapon! the average person didn’t get a call on the radio warning them of the situation they are walking into.
Assumption/Problem 2: You are open carrying with easy access to your gun. The police officer has a side holster for open carry, not concealed carry which greatly reduces the time needed to draw the weapon! They don’t have to pull back a jacket or a hoody to reach their gun. However, most people in the US carry concealed requiring extra time fumbling with clothing in order to draw and fire the weapon!
The 1.7 second time frame for draw and fire is not realistic for those who carry concealed, and most citizens do. Their gun is not at the ready and easily grabbed but rather in a handbag or strapped to your body under a piece of clothing, or two. It takes more time to draw your weapon when it’s concealed especially if you haven’t practiced drawing it that way.
If that is how you carry, have you practiced drawing from a concealed position?
Have you done it under pressure?
How many reps did you do to train that way?
How regularly do you train your draw, aim and fire [even without live ammo]?
Did you time yourself?
Has your draw time improved?
The point here is simple. Most gun-carrying citizens will react much slower than the 21-foot Rule allows! They are going to need much more time and distance from the attacker to use their gun for self-defense! Period! If they try to draw and fire when the attacker is at 21 feet they will likely be cut or stabbed before they even get the gun out of the holster.
Assumption/Problem 3: Awareness of a problem. I know this seems like I am repeating myself, but this point is a different aspect of our awareness. The first is awareness of your surroundings, this is awareness of the threat itself.
This 21- foot statistic fails to ask a VERY important question, “How long does it take you [the average citizen] to realize you’re being attacked?” It takes the average person at least 1.5 – 3 seconds just to realize something violent is underway, but this greatly depends on situational awareness! It could be a LOT more time than that!
There have been studies that show it takes trained police officers an average of 1-1.5 seconds to realize the suspect is starting an attack before the trigger is pulled even when they have them at gun point. In various studies the Officers already have the gun in their hands and pointing it at a suspect and it still takes them 1-1.5 seconds to pull the trigger!
Understand what you just read. The TRAINED POLICE officer with their gun drawn and pointed at the suspect STILL takes 1-1.5 seconds to recognize the attack has started!
So, here’s my question to all of you who think you’re The Punisher or John Wick…
How long do you think it will take YOU to draw your firearm properly and safely, aim, and hit a well-placed shot to center of mass when you are not trained as well as a police officer walking into a situation when their alert level is high?
For an experienced, well-trained person it takes about 1.5 seconds! However, for a new/less trained person it could easily take 3 seconds or much more!
So much can happen in an attack or a fight in just ONE second much less 3 to 5 seconds! How much ground can an attacker cover before reaching you?
Going by the 21-foot rule the average person can cover about 90 FT or 30 yards in 6 seconds!
Most of the public can’t raise their eyes from their phones long enough to not text while walking into traffic, much less realize a threat happening around them and react to it in a timely manner!
My point is that you don’t always have time to
A] be aware and recognize you are under attack
B] have the calmness under pressure
C] properly draw your gun
D] aim it
E] and shoot
… all before your attacker reaches you!
Assumption/Problem 4: A telegraphed attack.
The 21-Foot Rule assumes the attacker,
A] sees you at a distance,
B] draws their knife and
C] starts running at you at full speed in a threatening manor to harm you.
Essentially, the attacker telegraphs their attack from a long way off.
One question… Who does this? Have you ever heard of this happening [outside of a horror movie]? I haven’t.
Is this something that any of us expect… ever? I can’t even think of one situation like that that I have heard on the news, or seen in real life. Even ridiculous and silly horror movies are more realistic than that and have the attacker attacking at close range!
The point isn’t that an attacker is going to try to cover this much ground before attacking you. They almost assuredly won’t! An attacker will likely try to get as close to you as possible before attacking! That’s what usually happens if someone is carrying out a pre-planned attack. The close-proximity attack is what a gun-carrying person needs to focus on.
The realization that an attacker will not likely telegraph their attack negates the 21-foot rule and a realistic reliance on your sidearm. What’s worse is the statistical average attacker is a 25-year-old male in his prime who was strategically close to the victim before executing his attack before the victim ever saw it coming!
The whole notion of “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight!” is only true if the guy with the knife is at a far distance and charging at you with a visible blade [or other lethal weapon] in-hand!
Fact: Up-close, knives win!
Assumption/Problem 5: You are trained in tactical shooting. The 21-Foot Rule assumes you are heavily and regularly trained in the use of tactical firearms like a Police officer!
How many in the average gun-carrying public are trained this way? How many civilians’ train regularly in not only calmly aiming and shooting, but under realistic pressure? Most gun owners don’t target shoot on a regular basis even under calm, no-pressure shooting, much less timed or pressured! Some never do even though they own and carry a gun.
How many average people have timed themselves for draw/aim/fire time? How about under pressure/duress?
Did you know that trained Police Officers and federal law enforcement when they need to draw their weapon have sometimes ended up shooting themselves because of the adrenaline dump happening in the moment?
Do you think you are somehow different?
Assumption/Problem 6: You’ve determined a lethal threat has been used by your attacker. Is it legal and ethical in the situation you are in for you to draw and shoot your gun?
If the factors stated in the 21-foot rule are present that should give you the legal right to draw your gun and use it in self-defense.
However, in many states you cannot draw your weapon legally unless you can prove a lethal threat.
The ramifications are huge! If you draw and shoot first without determining a lethal threat guess who goes to jail? You will! In some cases/states, you might go to jail simply for drawing and presenting your weapon!
The reason this rule is in effect for Police is that they are assuming an officer is walking into a lethally threatening situation that they have been alerted to over the radio. When they arrive on site, they are often alerted a lethal threat situation. Suspicion and caution are often built into the scenario giving the Officer the right to display and use lethal force if needed. The average citizen does not have that advantage and very likely will not on the street!
Assumption/Problem 7: Your gun is actually with you at the time you need it.
There are lots of times where it is unrealistic to rely on a gun.
What about places like the beach, public events, schools, designated “Gun-free” zones, or working out at the gym. What about working on a job site where a gun is too cumbersome to carry with all the other tools you carry?
The reality is we don’t always have our gun on us and we cannot always have it with us.
So much for self-defense using a gun in these situations.
In light of all these points, let’s reevaluate the 21-Foot Rule with more realism. In the following List I have listed the assumptions built into the 21-foot rule and in parentheses added whether the assumption is possible or likely.
The 21-foot rule assumes that you are:
- In a US state and in a public place where you are legally allowed to carry a gun [this is possible and likely. most states allow constitutional carry at the time of this writing – but many do not],
- You are carrying your gun on you [this is possible and likely some of the time – not all],
- You are paying attention to your surroundings [this is possible and likely for the most part unless you are addicted to your phone],
- You recognize the threat immediately [this is possible but unlikely],
- You see a person waving a knife or lethal weapon around in a threatening manor at least 21 feet or more away from you [this is possible but very unlikely],
- They turn and run at you waving the knife in the air [this is possible but very unlikely],
- You have trained with a high number of repetitions with pressure tests for this situation [this is extremely unlikely]
- You act instead of freezing up [this is very unlikely],
- You draw your concealed carry gun as fast as an open carry Police officer in 1.7 seconds [this is extremely unlikely],
- You aim it accurately despite a surge of adrenaline pumping in your veins and shoot to center of mass. [this is very unlikely]!
Realistic?
Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?
I’m begging you for your own sake [because I care], please wake up and reevaluate your self-reliance with a gun as your “go-to” for self-defense!
Your gun isn’t always available and it’s not always the answer when it is available! It’s an unfortunate truth but a necessary one.
Believing that just because we are carrying a gun, we are safe from an attack could get you killed!
Statistically, that is fantasy.
If we’re honest, attacks happen lightning-fast and they happen in close. You will NOT have time to draw your weapon! Even if you have a gun on you when an attacker with a knife is within a certain distance, he could get the upper hand on you very easily!
These are things we must know to successfully defend ourselves against a violent attacker with a weapon.
So, what’s the point Steve?
In short…If you are relying on a gun to save you this is why you need martial arts training.
Not just a quick seminar on self-defense, but long-term training.
It’s only with ongoing training that you gain the awareness and defensive techniques that give you the edge you need to survive in situations when you can’t get to your gun fast enough.
Sadly, People who rely on guns only get killed or severely injured. It happens all the time.
Come train with us and prepare yourself!
We can train you in techniques to defend yourself against blunt instruments, knives, and empty hand attacks using some of the best and most advanced techniques used by law enforcement and military from around the world!
You can learn the same thing for yourself.
Make the decision to train yourself to be the weapon instead of relying on something or someone else as the weapon.