Hit Or Myth by Louis Awerbuck
A thoughtful text on approaching range exercises to learn tactical scenarios. This book is an ideal place to go once a reasonably high level of shooting skill has been obtained.
It is true that scored range exercises and drills will only take you so far and polishing them to perfection will begin to show diminishing returns. That point is well illustrated here. The problem is too many trainers and trainees use this fact as an excuse to never learn solid marksmanship and gun handling.
Consider this point made early in the book. In discussing scored range drills like the El Presidente the author notes that, “A polished performer can consistently execute the drill in 7-8 seconds with a ‘near perfect’ score.” Scored as a Comstock course, this would indicate a Hit Factor score of around 7 or more.
If you or your charges are routinely shooting the El Prez with Hit Factors near 7, or some other similar high mark of marksmanship and gun handling prowess, then you really do need to spend much more time on tactical scenarios in training. Square range live fire drills should be reduced to a minimum to retain the skills already developed and this book will help you to that end. Force-on-Force training will also be very helpful.
Here’s the rub. Excluding those with a formal competition background or similar high-level shooting experience, I challenge you to find police, soldiers, or CCW civilians that can pull off a range drill like the El Prez at this level. They exist, but are rare. You’d be surprised at the number failing to consistently get 12 hits on the damn target, much less in the center, regardless of elapsed time. Yet, these low level shooters will be the first to complain that competition will “getcha killed” and want to buy a bunch of Simunitions to rush head long into tactical scenarios.
Hit Or Myth points out a number of real world issues that standard range drills fail to address but that doesn’t remove the need to use them.
Firearm User Network 
karlrehn
Jul 25, 2012 @ 08:29:02
To assess the content of the book, you have to look at the publication date. Back when that book was written, the “El Pres” was a big deal, concealed carry was not legal in most states, the Glock didn’t exist, and all the gun gurus shot Weaver using a 1911 in .45 ACP. Things have changed a LOT since then.
Military and police shooting incidents involving pistols are different from armed citizen incidents, and none of them look like the El Presidente drill. The typical armed citizen shooting occurs at 15 feet or less, lasts 3 seconds, with 2-5 rounds fired. The shooter is more likely to draw from a pocket than from a hip holster, and the gun is more likely to be a .380, 9mm or .38 snub than a 5″ 1911 in .45 ACP.
If you study real incidents you’ll find that errors in tactics and communication, not gunhandling and shooting, are the main reasons armed citizens end up in court and/or jail — so in reality, most armed citizens need more training in scenario-based force on force than they need live fire training — but the gun culture being what it is, demand for live fire classes far exceeds demand for tactics and FoF courses – ask any trainer that offers both.
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Colorado Pete
Jul 30, 2012 @ 19:46:17
Karl,
I’m guessing that most CCW citizens need both marksmanship and the scenario/tactics training, based on what I’ve seen. I think the trouble is that so few people realize the scenario based training even exists.
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