To Which We Should All Aspire
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 4 months ago
“He engaged the gunman from quite a distance with a handgun and was very proficient in that, very tactically sound,” Ison said of Dicken. “And as he moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him.”
Dicken fired 10 rounds from his handgun, according to the chief, and that as he fired, the gunman “attempted to retreat back into the restroom and failed, and fell to the ground after being shot.”
Concerned for his backstop, long distance shooting, ten rounds discharged quickly, and people saved. To be more specific, Eli Dicken shot a Glock 9mm from 40 yards away, discharging ten rounds within 15 seconds, and landing 8 out of 10 rounds.
We should all be so good with our handguns. Not many of us will ever carry a long gun around in public. It pays to practice with your carry gun.
On July 20, 2022 at 12:44 am, Qualitarian said:
I think we have a new drill.
From concealment, engage IPSC target at 40 yards. Shooter will have fifteen seconds from beep to beep and a magazine loaded with ten rounds. Standard is eight hits with at least one A zone hit.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t perform to Eli Dicken’s standard the first time I tried.
On July 20, 2022 at 6:45 am, ragman said:
Simply outstanding marksmanship, tactics and situational awareness. This young man did something that 400 costumed cowards failed to do in Uvalde: he bravely engaged with an evil POS and disposed of him.
On July 20, 2022 at 8:53 am, Wirecutter said:
That’s not bad. I practice at 20 yards because that’s the length of my house. I may need to step up my game.
On July 20, 2022 at 3:06 pm, Frank Clarke said:
If the article has said 40 FEET, it would have been much more believable. If the distance was truly 40 YARDS, I want this guy to teach me how to shoot.
8/10 at 40 yds with adrenalin pumping is something I can barely imagine.
On July 20, 2022 at 3:17 pm, Herschel Smith said:
I can only go by published reports. But even at 40 feet, this would still be still remarkable shooting under stress.
On July 20, 2022 at 8:42 pm, Daniel K Day said:
Preaching to the choir here, but that man should get a medal.
On July 21, 2022 at 8:09 am, Ned said:
I’ve been suggesting shooting at distance with your carry pistol for years.
We used to shoot IPSC cardboard targets routinely at 100 yards with 1911s. Hits should be easeir with a 9mm. It’s always good to know the distance that you can effectively engage. The “fight my way to my rifle” is rhetoric. Engage with what you’ve go on you. Also why I find the race to carry the smallest gun isn’t always the best idea. James Tarr carries a Glock 34. I’d rather have a longer barrel than shorter at close range or distance.
I read a story of an officer in Texas who engaged with his duty 357 at around 170 yards and was effective.
Move a targert out to 50 and shoot it. If you can’t hit, move it in 5 yards at a time until you know your effective distance with what you’re carrying.
On July 21, 2022 at 1:58 pm, Tionico said:
After I bought a Smith 357 with six inch barrel from my friend/FFL, was back for other business.While he was on terminal hold with NICS, I wandered his shop, and came across a target displayed on the wall above a bench. Five rounds in a standard 8 inch bull, two in the ninering, one in the seven, one in the six. Noticed some writing in the upper left corner indicating the name and date of the shooter. Upper right carried the informetion….. Smith and Wesson, 357, and DISTANCE.. which was listed as “200 yards handheld”.
WHAAATTTTT? After his call terminated he said to me “that target was shot by a longtime friend and competitor of mine, we used to do a lot of target competition. The gun he used to shoot that target is the one you have.
Oh… so if that gun can’t hit, it certain;y aint the gun’s fault………….
On July 21, 2022 at 2:01 pm, Tionico said:
With an incident like this now in the public sphere, hopefully the supid meme about “ordinary civilians” being armed and “out there” rendomly engaging in incidents such as this one being a new and dangerous trend will begin to totter and fall down.
In the eyes of gummit, this guy is a stupid nobody. Yet his performance “under duress” is far beyond what the vast majoirity of LE and other “gummit approved” doofi could ever acheive.
On July 21, 2022 at 7:37 pm, PubliusII said:
And Dicken did it in 15 seconds. The earlier announcement of “in less than two minutes” is technically correct, but the actual time was far shorter. The chief of police issued a correction, saying that he misread the timeline in the original press conference and wished to correct the record.
On July 22, 2022 at 8:11 pm, Latigo Morgan said:
I find that those who have not been raised in the country are the ones most awestruck by this young man’s excellent shooting.
In the country, it is not unusual to shoot a critter at 50+ yards with a handgun – especially in the Western states. I witnessed a buddy draw and shoot a running coyote at 50 yards with a Llama 1911. He was shooting his 185 gr. XTP reloads. (Coyotes are not easy to hit, and this guy is an excellent shot) It is not unusual to plink jackrabbits out to 100 yards with a pistol. Or to be out hiking with friends and have someone bet someone else they can’t hit a certain target which might turn out to be a rock at 200 yards.
Whether the distance is extreme or not is relative to what one is used to shooting at. If it turns out the young man never shot any where but a 25 yard indoor range, it will make his feat even more impressive based on his practiced skill set. If it turns out he was raised in the country and was used to shooting woodchucks at 50 yards with his pistol, folks would be disappointed in him if he had missed.