To paraphrase the late, great Col. Jeff Cooper, owning a gun doesn’t make you a gunfighter anymore than owning a guitar makes you a musician. You must know how to use it and here, most importantly, WHEN to use it. Do you have the skills to get to your gun in a gunfight?

There are several lessons for firearms carriers here:

1. You must have the empty-handed skills to use the Five Ds in a close-in gunfight BEFORE you try to draw your firearm. Your firearm is a powerful force multiplier but against a drawn gun and with the attention on you, it is not a useful tool. Drawing on a drawn gun with attention on you is a dying man’s game, so make sure to pick the time to draw your gun when you have opportunity to get ahead in initiative and use your firearm effectively.

2. Marksmanship absolutely matters! The second officer had a very small center of mass of the mugger to shoot at, as the rest was covered by an innocent. Taking a headshot on a moving target under duress with rounds coming back at you is not easy by any means, so OWNING the marksmanship portion of the equation without question is an important skill. You don’t want to question whether you can hit a small target!

3. I have said it before and will say it again…spiritual fitness is important. The officer in the first clip didn’t know that it was going to be his last day on earth, and the officer in the second clip was right there as well but thankfully came out on top. Knowing what you fight for is important, but making peace with God before you meet Him is important as well. Don’t put that off.

4. The second officer waited for his opportunity, and that was awesome. He used a submissive posture of hands up, palms out, fingers spread to show submission to the attacker, right up until the attacker wasn’t paying attention anymore. Then, the fight was ON! That is what we call a counter-ambush, and it can be a very effective tactic.

5. Your draw needs to be practiced, smooth, fast, and without a hitch. The first officer took at least 2 if not 3 tries to get the gun out of the holster, likely because he wasn’t absolutely proficient at releasing his retention mechanism. (I can’t tell which retention holster he has on, so I will refrain from speculating) Practice your draw until you can’t get it wrong, ASPers.

Attitude. Skills. Plan.