Testing Shooting and Moving

For the tests we set a steel reactionary target at the end of a moving target runner.  We instructed the shooter to move only as fast as they felt they could get good “A” zone hits on the steel.  Obviously there is no point running at something you can’t hit.  We set the rheostat on the mover to pace the shooters movements and recorded the hits on the steel as the shooter moved at it.  This gave us base line knowledge as to the speed of a shooter moving and shooting. 

Then, with the mover set at the speed that the shooter was moving and shooting at the steel, we had the mover start towards the shooter while he, in a stationary position engaged the paper target. 

What we found was that the almost all shots fired while moving and shooting outside fifteen yard were difficult at best for a shooter.  The test group of shooters shot in the 50% on hits as they moved in and engaged the target, with most of the hits at close range.  

With the same shooter firing at a target moving at them at the same distances, hits doubled, with the ability to hit the target at extended ranges. Most shooters didn’t enjoy the luxury of shooting when they wanted; while moving and shooting, they had to wait to when enough motion was removed from the gait, so as to not transfer the motion to the hands. This caused significantly less rounds to be shot at the target with far less accuracy. 

We duplicated the same test with shooter backing away from the target. We found a similar reduction in the speed of movement and shots fired.

Testing Shooting Laterally Moving Targets

The next session was on targets that were moving laterally. With the experience and confidence gained from shooting moving targets, hit rates averaged approximately 85%.  We even picked the speed up on the mover to speeds far beyond what a shooter would have any chance of shooting at you with.  Everyone in the class was recording hits with very little difficulty.

Conclusion

What this tells us is that unless you are running like OJ Simpson from a court date you are an easy target.  Yes, somewhat less then standing perfectly still, but nonetheless, an easy target.  You have also greatly compromised your ability to deliver quick, accurate fire.  The big question you have to ask yourself is why you are moving first place.  Are you a SWAT operator who has to take ground or challenge and distract a hostage taker?  Or a civilian who needs to back away and fire their weapon in defense?  In most situations you are far better off planting your feet and just resolving the situation with accurate shots then moving and spraying rounds hoping to hit your target.