The study is known as the SOP 9, and its results were first published in 1981.

The results are of critical importance to anyone who has a handgun for self defense. That's because one can expect real life or death armed encounters to mirror those studied in terms of distances, conditions, and the response made.

Here are some of the main findings.

From Sept 1854 to Dec 1979, 254 officers died from wounds received in an armed encounter. The shooting distance in 90% of those cases was less than 15 feet.

Contact to 3 feet ... 34%
3 feet to 6 feet ...... 47%
6 feet to 15 feet ..... 9%

The shooting distances where officers survived, remained almost the same during the study years (1970-1979), and for a random sampling of cases going back as far as 1929. 4,000 cases were reviewed. The shooting distance in 75% of those cases was less than 20 feet.

Contact to 10 feet ... 51%
10 feet to 20 feet .... 24%

Lighting Conditions

The majority of incidents occurred in poor lighting conditions.

None occurred in what could be called total darkness. It was noted that flashlights were not used as a marksmanship aid.

Also, dim light firing involves another element which is different from full light firing, muzzle flash.

Weapons

Firearms accounted for only 60% of the attacks on police. However, in the 254 cases of officers killed in an armed encounter, firearms were used in 90% (230) of them, and knives in 5% (11).

In all cases reviewed, an unauthorized or gimmick holster (ankle, shoulder, skeleton, fast draw, clip-on, etc.) was involved when the revolver was lost, accidentally discharged, or the officer was disarmed.

Sight Alignment

In 70% of the cases reviewed, sight alignment was not used. Officers reported that they used instinctive or point shooting.

As the distance between the officer and opponent increased, some type of aiming was reported in 20% of the cases. This aiming or sighting ran from using the barrel as an aiming reference to picking up the front sight and utilizing fine sight alignment.

The remaining 10% could not remember whether they had aimed or pointed and fired the weapon instinctively.

Quick Draw

65% of the officers who had knowledge of impending danger, had their revolvers drawn and ready.

This is proper tactically for several reasons, the first being that holsters which are designed with the proper element of security in mind, do not lend themselves to quick draw. The old bromide, "Don't draw your gun and point it at anyone unless you intend to shoot" is a tactical blunder.

Positions

In 84% of the cases reviewed, the officer was in a standing or crouch position (supported and unsupported) when he fired.

(The training doctrine developed for use in an exposed condition involves use of the crouch/point shoulder stance. The feet are spread for balance and the arms locked at shoulder, elbow and wrist. The body becomes the gun platform, swiveling at the knees. Multiple targets can be fired on with speed and accuracy through an arc of 140 degrees without moving the feet.)

Strong Hand or Weak Hand

Officers, with an occasional exception, fired with the strong hand. That was the case even when it appeared advantageous to use the weak hand.

Single and Double Action

The double action technique was used in 90% of the situations and used almost without exceptions in close range, surprise, or immediate danger situations.

Accurate fire from handheld weapons from a fast-moving vehicle is almost impossible, even by a highly trained officer.

Firing while running changes the situation from one where skill has a bearing into one in which the outcome depends on pure chance. It endangers the officer unnecessarily by depleting his ammunition supply, and increases the chance of shooting innocent persons who may be present.

Rapid Reloading

The average number of shots fired by individual officers in an armed confrontation was between two and three rounds. The two to three rounds per incident remained constant over the years covered by the report. It also substantiates an earlier study by the L.A.P.D. (1967) which found that 2.6 rounds per encounter were discharged.

The necessity for rapid reloading to prevent death or serious injury was not a factor in any of the cases examined.

In close range encounters, under 15 feet, it was never reported as necessary to continue the action.

In 6% of the total cases the officer reported reloading. These involved cases of pursuit, barricaded persons, and other incidents where the action was prolonged and the distance exceeded the 25 foot death zone.

Bullet Efficiency

During the period 1970 through 1979, the police inflicted 10 casualties for every one suffered at the hands of their assailants.

In all of the cases investigated, one factor stood out as a proper measure of bullet efficiency. It was not the size, shape, configuration, composition, caliber, or velocity of the bullet.

Bullet placement was the cause of death or an injury that was serious enough to end the confrontation.

Hit Potential In Gun Fights

The police officer's potential for hitting his adversary during armed confrontation has increased over the years and stands at slightly over 25% of the rounds fired. An assailant's skill was 11% in 1979.

In 1990 the overall police hit potential was 19%. Where distances could be determined, the hit percentages at distances under 15 yards were:

Less than 3 yards ..... 38%
3 yards to 7 yards .. 11.5%
7 yards to 15 yards .. 9.4%

In 1992 the overall police hit potential was 17%. Where distances could be determined, the hit percentages at distances under 15 yards were:

Less than 3 yards ..... 28%
3 yards to 7 yards .... 11%
7 yards to 15 yards .. 4.2%

The Disconnect Between Range Marksmanship And Combat Hitsmanship

It has been assumed that if a man can hit a target at 50 yards he can certainly do the same at three feet. That assumption is not borne out by the reports.

An attempt was made to relate an officer's ability to strike a target in a combat situation to range qualification scores. After making over 200 such comparisons, no firm conclusion was reached.

To my mind, the study result establishes that there is indeed a disconnect between the two.

If there was a connection between range marksmanship and combat hitsmanship, one would expect the combat hit potential percentages, to be well above the dismal ones reported. That is because in 4000 encounters studies, the shooting distance was less than 20 feet in 75 percent of them.

The US Army recognizes there is a disconnect between the two. Its training manual, FM 23-35 Combat Training With Pistols & Revolvers (1988). It does not call for using standard and traditional range marksmanship techniques for combat at less than 15 feet, and when firing at night.

It calls for the use of Quick-fire Point Shooting for engaging an enemy at less than 5 yards. It also states that the Point shooting method is useful for night firing.

"The weapon should be held in a two-hand grip. It is brought up close to the body until it reaches chin level and is then thrust forward until both arms are straight. The-arms and body form a triangle, which can be aimed as a unit. In thrusting the weapon forward, the firer can imagine that there is a box between him and the enemy, and he is thrusting the weapon into the box. The trigger is smoothly squeezed to the rear as the elbows straighten out."

The manual also calls for the use of Quick-Fire Sighting, not Sight Shooting, "when engaging an enemy at 5 to 10 yards away.

The firing position is the same as for Quick-Fire Point Shooting. With Quick-Fire Sighting, the sights are aligned left and right to save time, but not up and down. The firer must determine in practice what the sight picture will look like and where the front sight must be aimed to hit the enemy in the chest."

The NYPD's study findings and the US Army's combat training manual point up the need for a practical and simple aiming aid that can help one shoot fast, instinctively, and accurately.

There is one that is available. It is simple and it works. The photos show a "test" version attached to a KAHR K9 and the deadly results that can be achieved with the aid.

The aid is like a small shelf that extends out from the side of the gun. It is in line with the sights and the barrel.

When the index finger is placed against it and pointed at a target, the gun barrel will point at the target.

That is because we all have the natural ability to point accurately. This ability is discussed in the US Army's combat pistol training manual.

The Army combat training pistol manual states that we can instinctively and accurately point at objects or features on them, and that this ability can be used to rapidly and accurately engage targets. It is called hand-eye-coordination.

It also states that when we look at any object, our eyes focus instinctively on the center of it. And when we point at an object, an impulse from the brain causes the arm and hand to stop when the index finger reaches the proper position.

Finally, the Army combat training manual states that if the eyes are shifted to a new object or feature, the finger, hand, and arm can shift to the new point. And also, "since pointing the index finger at an object, and extending the weapon toward a target are much the same, the combination of the two are natural. Making the soldier aware of this ability and teaching him how to apply it when firing results in success when engaging enemy targets in combat."

So, when the index finger is placed against the aiming aid and pointed at a target, the sights and the gun barrel, which are in line with the aid, will also be accurately pointed at the target.

In this process, large muscle groups and motor skills, whose performance are not affected by high levels of stress, are relied upon.

Fine motor skills that are needed for sight shooting, are not relied upon. Fine motor skills are known to be lost to use in real life and death close quarters encounters due to the instinctive and automatic triggering of our bodies "Fight or Flight" response in those situations.

4 of the 5 hits in the photo of the target, can be covered by a dollar bill. They were made at the "in home" distance of 12 feet by a 67 year old who seldom shoots, and who shot as fast as he could point at the target and pull the trigger with his middle finger.

No sights, no trigger control, no problem.

Just point-n-pull, point-n-pull, point-n-pull...

Additionally, at 25 feet the grouping would expand, but the slugs still would impact a chest sized target.

The aid also keeps the index finger in place and away from the slide.

If the aid or your finger placement interferes with the gun action, or your finger may be hit when the gun is fired, it should not be used.

Placing the index finger along the side of the gun does not compromise the use of the gun as a contact weapon as evidenced by the pictures showing close quarters strikes being made by operators using the Center Axis Relock or C.A.R. system.

Holster modification may be a carry concern of some, but that should not be a problem for the millions who have a handgun at home for self defense use, or use a purse or other carry means.

Note: The source of the NYPD data presented above was the NYPD study known as SOP 9.