Modern Lessons from the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

[Deleted member 79987]

Interesting read. Sounds like not much has changed since then. I agree with what was mentioned in the article. When your life is in true danger of being taken, it's hard to focus on the site and remain calm when firing. Especially when they're only 6-10ft away.

Maybe not so much for specially trained federal officers & such, but for rank and file police officers you bet.

 

[Trailrider]

I don't think I'd need to "focus on the front sight"
to get good center-of-mass hits at 6 to 10 feet.

6-10 yards, yes. But not feet.

I'd like to think the same thing, but you never know until you've been there. I can't say for sure how calm or nervous I'd be if a guy 6 feet from me was shooting back.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

If you're too nervous to "point-shoot" without using the sights, you'll be too nervous to get a sight picture with your focus on the front sight.

 

[Trailrider]

I guess I wasn't being clear. You made it sound like you'd have no trouble hitting center of mass if you were in that situation. I was just saying that maybe it's not as easy as it sounds when you're in the heat of a gun fight and the guy is a mere 6 or so feet from you. I'm sure the scene was absolute chaos and it was over in seconds.

These weren't amateurs. These were wild west gunslingers. Guns were a part of their daily life and survival.

 

[Jambo]

I guess I wasn't being clear. You made it sound like you'd have no trouble hitting center of mass if you were in that situation. I was just saying that maybe it's not as easy as it sounds when you're in the heat of a gun fight and the guy is a mere 6 or so feet from you. I'm sure the scene was absolute chaos and it was over in seconds.

These weren't amateurs. These were wild west gunslingers. Guns were a part of their daily life and survival.

I would bet that the average ODT'er has fired many more rounds than these "gunslingers".

Ammunition was much more expensive (relatively speaking) then. If I remember correctly the normal combat load for a Yankee soldier during the War of Northern Aggression, fought less than 20 years prior, was only 50 rounds. Remember that at this time in U.S. history many people were still shooting muzzle loaders. They might have been decent shots when firing slow and deliberate with rifles, but I doubt they matched up to Hollywood standards with sidearms.

I would be willing to bet the participants in the shootout at the O.K. Corral really weren't all that skilled in shooting, at least not by our standards.

Now, with that said, I remember the story of the U.S. Marshall a few years back who engaged a "bad guy" inside the restroom of a truck stop. 31 rounds fired between the two of them; no hits. Inside a restroom.

It seems that focusing on the front sight when on a two way range is not always easy.

 

[cmshoot]

They may not have practiced on a regular basis, but many of the participants of the gunfight had been in gunfight(s) before. A significant advantage.

I know a lot of folks that shoot fairly regularly that suck badly at it. All they are doing is practicing their bad habits over and over. Go to any indoor range and you’ll see a bunch of them.

 

[Trailrider]

Yes they probably didn't target shoot like we do today. But as everyone knows, target shooting, and an actual gunfight are not the same thing. And those guys were in plenty of gun fights. Especially the Earp brothers and Doc Holiday.

I would bet that the average ODT'er has fired many more rounds than these "gunslingers".

Ammunition was much more expensive (relatively speaking) then. If I remember correctly the normal combat load for a Yankee soldier during the War of Northern Aggression, fought less than 20 years prior, was only 50 rounds. Remember that at this time in U.S. history many people were still shooting muzzle loaders. They might have been decent shots when firing slow and deliberate with rifles, but I doubt they matched up to Hollywood standards with sidearms.

I would be willing to bet the participants in the shootout at the O.K. Corral really weren't all that skilled in shooting, at least not by our standards.

Now, with that said, I remember the story of the U.S. Marshall a few years back who engaged a "bad guy" inside the restroom of a truck stop. 31 rounds fired between the two of them; no hits. Inside a restroom.

It seems that focusing on the front sight when on a two way range is not always easy.

 

[Trailrider]

They may not have practiced on a regular basis, but many of the participants of the gunfight had been in gunfight(s) before. A significant advantage.

I know a lot of folks that shoot fairly regularly that suck badly at it. All they are doing is practicing their bad habits over and over. Go to any indoor range and you’ll see a bunch of them.

Exactly. But they all think they shoot like Navy Seals in the heat of combat.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

At the time of the OK Corral gunfight, HOW MANY gunfights / shootings had Wyatt been in, where he fired his gun at another person?
I don't know where or when I heard this, but I recall that he'd only been in one shooting incident prior to this.
Now afterward, with the vendetta with the Cowboys and the Clanton gang, sure. He did a lot of gunplay personally. But that came after the OK Corral incident.

 

[spencer60]

My agency is doing pretty well. Our current hit percentage in deadly force situations is 77.77%.

That's actually really good!

I remember seeing (don't remember where) that NYPD was averaging right around 50% in actual incidents, and they were some of the highest numbers of any police force, but that was definitely 4-5 years ago and I have no idea how old the data was.

I've always used that number though when trying to explain to gun control types why a 10 round magazine simply won't be enough for any type of home invasion scenario, and is even iffy in a one on one attack.