Tueller Drill

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The Tueller Drill is a self-defense training exercise to prepare against a short-range knife attack when armed only with a holstered handgun.

One would think that a gun beats a knife every time. With superior weaponry, the fight should be easily won. But Sergeant Dennis Tueller, of the Salt Lake City, Utah Police Department, showed that it was not that simple.

A common test of handgun skill was to start with one’s hands at shoulder level with a holstered gun and place two shots on a target 7 yards away within 1.5 seconds. Typically, those trained with handguns can complete the drill in 1.3–1.4 seconds, although some have managed the task in less than one second.

Sgt. Tueller wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife could cover those same 21 feet. So he measured as volunteers raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds. These results were first published as an article in S.W.A.T. Magazine in 1983 and in a police training video by the same title, “How Close is Too Close?” ¹

A “good guy” with a gun has a dilemma. If he shoots too early, he risks being charged with murder. If he waits until the attacker is definitely within striking range so there is no question about motives, he risks injury and even death. The Tueller experiments quantified a “danger zone” where an attacker presented a clear threat. ²

The Tueller Drill combines both parts of the original experiments by Sgt. Tueller. There are several ways it can be conducted. ³

The “attacker” and shooter are positioned back-to-back. At the signal, the “attacker” sprints away from the shooter, and the shooter unholsters his gun and shoots at the target 21 feet in front of him. The “attacker” stops as soon as the shot is fired. The shooter is successful only if his shot is good and if the runner did not cover 21 feet.
A more stressful arrangement is to have the “attacker” begin 21 feet behind the shooter and run towards the shooter. The shooter is successful only if he was able take a good shot before he is tapped on the back by the “attacker”.
If the “shooter” is armed with only a training replica gun, such as an ASP Red Gun ⁴, a full-contact drill may be done with the “attacker” running towards the “shooter”. In this variation, the “shooter” should practice side-stepping the attacker while he is drawing the gun.