Wounding Factors and Effectiveness

[HollywoodHitman]

Hi everyone,

Just been awhile since I had the time available to reply to a question of the 2 to the chest, one to the head method. Clearing out is always a pain. As mentioned in an earlier post, this is known as a failure drill and is commonly referred to as the 'Mozambique Method".

The idea behind it is that your initial 2 shots, fired in rapid succession to the center of mass which we all know is the conventional way to shoot a human target. The 3rd shot is still fired relatively quickly but only in that is occurs if you have determined that the first 2, have not stopped the person. The 3rd shot is an aimed shot. At the end of the day, your pistol is meant as a secondary or very close range weapon, so at any rate hopefully you'd be looking to extract by that point.

Waste of ammo? I don't think so really. Maybe at first it can be with untrained shooters, but over time when conventional shooting principles are understood and mastered it is an effective method and will in the future save lives. As for the .40 cal and the 9mm, I don't know for sure, just what I'd heard and thought I'd make the comparison. I have no problem with the 9mm and in fact I like it. Limited (barely any) with a .40 makes me wholly unqualified to boast it's capabilities.

Having had the benefit of the "VP revolution" insofar as the Patricias who have taught me over the years, I'd say it's a progressive mentality. That here in my capacity as a TrgO for a small unit with unique training and operational needs, I had sought the advice and expertise of my British counterparts.........So, guys with real-world experience using ths method and other methods have developed a small number of Canadian soldiers skills. Hardly a waste of ammo if we can take these skills back to our units and pass them on. The ammunition shortage in the CF and range training time will be the limiting factor. The decline in the percieved importance of range time in the CF period is another issue altogether and I know is in another thread......The JTF I believe teaches a similar package to Canadian Troops as the Brits do theirs, when there is a requirement.

 

[KevinB]

The Mozambique Technique - morphed into the Failure Drill.

The idea with the quick third head shot is even with a non "scoring" hit to the head it will still disorientate the opponent. 

Pat Rogers has some good comments on that technique as well as the Non Standard Responce (NSR) drill that he teach to certain elements of the USMC.

Most surgical units are shooting for the threat (head) anyway so the failure drill is more for us knuckledraggers 

 

[MG34]

Yes and with all the ammo and training time we have with the service pistol everyone will be making head shots  on moving targets every time!!! I would rather spend the limited training time and ammo in teaching my troops how to effectively engage the target getting center of mass hits everytime thanks.On a tour yes you do at times get the chance to further the training and move on to advanced drills.After the tour, you are right back to getting the pistols out  2 or 3 times a year if you are lucky to shoot a PWT.Pistol shooting is the most perishable of all shooting disciplines,there is no way the required proficency would be maintained in an Infantry Bn. When I get the time and resources I train my troops to shoot for the lower center of mass,the pelvis is a larger target,and if they miss the rounds will hit center of mass.A couple of hits to the pelvis the threat goes down,and can be dealt with there.
Head shots while a good standard drilll (Failure Drill,Dozier Drill,mozambique technique,etc) are just that drills.if a soldier is not 100% proficent at nailing a moving head sized target,under stress every time,they will be just as dead. Shooting Fig 11s in the head on a range does nothing but forces the shooter to concentrate on his aim,it has no real world application as in real life your target will be moving,bobbing and weaving. The average Infantryman does not possess the required skill sets with a handgun to make the shot everytime...period. I shoot well over 10 000 rounds of handgun ammo every year and still cannot claim to be 100% reliable on hitting a moving head sized target
A pistol is a back up weapon,it doe not replace the rifle,it supplements it

 

[HollywoodHitman]

MG34, it seems that we agree. Maintaining pistol shooting skills to that degree in an infantry Bn is a pipe dream at best. The effectiveness of the technique is dependant largely on luck, but without a doubt an extra round fired in the direction of the bad guy is one more round which might allow you to escape.

Being on a small team here in BiH has given me riduculous amounts of ammunition to use for a small number of people. The possibility that I ever recieve even close to the amounts I got here for training are slim to none. I've been fortunate to have the ammo I've had and even more fortunate to help devlop some good shooters, and improve a great deal myself. More importantly, the people I have been working with are better able to protect me as a result of the training, and are far more confident in their skills. Makes a world of difference.

Drills evolve into techniques and are modified in different ways depending on what the requirement is. Teaching troops to shoot at the pelvic region is actually an excellent way to go. Still a large target area but also an anti-body armour shot. Femoral artery is a hard one to repair and it'll bleed someone out who's heart rate is up in no time. If it was intentional keep it up, we need more training like that and if it wasn't, good instincts on your part. Leaving Bos today, so I'll look forward to catching up soon,

Semper Gumby (Max Flex)

 

[MG34]

Yes the training is intentional,the main reason is that the head shot is very hard to do under high stress situations,moving target,incoming rounds,etc. With a target area the size of the pelvis you have a greater chance of causing major damage to the target. Of course this whole topic is dependant on the amount of training time and ammo that is allotted by the units.Which usually isn't much at best.