# shoot from the hip



## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

On the TV show "The Chicago Code" the Alderman survived a hit attempt on him at the barber shop by shooting his Walther PPKS through the cover that barbers throw over you to keep the hair off your clothes.

How many of you practice this sort of shooting? And how reliable a shot are you with this technique? (Not in a barber shop, they would be afraid to cut your hair if you practiced there.)


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

I think the more "practical" term for this kind of shooting is called "Shooting from retention". I practice it, but it's not something to be done on a whim. There's muzzle blast to contend with, possible powder burns, and of course, if you're not careful, you'll shoot your support hand off or worse!

There's lots to be considered prior to doing live fire drills from retention.

1. Make sure not to cross your hip/thigh when drawing.
2. If you strike with the support hand first (to create distance) remember to retract your support hand prior to firing.
3. Wear appropriate clothing so you don't catch on fire.
4. If you shoot a ported weapon, roll the pistol 90* out before firing or you'll get a face full of fireball.
5. DO NOT practice this alone. Even when you do it a million times, it only takes one snag of the clothing and a bad day to put a round thru your leg. 

That's just a primer. Get some proper instruction from a qualified trainer before you go live with this type of shooting. It's a lot more complex than it looks. I watched a so called "trained" individual put a round about 3" from his right foot while trying to show how badass he was during a training segment on the matter.

As far as your question, I can reliably put rounds into the torso of a target from contact distance to about 5 yards. Anything further and you really should punch the gun out and put metal over meat and proceed to ventilate.


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## DanP_from_AZ (May 8, 2009)

Packard said:


> . . .How many of you practice this sort of shooting? And how reliable a shot are you with this technique? . . .


Thread hijack alert !:smt179 I haven't done this for a "few" years. OK, 53 yrs. to be exact. :mrgreen:

But it wasn't with a handgun. I "killed" a lot of large appliances at our dump with my Win. Model 12 shotgun from the hip. 
I was pretty much a failure using the from the hip technique on "thrown beer or pop cans".

I learned two things.
First, as always, when you fire any shotgun, you want to be FIRMLY in control of it somewhere on your body. Or pay the price. :mrgreen:

Second, my Model 12 was NOT a "scattergun". A 30" barrel with full choke duck gun produces a REALLY TIGHT pattern at 10-15 yards. 
Hit a rat at that distance, and it just "disappears". But it's deadly on ducks at 40-60 yards. :smt1099


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## Gunners_Mate (Feb 17, 2010)

wish I could vote up other peoples posts, Zhurdan's post was spot on.


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

zhurdan said:


> I think the more "practical" term for this kind of shooting is called "Shooting from retention". I practice it, but it's not something to be done on a whim. There's muzzle blast to contend with, possible powder burns, and of course, if you're not careful, you'll shoot your support hand off or worse!
> 
> There's lots to be considered prior to doing live fire drills from retention.
> 
> ...


So in the TV show he shot through the nylon cover while seated. I saw no hand movement so this is all TV-phony. Where did he conceal the gun? If it was in his hip pocket it would not be available while seated. If it was at the 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock position he would have had to shift in the chair to get at it (he didn't). If it were me, I like the back up on the ankle. It allows an easy draw while seated.

And the nylon cover did not catch fire. I had a PPKS for many years and I don't recall much of a muzzle flash in .380. Nylon will generally burn in the verticle position, but usually is self extinguishing in the horizontal position. I think the burning issue is overstated.

The real question is: Could he reasonably hit a bad guy (deliberately) in the thigh shooting this way?


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Packard said:


> So in the TV show he shot through the nylon cover while seated. I saw no hand movement so this is all TV-phony. Where did he conceal the gun? If it was in his hip pocket it would not be available while seated. If it was at the 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock position he would have had to shift in the chair to get at it (he didn't). If it were me, I like the back up on the ankle. It allows an easy draw while seated.
> 
> And the nylon cover did not catch fire. I had a PPKS for many years and I don't recall much of a muzzle flash in .380. Nylon will generally burn in the verticle position, but usually is self extinguishing in the horizontal position. I think the burning issue is overstated.
> 
> The real question is: Could he reasonably hit a bad guy (deliberately) in the thigh shooting this way?


Uhhh, It's a TV show. There's no reasonable, practical, or even remotely useable information related to the real world application when trying to approach what you see on TV.

I was trying to relate real world uses, not Hollywood nonsense. Sorry I couldn't answer your question.


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## dondavis3 (Aug 2, 2009)

My police department practices it from the 2 yd. line.

Further than that away, they believe that they should try to draw & shoot.

So yes I try it yearly, but @ very close quarters.

:smt1099


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

dondavis3 said:


> My police department practices it from the 2 yd. line.
> 
> Further than that away, they believe that they should try to draw & shoot.
> 
> ...


Do you practice this shooting with one hand? With the gun hand close to your hip?

What does your department consider acceptable performance at 6 feet?

Do you think it is useful and worthwile to practice this?


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## hk45ctp30 (Feb 22, 2011)

When we used to qualify with the federal agency I retired from, we had to draw from the holster and shoot with the pistol next to our rib cage at a distance of 3 feet. This was designed to simulate doing a field interview and the subject suddenly attempting to draw a knife or weapon unexpectedly. We first shot 1 round in 1 second, 2 rounds in 2 seconds, and then 4 rounds in 3 seconds. It's amazing how fast you can get rounds off that way, and very accurately to boot.


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