Cali LEO hits BG with 1 round of .357 from 173 yards.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

IIRC, I saw this great markmanship story in American Handgunner.

Mr. Massad Ayoob told the story of a detective in Sonoma County, California.
The LEO in question had been shooting a variety of guns since he was 12 years
old, and was the "go to" guy in his department for firearms training.

While working at the office one day he received a call that a bad criminal he
was looking for had been spotted. The BG in question was 29 years old and had
been robbing people at gunpoint, with increased violence as time went on.

He had been chased and shot by LEO's in Cali and Florida. He was the passenger
in an old Ford station wagon. By the time the LEO's responded the Ford was on the
move. The detective was in an unmarked car and marked units were also chasing
the Ford.

The chase continued into rural Sonoma County until the driver turned quickly into a
rural house's driveway. The BG foot-bailed before the car came to a stop and was
hightailing it across a field towards the next house over. These are country properties
with multi-acre fields in between them.

The detective and the uniforms were also chasing on foot, but the BG had gotten a
head start and was quick. The detective saw that an innocent civilian woman had just
come out of the house that the BG was running towards. Fearing a hostage situation,
the detective felt that he must fire at long distance in order to save this woman from
harm.

IIRC the detective was using a Smith and Wesson Model 66 in stainless steel, chambered
in .357 Magnum. His ammo was 158 grain. He wanted 125 grain, but the factories were
behind on supplying 125 grain.

The bad guy was traversing the field from right to left in front of the officer, running full
tilt. The officer raised his Smith, adjusted for windage and bullet drop and fired.

The BG immediately fell down, then got up and hobbled towards the house where the woman
was. He was found in the carport, wounded, and unable to run any more. The bullet had pierced
him in the lower right quadrant of his back, and he bled a lot, but it didn't do anything to kill him.

Later they measured the distance from which the detective hit this BG - 173 yards!!
That's almost a tenth of a mile.

The detective said that someone once told him "If you can see your target, you can hit your
target."

Later the detective went to the hospital to get his cuffs and talk to the wounded BG.
The BG complimented him with "Good shot".

SIA

[Grog]

The BG complimented him with "Good shot".

[cougartex]

Great story.

[NOS]

That was a great story. I just can't imagine hitting a moving target at that distance with a handgun. The article also mentioned (if I remember correctly) that If he would have been using the 125 grain bullet he would have made a perfect shot and possibly had a one shot kill! That is some insane marksmanship and instinctual shooting (maybe a little luck also), but you can't hit your target moving at that distance if you don't have the skills to begin with. Glad to see others liked this story as much as I did.

[gregthehand]

While not as long of a shot still a really good one:

A significant event at Fairchild Air Force Base occurred on June 20, 1994 when Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force member entered the base hospital and shot and killed five people and wounded many others. Mellberg had been discharged after failing psychological evaluations by base psychologists Maj. Thomas Brigham and Captain Alan London. At the time of the shooting, Fairchild's hospital was an ungated facility. The gunman, armed with a Chinese-made MAK-90, an AK-47 clone entered the office of Brigham and London and killed both men. Mellberg continued to move through the hospital, injuring and killing several people, including 8-year-old Christin McCarron. The gunman then walked out of the building into the parking lot, where after killing Anita Linder, was confronted by Security Policeman, Senior Airman Andy Brown. From approximately 70 yards away, Brown ordered Mellberg to drop his weapon. After Mellberg refused, from a kneeling position Brown fired four shots from his 9mm pistol, two rounds hitting the perpetrator in the head and shoulder, killing him. After an investigation it was concluded that Airman Brown was justified in his actions, saving countless lives, and was awarded the Airman's Medal by President Clinton.

[doc540]

That's why we practice isn't it?

[glbedd53]

I thought only Lee Harvey Oswald was capable of fancy trick shootin like that. He even did it with 2 out of 3 shots, but he had magic bullets.

[duns]

I was curious why someone had to take a shot at such a long distance - interesting

I'm curious too. It was said the LEO was concerned that the fleeing suspect might take a hostage. If one accepts that logic, then anyone fleeing can be shot if there is anyone else round about, which doesn't seem reasonable.

[WildBill]

I was curious why someone had to take a shot at such a long distance - interesting

I'm curious too. It was said the LEO was concerned that the fleeing suspect might take a hostage. If one accepts that logic, then anyone fleeing can be shot if there is anyone else round about, which doesn't seem reasonable.

The rational is stated in the OP:

The detective and the uniforms were also chasing on foot, but the BG had gotten a
head start and was quick. The detective saw that an innocent civilian woman had just
come out of the house that the BG was running towards. Fearing a hostage situation,
the detective felt that he must fire at long distance in order to save this woman from
harm.

[Embalmo]

How did he even see the guy from almost 2 football fields away??

[surprise_i'm_armed]

gregthehand:

I had also read that Air Force story that you recounted.

A few interesting tidbits from that story:
The AF LEO's usual Beretta M9 had been taken from him for
some kind of maintenance work and he was using an M9 which he
had not previously shot.

This AF LEO had bought a Beretta M9 (or its civiian model 92FS)
and had practiced with it on his own time.

While the BG was advancing on the LEO spraying ineffective, but
scary, rounds the LEO was so fixed on the BG that he was not aware
of any cover. In reality there was a utility box or something like that
that he was right next to.

He concentrated on neutralizing the threat and he prevailed.
Kudos to him and his warrior spirit.

SIA

[WildBill]

I was curious why someone had to take a shot at such a long distance - interesting

I'm curious too. It was said the LEO was concerned that the fleeing suspect might take a hostage. If one accepts that logic, then anyone fleeing can be shot if there is anyone else round about, which doesn't seem reasonable.

The rational is stated in the OP:

I said I was - as in upon reading the thread title alone.

That is why I repsonded the way I did. I can't think of any other reason on my own.

[jbirds1210]

Better to be lucky than good.