Citizen Makes 165yd Shot With Revolver to Stop Murderer From Ambushing Cop

My source says it was over 100 yards but not sure yet by how much.

Either way, that is some fine shooting.

When I shot PPC I did all my practice from 50 yards, if you can make that everything closer is easy. Rural shootings are sometimes different from urban shootings, in that, the ranges are extended. The US Border Patrol for example does get into shoot outs at extended distances.

How is someone shooting an unknown weapon at you from 200 yards less a threat than at 10 yards? Depending on the circumstances, shooting back may or may not be the wisest course of action.
 
Lucky shot, or ...

... the guy knew his revolver well. The balistic calculator at:

http://www.handloads.com/calc/

indicates about a 25" drop at 165 yards when the .357 magnum 125 grain JHP is fired at 1400 fps and sighted in at 50 yards. Was weather a factor ? Even a slight breeze at that distance is going to have an effect.

A very lucky shot I'm thinking, or the guy has practiced long range shooting with that revolver a lot and with what it was loaded with. I think the citizen was very, very lucky that the bad guy did not take out the officer and then turn the rifle on the good samaritan. Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you. I'm glad it turned out good for the good guys. It sure took a lot of courage on the part of the resident who stepped in with his .357 magnum. My hat is off to him.
 
Last edited:
I suspect that he made a guess and aimed a bit high but didn't aim quite high enough and that's why his first hit was about 2 feet low. (Thigh instead of torso).

Of course, you have to be pretty good to get that lucky. Even if he was guessing a little on elevation, he still held very well on his horizontal aim to be able to hit a 2 foot wide target at 165 yards (I'll keep using that figure since it's all we have).

That's roughly comparable to hitting a 3.8" wide target at 25 yards. Impressive for someone having no previous experience with armed "hostilities", shooting under field conditions and fighting adrenalin.
 
If memory servese

I remember a pdf of an old Field Manual that had sight settings (Holds) for long range fire with the 1911A1. I may have seen it on TFL or on the 1911 forum. Anyone else remember this? Using a pistol for Long Range fire is less than ideal, but as pointed out earlier it is not the bullet drop so much as the short sight radius that makes precise aiming and trigger control so critical. The soldiers that I observed at Ft Rucker were making hits with the M9 as far out as 300 yards. I don't know if his shot was actually 165 yards or not but it is not far fetched. As for doubting his story because parts of his story have changed; I don't think that means anything. People seldom are able to recall stressful events in perfect chronology, in fact when they do it is a possible indication of deceit.

My take aways from this are.
1. Thank God a capable citizen was there and ready to take effective action.
2. What do I need to do to be effective?
3. Although rare, bad things do occasionally require attention from greater ranges than 7 yards.
4. practicing some occasional shooting at 50 and 100 yards will help me at 7.
 
Any time you shoot at long range it's best to hold the front sight over the rear and put the target on top of the front sight so you can see what you are shooting at. Using a white dot or fiberoptic front sight you can gauge it by holding half the dot or all of it over the front blade and see where it hits then cheat it accordingly at other distances. Elmer Keith used a pieces of gold wire inlaid into the front sight for different distances. If you have serrations in the front sight you can fill them with a toothpick and paint. Trying to hold over the target is a losing battle.
 
As a full-time LEO, here's what strikes me about this incident: Proof positive that the armed citizen can, and will, save LE lives. This type of thing has happened before, and will happen again. My uniform is not a Superman costume....in other words: Sometimes, the protectors need protecting. To all of those left-leaning, brass-wearing desk jockeys that Sarah Brady loves to quote as saying that "civilians" shouldn't own guns, here's a poke in the eye for you. Great story!
 
The very rare LR shot is why I traded my S&W 442 for a 49. Even knowing how to 'stage' the trigger for the light letoff takes concentration that may not be there in a real situation. With the Bodyguard, I have a true single-action function.
Bob Munden has shown that J-frames can do 100yd shots; I plan to practice on the 100yd plates when I'm at a local outdoor range. I read and respect the earlier statements regarding 'full' or 'service' size guns for personal carry, but after years of consideration and carry, my J-frame best meets my personal situation.
Everyone, enjoy your choices and practice with them!:)
 
So why might I doubt Vic Stacy's claims? Maybe cause the park residence areas are not even as large as he described. Looking at the online ground livel pics and comparing with the aerial pics, I would be shocked if his shot was 100 yards. That is still a good distance, but considerably shorter than claimed. Not only that, in order to make such an extreme distance shot would also be less likely because of the numbers of obstructions in the park such as the trailers, trees, vehicles, etc.

Here is a good pic of the RV park. Residence areas are all pretty much within 100 yards of one another at the extremes his shot would assume absolute extremes, or that he is the cartaker living in the back, but he isn't. Conner wasn't out by the main road. He wasn't at the little lake/tank. He wasn't hiding in the woods.

At lot of the probably shots could still have been 50-75 yards. My guess is that he stated "yards" when in reality it was "feet."
 

Attachments

  • PeachHouseRVPark.jpg
    PeachHouseRVPark.jpg
    136.6 KB · Views: 51
http://www.brownwoodtx.com/news/local/collection_6ee41bea-d9bc-11e1-b24d-0019bb2963f4.html

Can't tell from the photos but looks like the park is barely 100 yards from farthest end to farthest end and you could be right about it being feet instead of yards.

I also read two different accounts of bad shooters gun, one says it was a 30-30, another says it was an assault rifle. Knowing journalists I suppose every rifle is an assault rifle. At least Stacy's gun wasn't called an assault rifle.
 
Even if it was only 165ft instead of yards, 165yds is still very doable with a 5" barreled 357 or a 45 auto if the shoot knows his gun, and has taken a few long shots before. However, It would still take some guts to engage a man with an AR15 at long range. I would sure want to have some cover available in case my pistol shots were not as effective as I had hoped.
 
If you don't follow Stacy's monologue carefully, though he tries to cover for it, his use of pronouns (everyone is he, him, etc.) make things confusing. He notes his AR15, which was the officer's, but it sounds like it is Conner's if you don't listen closely.

Can't tell from the photos but looks like the park is barely 100 yards from farthest end to farthest end and you could be right about it being feet instead of yards.
Click to expand...

And given the concentration of photos and police activity, it looks like a large area of the event too place in the central area which isn't too far from all other areas.

Even if it was only 165ft instead of yards, 165yds is still very doable with a 5" barreled 357 or a 45 auto if the shoot knows his gun, and has taken a few long shots before.
Click to expand...

Right, we all know it can be done, but the question is if he actually did it. He claimed he did, but isn't panning out.
 
Last edited:
Pistols, rifles, Evan Marshall....

As a teen, my unkle(a WW2 veteran who served in the US Army Air Corps/USAF) explained to me that in combat, he packed a M-1 carbine over a 1911a1 .45acp. He was issued both weapons as a aircrew NCO(Staff Sgt/E-6).
My unkle said he considered a .45acp 1911a1 pistol or S&W model 10 .38spl revolver to work best at close range only; 0-20 yards. He carried a M-1 because he could engage enemy targets at extended ranges.

I also read a few magazine articles by gun writer & retired police officer; Evan Marshall(Detroit MI police department) where he advised if you know you will be in a gunfight or could be in a use of force incident to get a shotgun or rifle.
 
The citizen needs to be recognized as the hero he is.


This is a classic example of a private citizen helping out a LEO in need. This would go a long way in helping to protect our second amendment rights if it made national news. But you won't see it there.
 
I live in Travis County and had not heard about this shooting ... thanks for passing on the evidence once again that armed citizens can make a difference ... good on the citizen who aided the arriving officers and good on the police for praising his actions ...
 
With a 5 in 357, evidently it was not a Python. Wow. Who would think someone could shoot like that without the greatest 357 ever made :rolleyes:
 
With a 5 in 357, evidently it was not a Python. Wow. Who would think someone could shoot like that without the greatest 357 ever made
Click to expand...


He did it was an N frame Smith and Wesson.;)
 
Some thoughts:

1. The civilian did better than most LEOs no matter than what the range.
2. He had to be a very cool customer to make the hit.
3. He should be commended

When I was shooting LR Pistol, I routinely made 100 meter shots on the old Canadian Bull targets. My best group was from a 4" trooper in 357mag. I shot single action from a sitting position braced against the wheel of a car. I placed 5 146 grain Speer JHP in the black spot on the target after 1 spotting round which hit the top of the target. I don't remember the exact load but I used WW296 with a heavy roll crimp. Hold over was approximately 24 inches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top