armedleo said:
....Now consider the Tueller drill or, more commonly referred to as the 21 foot rule. (7 yards?)...
Yes, we're very familiar here with the Tueller drill.
Dennis Tueller (a Salt Lake City police officer) developed the exercise to test at what distances an assailant with a contact weapon could be a credible threat. But folks seem to perversely want not to understand the real meaning of the Tueller data.
The point Tueller was trying to make with his exercises is that an assailant 21(+/-) feet away with a contact weapon needs to be taken seriously as a threat. You need to take him seriously as a threat because (1) he can cover the distance between you and him in a short time; and (2) it will take you a roughly comparable amount of time to draw and fire your gun.
Tueller's original article may be read
here. Notice that Tueller talks about how being able to recognize what your danger zone is and that someone in it is a credible threat allows one to take early, appropriate defensive, risk mitigating actions.
armedleo said:
...these are some of the things that are running through your head. Sight picture?
Which is why training and practice are so important. One needs to be able to perform physically without conscious thought. His focus needs to be on what's happening and what he intends to do about it -- not on how to make his gun work and hit the target (if he decides he needs to shoot).
Considerable training and practice is indeed needed to effectively use a flash sight picture. But considerable training and practice is also necessary to effectively use point shooting techniques.
BTW, at Gunsite from 7 yards we're expected to be able to put two rounds center of mass, from leather and with a side step, in 1.5 seconds. We do it, and yes, we see our front sights.