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Argh. In *practical* terms, the Tueller distance is a joke.

Here are the Tueller parameters.

The shooter is a law enforcement officer (LEO), who is *expecting* to be attacked. He is also facing *away* from his attacker. The attacker is brandishing a knife. When a signal is given, the attacker charges, the LEO turns to face him, quick draws his gun and fires twice at the attacker’s center of mass.

It is unrealistic to the point of fantasy, and *only* illustrates a very small point. It is just the starting point for the concept, with a *lot* of variables.

1) What if the LEO or civilian is *not* expecting to be attacked?

2) They may or may not see their attacker at a distance.

3) The attacker is not obviously brandishing a weapon.

4) The attacker may be running, or just walking, and maybe not directly at the gun owner, but kind of in his direction.

5) The attacker may be using subterfuge to try and “close the gap” with the gun owner. “Do you have a cigarette/light?”

Realistically speaking, for a civilian gun owner not expecting to be attacked, the actually Tueller distance, to pull their gun and fire twice at center of mass could easily be greater than three times the official Tueller distance.

Plus there is the added problem for a gun owner that when out in public, brandishing a gun is often unlawful, so they are hesitant to do so.

For these reasons, I advise the use of a secondary stand off weapon. In your non-gun hand, have a knife.

The purpose of the knife is *not* to fight with it, but to stand off a knife attacker long enough to draw your gun.

Another rationale is that handguns are most effective in a range from five to twenty five feet away from you. But a knife is most effective from zero to ten feet.

Handgun in right (dominant) hand and knife in the left hand, is the tried and true World War I trench fighting combo. It is also superior for fighting indoors.

In any event, I highly recommend training with a faux knife and a cap gun with a friend, as you will learn all sorts of practical things.

Bottom line: the civilian Tueller distance is one heck of a lot further than it is for prepared LEOs.

Many thanks for that post - over time that Tueller maneuver has devolved from an informative exercise scenario into a misguided cult. There are people who actually train themselves for that exact scenario, thinking that's how knife attacks are done. No joke. Hate to break it to them, but the last Banzai charge I know of occurred around 74 or so years ago, with no revival of that tactic likely. From my personal experiences crap always hit the fan from just a couple of feet away or from a distance of 50 meters or more. I've never had anyone run at me, ever. It would always start from up close or from a distance. That's how it goes down in the real world. Too many people are taking this Tueller stuff too literally, ultimately putting themselves in more danger than they think they are avoiding.

The attacker may be running, or just walking, and maybe not directly at the gun owner, but kind of in his direction.

There was a YouTube vid about situational awareness while out hiking, and the implied Tueller Drill.

The instructor had a student walk along the trail, and ambled up to him saying something disarming lie "What's up, dude?"

Once within arms reach, the instructor lashed out, making an "X" across the student's throat - carotid artery cut. The instructor used a red marking pen, which really made the presentation vivid. Stayed with me ever since, and I now surreptitiously eye every passerby when I'm out for a walk, and sometimes even in an urban environment.