[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> each week, american history tv's reel america brings you archival films. up next on american history tv's reel america," shooting for fbi policea 1975 training film detailing techniques for arresting armed suspect. uses dramatizations and scenes recorded at a shooting range to show the use of firearms law enforcement. ♪

>> hey, i have been robbed. he went that way. the kid with a gun. dispatcher: this is radio to 27, i have a robbery that just occurred at the liquor store at 14th and elm. the suspect is a white male wearing a red jacket. he is armed. >> he went that way. >> i request assistance. >> take cover. a basic rule for survival against hostile fire. this officer advances warily,

selecting possible cover as he moves. now he's in position to return fire or pin down the suspect until help arrives, with minimum exposure to himself. defensive firearms training, shooting for survival, normally follows basic instruction. it stresses proper use of cover and the firing positions from behind it. one-on-one is a good method for defensive firearm instruction. the instructor can correct stance or grip before the pupil continues. the result of correcting the

bent wrist are immediate and satisfying. even good shooters may acquire bad habits when shooting from behind barricades. ready to fire from strong right hand side, the student benefits from another correction. keeping elbow and knee safely behind cover, removing two targets from hostile fire. he fires a good pattern with a minimum of bodily exposure. each firing range may set up its own course, but defensive firearms training objectives remain. teaching the application of a basic shooting techniques to confrontation situations. failure to provide a firm base when shooting from cover makes for inaccurate shooting. legs spread to wide provide a tempting target for an assailant.

now the shooter can fire safely from a steady rest, putting all of his shots in the kill zone and using the barricade for maximum cover. this is shooting for survival. [gunshot] >> this game warden owes his survival to knowing how ricochet shots may behave. the bouncing bullets may kill a man even when he believes himself safe undercover. behind this car or this one.

in this demonstration, the instructor aims at a target well in front of the car. the rifle slug does not leave the roadway like a rubber ball. it has ricocheted almost parallel to the ground, to pierce the target under and behind the car. safety lies only in putting a solid object like the wheel or engine of the car between you and your assailant. let us review the surprising effect again. while a rubber ball thrown to the ground would bounce upward at the same angle, a bullet ricochets almost parallel to the hard surface struck.

with targets at ground level, the instructor aims at the silver tape, a good deal closer than the balloons. think of one of the balloons as your head and you may change your evaluation of safe cover from ricochets. [gunshot] >> the same principle remains when the ricochet is from a hard vertical surface. think of yourself taking cover around the corner, exposing yourself only minimally and momentarily. would you be safe? your assailant may aim wide at

the corner, as we see here. but the ricocheting bullets almost parallel to the wall could kill you as easily as they burst these balloons. the lessons taught by these demonstrations might someday save your life. dispatcher: attention units 54 and 55, we have a 1090 at the national bank. first unit at the scene, do not enter into the backup unit arrives. >> this is unit 54 responding. >> many police departments now authorize shotguns to be carried in patrol cars. as a safety precaution, they usually do not have a shell in the chamber. officers may forget to release

the action so that they may charge the weapon. sometimes this only causes a momentary delay, but in an unexpected confrontation, these seconds could be vital. shotgun instruction, especially with newly-issued weapons, must begin with the row training in handling and loading. releasing the action must become a reflex move, even under stress. firing ranges and courses for shotgun training may vary. all, however, qualify in two basic positions. offhand fire is better suited to long ranges.

hip firing is used to close range, where most confrontations do occur. the shooter must know the shot pattern of his weapon to be aware of the safety limits of various shotgun loads. each year, the fbi uniform crime reports tell a grim story of policeman killed. some die from a rifleman's bullet from ambush. [gunshot] >> some die at a closer range, often while performing routine duties. [gunshot]

[tires squealing] >> the largest number are killed by handguns at extremely close range, often before they can draw their own weapon. [gunshots] >> combat pistol courses meet this challenge by training shooters to shoot as close as three feet. they will include firing positions for accurate shooting at longer ranges. the point soldier position fires from a crouch and uses the arm as a pointer with the front side as the tip. you should not bend elbow or wrists, it would deflect the

shot. [gunshots] >> at closer ranges, shooter may take the natural point. this does not use the front sight, but points the weapon like a finger. [gunshots] >> also fired from a crouch is the hip position. the weapon should be pointed at the target like a finger, but the bend position makes this more suitable for situations where aiming is not as much of a factor as speed.

two positions should be taught. the first has the elbow resting on the hip, weapon extended as necessary. this can be used to search a room or cover a partner at close range. another ready gun position is fired from the hip. this protects the shooter from the danger of being disarmed at close quarters. after close combat training, you should fire groups like this. without it, the record shows clean misses in close combat situations. you get no second chances. to provide an exercise, some of the fbi firing ranges in quantico, virginia have

constructed a prototype dueling course. [gunshot] >> man on the left. two seconds left. on the right, start walking. [gunshot] >> man on the right, 1.25. >> the final firing position is close to the darts. it coordinates the fast reactions and proper techniques you will need in a close combat situation. effective use of cover may someday save your life on the street. defensive firearms training can make such reaction automatic.

cover may not always protect you against ricochets, which have their own rules of behavior. demonstrations like this convince you of the rules, and how best to guard you against bouncing bullets. many law enforcement agencies have authorized use of shotguns. defensive firearms training should start with thorough shotgun familiarization and range shooting. statistics show a frightening increase in the number of law enforcement officers killed by handguns at extremely close range. to meet this challenge,

defensive firearms training must stress the technical skills which can defend against this threat. train at courses, which teach shooting for survival. ♪ >> each week, american history tv's reel america brings you archival films that provides contest. up next from 1976, " shotgun or sidearm?" to show the dangerous nature of firing shotguns that suspects in public. using a