Double tap
Encyclopedia
A double tap or controlled pair is a shooting technique where two well-aimed shots are fired at the same target with very little time in between shots. Instruction and practice of the double-tap improves overall accuracy as shooters often do not have the gun fully extended on the first shot meaning the second of a double-tap is usually the better. The term hammer is sometimes used to describe a double tap in which the firearm's sights are not reacquired by the shooter between shots. A double tap can also be a technique where a target is bombed, and then bombed again when recovery efforts of the affected area are in effect.
ed (FMJ) ammunition. FMJ ammunition is commonly used by militaries for feeding reliability, adherence to the Hague Convention regarding non-expanding ammunition and improved penetration. FMJ rounds can fail to cause sufficient damage, requiring more hits and better shot placement. In Ian Dear’s book Sabotage and Subversion about British Special Operations Executive
(SOE) and United States Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) forces, Fairbairn is reported to have instructed SOE personnel in the double tap from 1944 to 1945 at the SOE training school directed by Fairbairn and Sykes near Arisaig in Scotland. The term "double tap" is now used to describe the broader technique of firing two rounds quickly and accurately to disable an opponent. The tactic is still used today by firearms handlers, police tactical teams, military personnel, counter-terrorist combat units, and other Special Operations Forces personnel.
There is a natural arc of the front sight post after the round is fired and the recoil kicks in. The soldier lets the barrel go with this arc and immediately brings the front sight post back on target and takes a second shot. The soldier does not fight the recoil. In combat, soldiers shoot until the enemy goes down. For multiple targets, each target should receive a double tap.
. Also developed in the 1970s is the Failure Drill or Mozambique Drill
, developed by Jeff Cooper student Mike Rousseau. This drill is to practice a situation where a double-tap to the torso fails to stop an attacker and so there's a third shot to the head.
It has been reported that a double tap was used by US Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group to kill Osama Bin Laden
in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 1, 2011.
Origins
The origin of the double tap technique is credited to William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes, British police chiefs in Shanghai during the 1930s to overcome the limitations of full metal jacketFull metal jacket bullet
A full metal jacket is a bullet consisting of a soft core encased in a shell of harder metal, such as gilding metal, cupronickel or less commonly a steel alloy. This shell can extend around all of the bullet, or often just the front and sides with the rear left as exposed lead...
ed (FMJ) ammunition. FMJ ammunition is commonly used by militaries for feeding reliability, adherence to the Hague Convention regarding non-expanding ammunition and improved penetration. FMJ rounds can fail to cause sufficient damage, requiring more hits and better shot placement. In Ian Dear’s book Sabotage and Subversion about British Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) and United States Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) forces, Fairbairn is reported to have instructed SOE personnel in the double tap from 1944 to 1945 at the SOE training school directed by Fairbairn and Sykes near Arisaig in Scotland. The term "double tap" is now used to describe the broader technique of firing two rounds quickly and accurately to disable an opponent. The tactic is still used today by firearms handlers, police tactical teams, military personnel, counter-terrorist combat units, and other Special Operations Forces personnel.
Theory
In the double-tap technique, after the first round is fired, the shooter quickly reacquires the sights for a fast second shot. This skill can be practiced by firing two shots at a time, taking time between the shots to reacquire the sights. With practice, the time between shots grows shorter and shorter until it seems to the observer as if the shooter is just pulling the trigger twice very quickly.There is a natural arc of the front sight post after the round is fired and the recoil kicks in. The soldier lets the barrel go with this arc and immediately brings the front sight post back on target and takes a second shot. The soldier does not fight the recoil. In combat, soldiers shoot until the enemy goes down. For multiple targets, each target should receive a double tap.
History
Double taps are an integral part of the El Presidente combat pistol shooting drill developed by Jeff Cooper in the 1970s and published in the January/February 1979 issue of American HandgunnerAmerican Handgunner
American Handgunner is a magazine dedicated to handguns, handgun hunting, competition shooting, reloading, tactical knives and other shooting-related activities in the United States...
. Also developed in the 1970s is the Failure Drill or Mozambique Drill
Mozambique Drill
The Mozambique Drill, also known as the Failure to Stop Drill, or Failure Drill, is a close-quarter shooting technique in which the shooter fires twice into the torso of a target , momentarily assesses the hits, then follows them up with a carefully aimed shot to the head of the target.The third...
, developed by Jeff Cooper student Mike Rousseau. This drill is to practice a situation where a double-tap to the torso fails to stop an attacker and so there's a third shot to the head.
It has been reported that a double tap was used by US Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group to kill Osama Bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 1, 2011.
See also
- Modern Technique of the PistolModern Technique of the PistolThe Modern Technique of the Pistol is a method for using a handgun for self-defense. The Modern Technique uses a two-handed grip on the pistol and brings the weapon to eye level, so that the sights may be used to aim at one's target...
- Mozambique DrillMozambique DrillThe Mozambique Drill, also known as the Failure to Stop Drill, or Failure Drill, is a close-quarter shooting technique in which the shooter fires twice into the torso of a target , momentarily assesses the hits, then follows them up with a carefully aimed shot to the head of the target.The third...
- Point shootingPoint shootingPoint shooting, also called threat focused shooting, is a method of shooting a firearm that relies on a shooter's instinctive reactions, kinematics, and the use of biomechanics that can be employed effectively in life-threatening emergencies to quickly engage close targets.This method of shooting...
- Stopping powerStopping powerStopping power is a colloquial term used to describe the ability of a firearm or other weapon to cause a penetrating ballistic injury to a target, human or animal, sufficient to incapacitate the target where it stands....