[PhoenixTS]

Here's a link to my video which is the subject of this post:

Failure to Stop / Mozambique Drill - 1.12 seconds - 5 yards - YouTube

As you can see from the title of the above video, I have clumped the "Mozambique" drill with the "Failure to Stop" drill. Said drills should be differentiated from one another (especially by military standards). The "Mozambique" drill entails 2 shots to the thoracic area (center of mass) followed by an immediate shot to the cranio-ocular cavity.

This drill can be distinguished from a "Failure to Stop" drill in that there is no assessment prior to the head shot. In contrast, the "failure to stop" drill requires an assessment as to status of the assailant's condition prior to making a decision to follow up with a head shot. There are 3 instances when the assailant does not succumb to 2 center of mass hits thereby necessitating a follow-up head shot...(1) drugs, (2) body armor (heavy winter clothing or excessive fatty tissue), or (3) a determined attacker.

I had loosely and lazily used the terms when describing the video. A viewer's input is the impetus for this clarification.

Another point I'd like to make is the importance of periodic videotaping of one's shooting. This video was taken approximately 1 year after my right elbow surgery due to torn tendon and ligament. I noticed that I do not bring the gun adequately to count 2 prior to extension to the target. I came to the realization that I am favoring my right arm and going straight to the target due to the previous and ingrained pain associated to coming up high on count 2.

Wishing you all a great week!

 

[alien319]

Very nice, thanks for posting that! Love those drills.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[Elk Hunter]

good shooting

 

[Bricks]

In the Failure to stop drill, would it be wise to attempt targeting the head (brain) while assessing the assailant? I can see how trying to determine the status of your opponant might be difficult while trying to acquire yor sights. But wouldnt it be a good idea to at least began orienting the muzzle toward the head in preperation for the follow up shot if it is warranted?

 

[BigRed1911]

Sir, I believe you have the drills reversed. The Mozambique drill has the assessment before transition to the head, and the failure to stop drill is the immediate transition. They are very minor differences.

 

[PhoenixTS]

Sir, I believe you have the drills reversed. The Mozambique drill has the assessment before transition to the head, and the failure to stop drill is the immediate transition. They are very minor differences.

With all due respect, I beg to differ.

 

[PhoenixTS]

In the Failure to stop drill, would it be wise to attempt targeting the head (brain) while assessing the assailant? I can see how trying to determine the status of your opponant might be difficult while trying to acquire yor sights. But wouldnt it be a good idea to at least began orienting the muzzle toward the head in preperation for the follow up shot if it is warranted?

One school of thought dictates transitioning to the head after the controlled pair and if your sights are superimposed on the head (i.e. the attacker is still standing), fire off a round. Bear in mind that you will probably be dealing with a moving target making a headshot quite difficult, especially if you do not train enough. Needless to say, but with post engagement ballistic tests, if the attacker took a headshot from a downward trajectory (ie he was falling back or fell on his knees), you may be in a heap of trouble unless if he was still trying to engage you with a handgun from that position.

Pistols are extremely underpowered and they are carried (in states which allow conceal carry) because they are concealable. There are reports of threats continuing their attack despite multiple shots to the body. Obviously, shot placement is paramount but some attackers who are under the influence of drugs can remain in the fight for 10-15 seconds despite a direct heart hit. Ability to retreat is also a factor and if you do not have such an option in light of environmental factors then transitioning to he CO cavity may be your only option.

No amount of training can simulate an actual life or death scenario, but it sure beats not having any training behind your belt when confronted by deadly force.

 

[claude clay]

im gonna figure with your amount of smooth that your time with clearing a cover garmet would still be under 1.5

and thats good shooting.

as for mozem's i tend to have 2 seperate targets and deliver 2 shots COM to one, than 2 to the other before deciding if either of them
requires a head shot. this is done as others' working with me will be moving the targets towards me (my range has old style crank target holders).
it 'needs' a head shot if its still moving to me. we tape pictures of guns, knives and 'no shoot' items (like a cell phone )on the IDPA cardboards;
the shooter is blind or back turned till the buzzer. this simulates how something may look or happen when you walk around a street corner.

camera's are good tools and if our group has a 4th, and some one brought one, it will get used.
mostly the targets speak for themselves and we critique each other.

 

[FPW823]

The "Failure to stop" drill should be followed by a shot to the pelvis. The shattered pelvis can puncture the Femoral artery and drop anyone regardless of drug or alcohol intake. They will also bleed out in a matter of minutes.

 

[onacoma]

With all due respect, I beg to differ.

Another Perspective: Failure Drill | Shooting Illustrated

 

[PhoenixTS]

The "Failure to stop" drill should be followed by a shot to the pelvis. The shattered pelvis can puncture the Femoral artery and drop anyone regardless of drug or alcohol intake. They will also bleed out in a matter of minutes.

This works if the attacker is armed with a knife and especially if you are armed with a rifle. However, an attacker armed with a handgun/rifle/shotgun still has the ability to continue shooting and be a viable threat. Bleeding out in a matter of "minutes" is an eternity in a close quarter self defense scenario.

 

[FPW823]

This works if the attacker is armed with a knife and especially if you are armed with a rifle. However, an attacker armed with a handgun/rifle/shotgun still has the ability to continue shooting and be a viable threat. Bleeding out in a matter of "minutes" is an eternity in a close quarter self defense scenario.

Very true

 

[buckeye .45]

The "Failure to stop" drill should be followed by a shot to the pelvis. The shattered pelvis can puncture the Femoral artery and drop anyone regardless of drug or alcohol intake. They will also bleed out in a matter of minutes.

This theory also works a lot better with a high powered rifle round that has the power to break the pelvis, as opposed to pistol rounds. Some rifle rounds also have a higher change of deflecting upon hitting bones (Russian 5.45 comes to mind), and if they travel along the shape of the bone, get angled up into the torso.

Sir, I believe you have the drills reversed. The Mozambique drill has the assessment before transition to the head, and the failure to stop drill is the immediate transition. They are very minor differences.

I have always been taught as the OP described. Mozambique is an automatic third shot.

Failure to stop is a hammer pair, with a third shot as needed.

as for mozem's i tend to have 2 seperate targets and deliver 2 shots COM to one, than 2 to the other before deciding if either of them
requires a head shot. this is done as others' working with me will be moving the targets towards me (my range has old style crank target holders).
it 'needs' a head shot if its still moving to me. we tape pictures of guns, knives and 'no shoot' items (like a cell phone )on the IDPA cardboards;
the shooter is blind or back turned till the buzzer. this simulates how something may look or happen when you walk around a street corner.

That sounds like the "box drill" at least thats what it was called in the Marines. Two rounds to each COM, and then the third round as needed.

 

[First Sgt]

Ahhhh...it's soo much fun to stir the pot....YOU be the judge as to whether the Mozambique is "two quick shots to the body, pausing, and assessing, and a shot to the head.....OR....is it "two quick shots to the body followed immediately by a shot to the head". From what I'm reading, looks like BIGRED1911 has the correct shot order...LOL

Here's "wiki's" perspective:

Mozambique Drill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 (known as a double tap to the center of mass), momentarily assesses the hits, then follows them up with a carefully aimed shot to the head of the target.

The third shot should be aimed to destroy the brain or brain stem, killing the target and preventing the target from retaliating.


Rhodesian Mike Rousseau was serving as a mercenary in the Mozambican War of Independence. While engaged in fighting at the airport of Lourenço Marques (modern-day Maputo), Rousseau was armed with only a Browning HP35 pistol. As he turned a corner, he bumped into a FRELIMO guerrilla armed with an AK-47. Rousseau immediately performed a "double tap" maneuver, a controlled shooting technique in which the shooter makes two quick shots at the target's torso. Rousseau hit the target on either side of the sternum, usually enough to incapacitate or kill a target outright. Seeing that the guerrilla was still advancing, Rosseau made an attempt at a head shot that hit the guerrilla through the base of his neck, severing the spinal cord.

Rousseau later related the story to an acquaintance, shootist Jeff Cooper. Cooper later incorporated the "triple tap" maneuver (two quick shots to the torso and one quick-aimed shot to the head) into his practical shooting technique. Rousseau was later killed in action in the Rhodesian War.


AND A BIT MORE HISTORY:

The Gun Zone -- Firearms Lore

AND FINALLY:

http://www.commonfolkusingcommonsense.com/2008/05/22/the-mozambique-drill/

"Upon analysis, it seemed to me that the pistolero should be accustomed to the idea of placing two shots amidships as fast as he can and then being prepared to change his point of aim if this achieves no results."

All kidding aside, whether it's two shots to the body, assess, one to the head OR two shots to the body followed immediately by one to the head...The goal is to STOP THE THREAT!...I'll not argue semantics over whether it's Mozambique or Failure to Stop .... JMO

 

[OD*]

Jeff Cooper's Commentaries; Vol. 1, No. 1 June 1993

According to the man himself, BIGRED1911 looks to be correct.

As time passes we discover that there are a good many readers who have not been to school and who are puzzled by our reference to "The Mozambique Drill."

I added The Mozambique Drill to the modern doctrine after hearing of an experience of a student of mine up in Mozambique when that country was abandoned. My friend was involved in the fighting that took place around the airport of Laurenco Marquez. At one point, Mike turned a corner was confronted by a terrorist carrying an AK47. The man was advancing toward him at a walk at a range of perhaps 10 paces. Mike, who was a good shot, came up with his P35 and planted two satisfactory hits, one on each side of the wishbone. He expected his adversary to drop, but nothing happened, and the man continued to close the range. At this point, our boy quite sensibly opted to go for the head and tried to do so, but he was a little bit upset by this time and mashed slightly on the trigger, catching the terrorist precisely between the collar bones and severing his spinal cord. This stopped the fight.

Upon analysis, it seemed to me that the pistolero should be accustomed to the idea of placing two shots amidships as fast as he can and then being prepared to change his point of aim if this achieves no results. Two shots amidships can be placed very quickly and very reliably and they will nearly always stop the fight providing a major-caliber pistol is used and the subject is not wearing body armor. However, simply chanting "two in the body, one in the head" oversimplifies matters, since it takes considerably longer to be absolutely sure of a head shot than it does to be quite sure of two shots in the thorax. The problem for the shooter is to change his pace, going just as fast as he can with his first pair, then, pausing to observe results or lack thereof, he must slow down and shoot precisely. This is not easy to do. The beginner tends to fire all three shots at the same speed, which is either too slow for the body shots or too fast for the head shot. This change of pace calls for concentration and coordination which can only be developed through practice.
Mike Rouseau was later killed in action in the Rhodesian War. May he rest in peace!

THE MOZAMBIQUE TWO-STEP
Believed to have been originated by Jim Sorrentino, et. al.

CHORUS:

Mozambique him, Mozambique him,
If he fails to hit the ground
After two well-placed rounds!
Shoot between the eyes and lips,
No, NOT between the hips,
That should put the goblin down!

VERSE:

With your sights on center chest
Twice you your trigger you have pressed.
If two don't stop the fight,
A head-shot should set it right!

CHORUS

VERSE:

It is best to use a slug
Big enough to stop a thug.
Calibers that start with four
Will better drop them to the floor!

CHORUS

VERSE:

Stop this talk of "failure drills",
For it denigrates our skills.
Failure is a word so bleak,
But I rejoice at "MOZAMBIQUE"!

CHORUS

ADDITIONAL VERSE

In full evening dress you stroll
when accosted by a troll
who seizes your maiden fair.
Three quick shots to save the day,
reload, press-check, you're on your way,
and you've scarcely mussed a hair.

ADDITIONAL VERSE

Mozambique the bloody creep!
For he's been breathing far too long
and you must shut him down.
There's only one way to construe
the way he points that gun at you.
The time to act is now.

or maybe, for the second part of the above

'Tis unmitigated act
that you need now and that's a fact.
Thank Heaven you know how!

And a recently added contemporary verse (thanks to Alan Taylor).

"If on the dusty Arab street,
Foul Osama you should meet,
With his arms upraised, in full jihadi call!
Mozambique without delay,
T'is the order of the day,
And you'll do a welcome service for us all!

 

[atctimmy]

Wow, this thread just keeps getting worse.

Mozambique drill VS failure to stop drill...who cares. I plan to use the Timmy drill, 4 or 5 to the chest and as many to the head as it takes.

 

[Harryball]

I second the Timmy drill. But I call it the Unkle Harry drill:image035:

 

[DRM]

We’ve always called it “Mozmbique” out of respect for the guy who invented it, Rhodesian Mercenary Mike Rousseau.

I know a guy who was in the S.A.S. He had a bad guy coming at him with a hatchet. He fired a Double Tap from his BHP...nothing, the guy kept coming. Two more and he accessed...nothing. Two more and the guy fell to his knees in right front of him. He looked up and said, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU MOTHER _ _ _ _ _ _!!" Right about then the bad guy got shot in the head. :blink:

The whole point of his story he said was, "Screw that two shots and access crap, shoot 'em to the ground!" :hand5:

Needless to say, but with post engagement ballistic tests, if the attacker took a headshot from a downward trajectory (ie he was falling back or fell on his knees), you may be in a heap of trouble unless if he was still trying to engage you with a handgun from that position.

Yeah, but some people shoot better from prone…

 

[1911_Kimber]

Guys... Whatever is called if the guy is not stopping... Keep on shooting until he does... I prefer the headshot

 

[cj]

Great video, but I have to admit I've always been told the 'failure to stop' has an assess, while the Mozambique was without...to the point that during a class where a student did three quick shots, the instructor called out, "Did you just Mozambique him? That'll get you into legal trouble!", so it's not an uncommon perception.

By the way, Phoenix, I hunted down your website, and you might want to mention where you are located. I had been hoping you were in Phoenix as I have a trip planned there soon, but had to really dig to find out where you're located!