February 20th, 2020
3:24 runtime
Jim Cirillo was probably the last real gunfighter in America.
Without a doubt the combat arms fellas in our military are gunfighters, but they ply their trade overseas.
Jim did it at home, in the grim streets of New York city.
He later became a writer and firearms instructor.
He published several books including Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights.
This book is a practical shooting manual for police and civilian shooters.
It does exactly as the title says and advises on guns, bullets, and gunfights.
This book is quite old, and a lot of things have changed since Jim wrote it.
Some of the advice on weapon and bullet selection is a bit outdated.
A lot of the weapon selection focuses on full-sized revolvers.
So take all that with a grain of salt.
Some things Jim wrote about then are commonly accepted now.
This includes the use of cover and using your strong hand to shoot around weak side cover.
This technique involved a canting of your gun and became known as the Cirillo cant.
This technique is very stable and greatly limits your exposure from cover.
Cirillo also teaches a technique he called Hammerhead Sharking, but we all know it as slicing the pie.
Additionally, he teaches what would later become known as close retention firing for extreme close quarters shooters.
There is also an interesting technique he uses for close quarters called the weapon silhouette technique.
This technique uses the silhouette of your pistol as your point of aim.
Also, its an accurate means to put lead on target at close range.
He mentions how shooting in competition can be stressful and allows you to build your shooting skills under stress.
He realizes he reverted back to his training and I can certainly relate.
I came to the same realization in Afghanistan after reacting to contact.
I did so automatically because it was drilled into me through training.
He also uses a number of stories to drive his point home.
These stories are fascinating, at times funny and sometimes morbid, but always worth reading.
You get firsthand accounts of a man who has been there and done that, often with a pistol.
Its never braggadocious, as Jim is quite humble.
It is real and raw and filled with a mix of wisdom and that often hard-to-find common sense.
Give it a read and let us know what you think.
Go to forum thread
Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights
Hellcat3"
