Avoid the Bucket, advises James Rummel:
US law enforcement was rocked in the 1950’s by a string of what was then termed “Mad Dog Killers”. They were people who couldn’t take their dull and dreary lives any more, so they geared up with a gun and went on a murder spree until killed by the cops. What was really alarming is how many police officers these losers were taking with them.Investigations after the fact turned up some surprising trends. When faced with a madman who didn’t care if he lived or died, officers would shoot their revolvers empty and then never get around to reloading. Most of them were found, shot dead by the perp, with six empty cases in one hand and their gun in the other with the cylinder open. Most of the officers never even tried to reload from the extra rounds riding on their belt.
But wait, it gets weirder. Witnesses would report that a few officers would even break cover and wander around in the open, staring at their feet. They, too, would have a handful of spent brass and an open gun.
It was a mystery until a smart FBI agent thought to visit a few police pistol ranges that were operated by departments that lost men in shootouts. He found that most of them were modern facilities that were well maintained. But it was that same care lavished on the property that was reducing the chances of coming out the other end of a gun fight in one piece.
Most departments will find an easy administrative job for older officers who are nearing retirement age, and it was the same for the firing ranges. Sweeping up loose cartridges is a pain, so the most common practice was to place a bucket at the feet of every officer who would go out on the firing line. Everyone would take special care to place their brass in the bucket before reloading in order to avoid a tongue lashing from their respected and aged colleague.
So that was what those officers were doing when they would just sit there with some empties and an open gun, or when they would leave cover and wander around in the open. They were looking for the bucket!
The bottom line is that when the bullets are shrieking around you and it feels like terror will stop your heart, it is almost impossible to think. In the extreme stress of combat you will do what you have done a thousand times before. If you always put your empties in a bucket then you will hesitate and look for that bucket before you reload.