Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Colion Noir has a knack for finding videos that make people on both sides of the gun debate squirm.
His latest target? A police recruitment ad where an officer looks straight into the camera and tells prospective recruits they don’t need to be an expert shooter to become a cop.
That’s a pretty awkward message considering one of the most common talking points from gun-control advocates is that firearms should be left to the “trained professionals.
“So…which is it?” is basically the question he spends the next four minutes asking. The recruitment video starts with a simple question.
Do you have to be an expert shooter or marksman to earn a badge?
The officer doesn’t hesitate.
“No,” she says.
Instead, applicants just have to meet the department’s qualification standards. If they’re struggling, instructors at the academy will work with them until they pass.
“You by no means have to have the perfect shooting score,” the recruiter explains.
Noir says that’s where the whole conversation gets interesting. He understands why departments are making videos like this.
Recruiting is tough. Law enforcement agencies all over the country have been struggling to fill vacancies, and lowering the intimidation factor for new applicants makes sense.
“I get why the ad exists,” Noir says. “Nobody wants to be a cop right now.” But he also thinks it creates an obvious contradiction.
For years, he says, gun owners have heard some version of the same argument: Leave the guns to the professionals. Then a police department releases a recruiting video saying you don’t actually have to be a great shooter to become one of those professionals.
SEE ALSO: Do Cops Shoot Too Many Pet Dogs?
That’s the disconnect Noir can’t get past. One of the more interesting parts of the video is when he shifts away from the recruitment ad and starts talking about training.
According to Noir, he’s lost count of how many police officers have privately told him that plenty of civilian gun owners spend far more time practicing than the average cop.
“In the gun world, that’s not a hot take,” he jokes. It’s Tuesday.” He even tells a story about a friend asking an officer what handgun he carried.
The officer reportedly looked down at his holster and simply answered, “It’s a nine.”
Not the brand. Not the model. Just…”it’s a nine.” Noir laughs at the story, but he says it illustrates a bigger point.
A badge doesn’t magically make someone a firearms expert any more than buying a guitar makes someone Eric Clapton. Training does. Practice does. Actually caring enough to improve does.
To be fair, Noir also goes out of his way to make one thing crystal clear. He’s not bashing cops.
In fact, he says some of the best shooters he’s knows wear a badge. He credits a police officer with teaching him how to shoot and talks about officers he’s trained alongside who paid for extra instruction out of their own pockets because their departments wouldn’t.
Those officers, he says, aren’t the issue.
His criticism is aimed at the assumption that simply having a badge automatically makes someone more competent with a firearm than an ordinary citizen.
That’s a leap, he argues, that doesn’t hold up in the real world. The video wraps up with what is probably Noir’s biggest takeaway.
When someone kicks in your door at 3 a.m., he says, you’re the first responder to your own emergency. Police may be on the way, but they’re not there yet.
That’s why, the conversation shouldn’t revolve around titles or uniforms. It should revolve around preparation. Whether you’re a police officer, a competitive shooter or an everyday concealed carrier, the same rules apply. The people who become proficient are usually the ones willing to keep training long after everyone else has gone home.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
Experience:
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– Concealed Carry Permit Holder (NYS & AZ) – Trained and licensed to carry in multiple states.
– 2A Journalist – Covering firearms legislation, Second Amendment issues, and gun rights for over a decade.
– Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Certified to provide emergency medical care in the field.
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For the record, Clapton is a gun guy and a regular at my LGS
All you have to do is spend 10 minutes on YuckTube watching these police interactions with these criminals shooting at them and them shooting back and not hitting a damn thing, emptying in the magazine, and not hitting anything.
This is disgusting, if you can’t take the perp down with the first three rounds, then you need to throw that gun away put the badge in the drawer and walk away from policing as you’re disgrace!
PROVE ME WRONG!
Colion Noir is one voice I always pay attention. He knows what he is doing and tells it like it is.
Most police are just clowns in a different uniform.
What a foolish statement. Unless of course you are a commissioned police officer who is able to speak from experience at your department rather than a media influenced, misguided personal opinion. It would appear that the author of this article has a left leaning bent against law enforcement. I know for fact that the local law enforcement agency where I live will terminate the employment of officers who do not meet the requirements of proficiency qualification testing, which occurs annually. “Qualifying” requirements in this department are not an easy task, requiring officers to practice at shooting ranges, on their days off, on a regular basis.
That is total BS, and you know it…. you sound like a jack-booted tyrant…… another Lying PIG!
You’re the piece of crap that’s a keyboard “tough guy” and doesn’t have the balls to confront someone face to face. Come up to the Bronx bro, I’ll show you how to shoot. I’d smoke your ass at 25 yards no problem!
OK, you sound like the tough guy, making threats over your keyboard. GTFOH, Bootlicker.
Im talking in competition stupid! Don’t piss yourself yet! Boy, you run your mouth then get pretty scared easily! 😂
I said I’d show you how to shoot, like in competition at 25 yards! 😂 Don’t let your fears consume you princess!
Why don’t you fuck off retard….. Stop your bullshit! The only POS running their mouth is you PIG boy!
Well, I got news for you doofus Dave you don’t know a damn thing about what you’re spewing cause you can go out on YuckTube right now and watch at least 100 videos of these officers shooting at people emptying their magazines and not hitting the criminal perp shooting at them!
So you can take that rhetoric and shove it buster. You’re the one that doesn’t know what you’re talking about!
By the way, I am a trained tactical firearms instructor so I know what I’m talking about and I’ve been shooting since I was old enough to hold a gun and I’m 75, so don’t tell me all officers are trained or well trained. That is a damn lie!
And your statement that Colin Noir is a left-leaning person, further shows that you’re an ignorant fool!
I put t h e problem on you then. If you’re a firearm instructor, then you’re failing at your own hand! My department will terminate you if you fail to qualify and it’s twice a year, not just once. I know guys who have been through the military who still can’t shoot, I don’t get your point. Im telling you, it’s all in the individual and how much they train. Thats with everything. I think Save hit it right on the nose! You can watch whatever tube you want, walk in a cops shoes and then talk crap..
I recall an episode of Swamp People; a cast regular member (son) makes a great shot from inside a boat! His father congratulates his son; the son looks at the camera and says, (sic) “Not many people understand the time and efforts that happened long before that shot.”
I thought, “Well said,… and truth.”
That’s what training is for – what a stupid post!
Exactly.
I see this at the range every time. Cops seem to be the worse shooters there. I guess most of them don’t care as long as they still get paid.
Nobody is talking about the obvious: No LEO spends more than 0.00001% of his/her time or calls on actually drawing and firing a weapon. Thus, no department wants to pay for the training.
Do consider, though, how important it is to be competent at it when that rare time comes.
Guess that explains why when someone pulls a gun on them they don’t just shoot it out of their hand. Works in the movies. Guess Actors are just better shots than Cops. LOL
Tell that to Alec Baldwin
Does this have a threaded barrel for installation of a suppressor?
I was at a range next to two Prince George’s County cops who were having trouble with a POS SW SD9. They commented on the shot group I was getting with my G17. I asked if they wanted me to try their gun and they said yes. Their problem was not their gun.
Its all a matter of simple physics. Any basic AR with a 510c sight for wide FOV a foregrip and flashlight can turn any human into a deadly killer. Follow the 1 2 1 2 1 2. Where there are two targets drop the mag and reload. Again and again. Do that over and over. Youll be surprised how deadly youve become.
Those that advocate for gun control should have to go to a range and shoot with a trainer. Learn that defensive shooting is not all standing upright and punching holes in paper targets. It is about moving and shooting so that you don’t get shot while standing still and trying to acquire a perfect sight picture. The “target” is shooting back at you. Also that trained officers miss 70% of their shots. It’s not Hollywood at your home or defending yourself while out shopping. It’s you and the person trying to take something from you. Maybe your wallet or maybe your life. Criminals rarely decide to do a wrong to you or yours when a police officer is standing there watching. You will be alone confronting the criminal or as happens since they are mostly cowards-multiple criminals-so the odds are in their favor.
Speaking of training time…LEOs should be paid to spend a WHOLE lot more time doing hand to hand combat so they wouldn’t be petrified that some thug is going to out-wrestle them. How many videos have I seen where it takes three inept fat cops to subdue some guy. Take some BJJ classes ffs.
20 year law enforcement firearms instructor. Sad thing is, this is not a joke. I have officers come to training or qualification and they don’t even know how to use their gear, holsters, clear malfunctions, don’t bring equipment to the range, etc. Weapon mounted lights fall off, or don’t work, don’t know how to use red dot, have to take extra time to cover very basic skills like front sight focus, trigger control, or how to field strip their weapon for cleaning. Their supervisors tell them they don’t have the manpower for them to go to an 8 hour class and I usually only get them for 4 hours a year and my department complains if they have to issue out more than 50 rounds for training, and they will only change out duty rounds every two years.
Many years ago, Washington University in St. Louis, released a study comparing LEO vs civilian gun use. They found that civilians with legally owned guns were about 10% MORE effective in stopping crimes than LEOs just by having a gun present, whether the gun is fired or not. They also found that if a shooting =did= occur, civilians were about 10% LESS LIKELY to shoot a bystander that LEOs. I think that pretty much sums it up.
I call BS on this story! So you mean to tell me, a civilian stops more crime than a LEO weather the gun is shot or not? Even if he’s in uniform? 😂 Doesn’t make sense, funny though..🥴
Ot was an article in Guns & Ammo magazine in the 80’s, about the same tome that Dr. Lott’s shooting information started hitting print. IIRC, the university study was peer reviewed. As far as civilians being somewhat more effective than cops, the people that civilians contact are, by and large, not criminals, so are much less likely to escalate than the people that cops often encounter. I don’t know if the actual study can be had from the uni or if there’s an archive of G&A articles that can be searched, or not.
It’s kind of funny how fast New York City learned what defunding did to their police department, lol. What a bunch of morons. Cops should be required to rotate through range time and training on a weekly basis. One day a week or every other week at a minimum should be dedicated to all day training with screen time as well as live fire. And I don’t mean standing at the firing line and shooting your pistol. It should have to be duck and cover and return fire training. Shooting is a perishable skill and I shouldn’t have to even say that for the liberal cities to understand it. Cut some of your other ridiculous programs, curb the fraud and give that money to the police department for ammunition. It could save your life and the lives of your constituents.
When I served as a LEO we used revolvers, usually .38spl or .357 (six shots). The fact that you only had 6 rounds before you had to reload, forced you to practice more often control your grip, aim, strong hand, weak hand, barricade, kneel for distance etc… During the 80’s a transition started giving semi-auto 9mm firearms to LE agencies. With it, came larger magazine capacity, light-touch triggers, fast follow up shots while the weapon was still in recoil. That recipe mixed with adrenalin during chase or altercations, is what I believe causes, “spray and pray magazine dumps”, leading to uncontrolled shots and the problems associated with that. Criminals aren’t concerned with stray shots, and the fact that they started using semi-auto weapons force LEO’s to follow suite. I think at least some of the problem could be corrected if the semi-auto firearms that LEOs carry today had a heavier trigger pull during rapid-fire situations. JMO
I too, trained as an LEO in the early 90’s on a wheel gun. The S&W Model 66 was a SWEET shooting revolver! I remember cleanly shooting the heads off of several water snakes one day long ago. I appreciated the increased simplicity, and firepower of the autos we transitioned to, but they had absolutely NOTHING on the Model 66 when it came to accuracy.
The left claim of police brutality and racism, defunding the police is still what they want, but are not so overt about it. Put out there less qualified cops and then the left will get their way with more problems due to incompetence. Lowering standards though will not make up for fewer people wanting to be on the force.
way to many people buy into the hollywood shooting scheme, they say thats easy but it’s not. the learning curve is easy the proficiency curve is very large!