The Failure Drill Revisited

During the Mozambique war of independence, a mercenary named Mike Rousseau had occasion to be jumped by a terrorist at very close range. Rousseau applied two shots from his pistol, I believe it was a Hi Power, to the vital zone of his attacker. The results were not satisfying, as the attacker stayed on his feet and remained a threat. Rousseau then tried for a head shot, instead hitting the bad guy high in the throat and severing the spinal column which ended the encounter.

Sometime afterward, Col. Jeff Cooper heard about the incident and incorporated it into a Gunsite training exercise that he called the Mozambique Drill. For whatever reason, over the years, the exercise has come to be called "The Failure Drill."

So what do you do when an attacker is hopped up on drugs, or wearing body armor and your shots to center of mass are not having the desired effect? This article in the American Rifleman revisits that question.

This YouTube video from Richard Mann demonstrates the Failure Drill.