I can see people that are trained to do this for a reason, but not sure if this is the best way to go about showing off your skills, and probably get kicked off the range and membership. What do you all think?
Saw this video here.

Sure.

I don't really care if my buddy stands next to a target while he shoots at it.

FPNI

Top of my head there's about 3-4 friends I shoot with that I wouldn't think twice about their capabilities to make hits on target with me standing there like that, especially from a short distance like that. Maybe another 5-6 I've shot with that could easily do it, I just don't trust because I don't kick it with them a lot but they easily have enough skill not to botch it. 

This.

Well that's a completely different situation than the OP proposed.

Would you trust your friend to point an "unloaded" weapon at your head and pull the trigger?

Both your question and mine are equally stupid.  

If I suggested anything that stupid to any of my friends, they'd smack me upside the head (and rightfully so).  

Friends don't let friends do shit that stupid.

^^^^^^^^
This X 10000

It's one thing to get fragged in combat but to take "Hold my beer" dumbass chances is something entirely different.

Not a chance

We did some stupid stuff as teens with rifles, but I would not do that.

What's a shooting buddy?

Operation RETARD?  

I've got friends that could be trusted, nearly 100% of the time to shoot a can off my head at 15-20 yards. Hell when my eyes were good and I shot 500-1500rds a week I could do it nearly 100% of the time.

The problem, is everybody, even Jerry Michulek misses, and even if the average is 1 out of a thousand, you don't know when that one miss will come in the string. It might be the first shot. No way in hell I'd shoot like that or let someone do the same. If it was necessary in a SD situation and there's no choice, then do what you must.

I have one friend I shoot with that I would trust to mis me.  That being said there is no way in hell either of us would try that.

Well maybe if I was being held hostage or something.

I think the risk/reward ratio is in line with this sort of thing at the Tier 1 unit level...but not anything below that.  So, nope with extra nope-sauce.

2 for me. Friend and father.  

That's just on a skill level. None of us would actually do it.

Nope, no way in hell.

I know three people that I can confidently say "would not shoot me" in this scenario. All three of them would decline to even attempt such a stupid stunt (and I would never agree to it either).  A good (and very intelligent) friend of mine has said "You can break ONE firearm rule and no body will get hurt.  Once you have broken one… it only takes one more for someone to get killed."

I don't know what you guys are talking about.  I only do my shooting with friends near my targets.  Maybe that's why I don't have that many friends come to think of it.  hmmmm

I don't quite know if you guys are joking here or what.  This is totally full-retard ridiculous.  You should never do anything remotely resembling this.  If you were just trying to get a reaction out of someone, congratulations.  

Anyone who is so fucking stupid to blatantly break the rules of gun safety like this deserves to be shot.  Anyone that thinks they're good enough to do this is an idiot.  And probably will be shot.  

Just joking about this shit is fucking stupid.  

WTF!

I have a number of friends who have served in various special operations units where such might be practiced.  Even with the level of training they get, accidents happen.  Do you know what the SEAL's say about it?  "Sucks to be a hostage."

That said, not all countries have the same rules on firing lines as we do, my understanding is that there are some competitions in Great Britain where a shooting team may advance to a closer yard line once the teams on both sides of them have finished shooting at the longer range, so they might be at 500 yards shooting while two or three lanes over there's a team shooting from 600 yards, but that's all shooting rifles from prone, where there is a lot more control of the firearm than shooting offhand.

Like the two idiots testing the vest! 

I believe I am skillful enough to make that shot, but I am wise enough not to attempt it. My friends? Fuck no.

You are only 99% correct. A competent HRT must train around live flesh to truly be ready to shoot around live flesh during an actual event. I speculate that no one in this thread, including myself, qualifies for this need.

There are people qualified to to do this. It is not inherently idiotic - the cost/benefit ratio needs to be analyzed. That is why taxpayer dollars are directed to fund HRTs.

Agree... not stupid or reckless when done in an appropriate environment with a clearly defined objective.

With that said, my first taste of this type shooting was six or seven years ago at a Patrol Rifle Instructor's Course... that's right, a legitimate Academy-sponsored/approved class for LEO's.

It came on a Friday when we were about done. The instructors walked down to our targets and stood next to them, not crowding them like you see in the video. The distance was about 10 yards. We were then told to load and make ready... and we were all looking at each other like .

We then took turns, one at a time, shooting the target next to the instructor doing "Up-downs". When finished, we were given a speech on how to expand (not push) the limits of safety but still be safe based on student capability. The point was exactly what is posted above... you must train and be exposed to certain things within reason before actually having to experience it in a real life encounter. Manipulation drills in and around others is a prime example. Another point was to get away from the static flat-range training mentality and do more than just punch paper.

Have I done it since? No. Will I? Probably not.

As a SWAT Commander of a 21-man team though, I am doing things to expose our guys to the realities of CQB (within reason and our capabilities) and working in and around others with firearms. While we are tasked with the mission of a Tier 1 team, which includes HRT, we've not yet got this far (mixing live people with targets in our shoot house) into our HRT training.  

Just my take on the topic...

Good explanation.

Granted a tier one team would be able to pull this off. But most guys here have absolutely no friggin clue how much training that really is, to be able to pull that off.  And even then, I would submit that they would need to train up to that standard.  I think very few individuals/units can do this, consistently, on demand.  I know some guys in a training group in the Fayetteville area that constantly train, to a standard, on demand, i.e. cold shot, no warm-up.  They are constantly honing their shooting skills.  Unless you are shooting diagnostics, i.e. cold shot drills to see where your actual performance is at, on a daily basis, I think you are fucking nuts to attempt this.  

When a buddy of mine took a specialized shooting course in prep for a special missions unit, they shot over 20,000 rds in 6 weeks.  Think about that one for a moment.  That's probably more than most guys will shoot in their life time.  Yet you get guys who think they can shoot at that kind of level.