My impression is that the F.B.I. guys shot well, including the guys with autos. The initial killing shot was landed by Jerry Dove with a 9mm auto and the silvertips in his gun really did work well. Blaming them was the F.B.I.'s attempt to find a scapegoat. The agents were in the sunlight. The crooks were in the shadows, so the lighting was working against them. Ed Mireles was slow to get his 870 into the fight (the only cop with a long gun) due to a gunshot wound to his left arm. The BGs had long guns and sure as heck knew how to use them, since Mattix was a former Marine and Platt was a former Army Ranger. No doubt the good guys made mistakes, but we've had years to pick apart split second decisions they had to make on the fly.