Gun Safety

What a Dumbass!

 

Good God that was stupid, does no one ever use the saftey anymore?

 

The new generation of DAO pistols don't have them.

Apparently, when police departments were transitioning from revolvers to semi-autos, cops were worried that they'd forget to remove the safety, so safetly-less DAOs (double action only) were made: Every shot has the heavy double action trigger pull, but no manual safety -- a semi-auto designed to act like a revolver.

When I took the mandatory firearm safety course for my MA carry permit (the out of state one didn't count), I asked the instructor (a cop) if he'd seen the stats on how safeties helped reduce incidents of cops being shot with their own guns.

He replied, "How much advantage do you want me to give up in a gun fight?".

He wasn't kidding. Cops still think like they're Marshall Earp at the O.K. Corral.

My (ex-military and then personal security (read "bodyguard")) VA gun instructor taught me that the bad guys always have the initiative. If you're relying on the "quick draw", you're toast. The good guys have tactics, training, and teamwork, not a "lone gun slinger".

He also taught me that alcohol and cordite don't mix.

(Humans are getting stupider.)

Anyone notice, in "The Hunt for Red October", in the gunfight in the nuke missile room, that when Ryan decided to shoot, he had to take his finger off the trigger guard and put it on the trigger? (That demonstration of proper firearm use convinced me that the anti-gun execs at Paramount weren't paying any attention to that flick before it took off at the box office.)

 

Also, how about not putting your finger inside the trigger guard unless you intend to fire your weapon?

 

Or holstering it until you're ready to shoot?

 

Screw safeties. You shouldn't rely on them anyway. Just keep your finger out of the trigger guard till you're ready to fire.

 

That idiot should be shot for being that careless. Too bad he missed himself.

 

Wow! Very smooth and quick draw. No wasted between shots and transition to the second target. IIRC, some professional trained Tom Cruise for the movie...perhaps someone at Gunsite?

 

Very Hollyweird.

Shooting from the hip is more "I'm Sir Shootsalot" than real world.

Having already de-aimed P1's piece, taking the time to double-tap him before turning to P2 (who draws like he forgot he's armed) is the film version of saying "look how `pro' Cruise is".

At least the piece didn't lock open on an empty clip on every shot.

 

Mick Gould - former SAS - gave T.C. his first taste of live ammo, too.

 

Having been there and done that in a bad situation, I will try to convey a few things that I have learned.

You cannot keep it in the holster until you are ready to shoot. Either you are ready to shoot, or you aren't. There is no half-thinking about this. There is no magical formula to determine if you feel safe enough to draw down on someone with a loaded gun.

If things are ever bad enough that you are pointing a gun a someone with full intent to use it, you are in deep ****.

The stress that comes along with pointing a gun makes a bad situation worse. **** like wondering where the safety is can screw you.

Simple things like using your gun a lot can save your life.

The decocker on a Sig is a huge safety mechanism. I have been pushed far beyond normal means in terms of stress, and the decocker was huge...massive....words cannot describe it really.

Decock, cycle out the live round, drop the clip and lay the weapon down seem so simple until you actually have to do them.

 

Training with the safety means that you don't have to think about where it is. You know.

Consider the number of controls a pilot has to deal with under stress. Before I ever got off the ground, my basic flight instructor required me to be able to lay hands on any control blindfolded. Similarly, flicking off the safety during a draw is just a matter of practice. ("Train how you fight, and fight like you trained.")

And having a perp wonder where the safety is on the gun he snatched can save your life, too. (He didn't train with it.)

 

Let's see, basic rules the moron in this video broke:

1) KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTILL THE LAST 1/2 SECOND OR SO BEFORE YOU ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY SHOOT.

Also, he clenched his hand when he fell, yeah right, instinct is to OPEN it to cussion the fall. I think this was faked.


Safeties:

Safties sound like a good idea, but do not really do anything for a defensive handgun, if the shooter knows how to handle a weapon. (if they are not competent, as is sadly the case with many in law enforcement) then that person should not have a gun. Peroid.

In a handgun, the trigger is covered by the holster, so no twigs, etc. can get in and touch off the gun. Also, most modern guns have firing-pin retention triggers such that the firing pin is blocked from free movement untill the trigger is pressed. This means the gun absolutely can not fire when droped on cement for instance.

The above are the only valid reasons to have an external safety lever. Once the gun is drawn, it should be ready for use by a skilled operator.

 

I disagree there. The best reason for a manual safety on a handgun is to make the weapon more "proprietary" to the owner:

Any dweeb knows to pull the trigger. But the owner (who trained with it) knows to flick off the safety lever when drawing. Anyone else has to stop to look at the lever to figure it out.

There were dozens of documented cases of street cops (in Illinois and Washington (state)) who lived because the perp who snatched their guns couldn't work the safety. (There was a large article on this issue in Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement a few years back.)

The only documented case I've seen where an owner was stymied by the safety was a civilian woman who was trying to shoot a would-be purse snatcher as he was running away. (So that was good luck for her.)

 

That's a personal choice, and since I'm not a cop and not likely to be 'scuffleing' with someone during the course of an arrest, not a concern of mine.

Most LE's holsters have an 'obvious' strap retainer/release... that is a decoy/fake. The real release is hidden and generally only LE officers (and their drinking buddies know where it is.

Don't they teach weapons retention anymore? If you don't LET the guy get your gun (ie, buy shooting him first), it's very hard for him to use it against you.

 

i mean notice the camera position.. and following action.. also notice the camera was "gliding with the guys motion" meaning that he had to have it on a "stand" and wasnt "holding the camera". next ask yourself why would anyone be filiming this guy walking away? certainly not to get a good "ass shot". the guy is a dumbass.. i mean if its a real round that was shot off.. but i think this thing was totally stagged.

as per the TC flick.
Very cool. i need to see the movie !

 

To me...the way he tripped looked very intentional...but thats just IMO