Pistol Safety

[Agent Blue]

We qualified in the rain and extreme heat cold often, no guarantee of good weather, sometimes had the instructors yelling in our ears etc. too, not to mention hot brass bouncing off of you and on one range backsplash from rocks. The introduction of stress into practice is helpful, never shot in competition though.

Fond memories of Marine boot camp..... all 14 lovely weeks.

 

[RadarTech]

Fond memories of Marine boot camp..... all 14 lovely weeks.

I was just on MCRD PISC last weekend!
Oh the memories... The sand fleas... The memories of sand fleas...

Semper Fi Leatherneck!

 

[Car Doc]

I agree,I shoot IDPA/USPSA alot and consider myself a decent pistol shot,I also understand it is very hard to shoot accurately under stress.It takes alot of practice to be able to do it well.The person who shoots only a few times a year is not going to do well.
Anyone who carries should try a IDPA OR A USPSA shoot it will be a eye opening if you do not practice alot.

That is my thoughts also fact I believe everyone who carries should be required to have at least a basic IDPA style course of training every time we renew beside just learning the legal implications and a simple 20 shot target to qualify...once.

Training using scenario problem solving, reloads, cover, tactics, learning about and dealing with buzzer and performance anxiety, all that besides marksmanship thats the only way to develop necessary muscle memory is do it and do it a lot.

 

[dmccarty]

Noted.

And this is presuming the bad guy even is aware of in coming rounds that may not be hitting him in a theater full of loud noises and flashing light etc in this case and you are close enough to take an aimed shot in those conditions.

I am absolutely sure he would know if a round hit him but would he know a miss and react hard to say jmho.

Don't get me wrong Dan I am 110% all about shoot the sob whomever it is when they pull a gun like this I am just real hesitant to speculate on the outcome based on things I see.

Here is what I see month after month at the local pistol matches and it happens to the best of them. People shoot low or they shoot all over the place except where they should. That is my premise mainly the innocent bystanders in between the bad guy and the good guy.

If he does not know the bad guy does not know he is being shot at that just gives the defender more time to slow down and take the shot.

I think the outcome with a defender is much better than no defender at all. I don't really see much of a down side of someone engaging the killer. If there is no defender the killer is free do execute his plan.

Yes there are bystanders which are a concern. How many people do you think were standing around the bad guy when he started shooting? How many people were on the floor? I would bet most of the people right around the shooter went to ground. Those that did not ran and they would have been away from the shooter ASAP or on the ground for a variety of reasons. I would bet there was plenty of clear shots at the bad guy. Yes people's shooting skills can decrease under stress which makes hitting a bystander more likely, however, in an active shooter situation what are the alternatives? To do nothing and let the bad guy have free reign?

Yes, the defender might hit a bystander. Yes, the defender has a chance of being shot by the bad guy. Yes, the defender better be danged careful when the LEOs swarm the scene. I really don't see how the CO massacres would have been made worse with a defender who was in the theater.

There have been cases where active shooters have been stopped in crowed malls. I am thinking of one case of an off duty officer who was eating at a mall when the shooting started. Quite a few rounds went flying but he did not hit a bystander. The off duty officer also had to worry about his own safety since he had a weapon and he was out of uniform.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

We qualified in the rain and extreme heat cold often, no guarantee of good weather, sometimes had the instructors yelling in our ears etc. too, not to mention hot brass bouncing off of you and on one range backsplash from rocks. The introduction of stress into practice is helpful, never shot in competition though.

Hot brass is not bad as long as it bounces off of you. It IS bad when it goes down a shirt, gets stuck on the back of your neck, or sits perfectly on the top of your shooting glasses leaving a nice "brand" on your fore head. :laughing: Worse is when you roll over a case that just got ejected by the guy next to you and it REALLY brands your arm. Trying to explain a perfect bottle shaped brand to people for a few weeks gets tiring. :laughing:

Rain is ok. Cold is not too bad. HEAT sucks. Worst of all is heat, humidity and WIND! I have had some training canceled because the wind would tear off the targets which is pretty impressive given that the range is built below grade. :laughing:

I once qualified at a range in FLA that was in a swamp. Sad thing was that housing developments had been built AROUND the range. When the range was built it was in the middle of no where. BECAUSE IT WAS A SWAMP! Can't believe people built and bought houses out there. One evening it was so humid that "steam" was rising off our bodies which was very odd to see. Our safety glasses would instantly fog up and was the first and last time I will ever shoot without glasses on a range. I had a piece of metal hit an inch or so below my eye. If I had been shorter or the person had been taller I would have been hit in the eye. :shocked:

Later,
Dan

 

[k0ua]

My wife had a few .45acp pieces of hot brass go right down in the old "cleavage" area.. she learned pretty quick to wear a T shirt with a higher collar. To see a grown woman, hollering and shaking and reaching in her top with a loaded and cocked .45 1911 in her other hand (safely pointed downrange I might add) is kind of interesting

James K0UA

 

[Soundguy]

the hot brass dance..

 

[Car Doc]

I think the outcome with a defender is much better than no defender at all.

I agree and if only they had had the foresight to have not placed the no gun sign and made it illegal for someone to defend their self's there could have been a few defenders in the crowd maybe even someone with training.

 

[joshuabardwell]

The shooting sports are the only sport I know of where you can rub shoulders and shoot with some of the best athlete's in the world. I can't think of any other sport you can do that.

I once shot a GA state championship where Dave Sevigny was qualifying for nationals. What a privilege. Suffice it to say, he won.

 

[TripleR]

That is my thoughts also fact I believe everyone who carries should be required to have at least a basic IDPA style course of training every time we renew beside just learning the legal implications and a simple 20 shot target to qualify...once.

Training using scenario problem solving, reloads, cover, tactics, learning about and dealing with buzzer and performance anxiety, all that besides marksmanship that's the only way to develop necessary muscle memory is do it and do it a lot.

That is in my opinion totally unrealistic and would eliminate most who would otherwise choose to carry. If that was proposed by someone from Handgun Control, we would be up in arms so to speak. The average CWP individual is not preparing to be a security guard or LEO, only to be able to provide themselves some level of protection in the unlikely event they ever need to.

If he does not know the bad guy does not know he is being shot at that just gives the defender more time to slow down and take the shot.

I think the outcome with a defender is much better than no defender at all. I don't really see much of a down side of someone engaging the killer. If there is no defender the killer is free do execute his plan.

Yes there are bystanders which are a concern. How many people do you think were standing around the bad guy when he started shooting? How many people were on the floor? I would bet most of the people right around the shooter went to ground. Those that did not ran and they would have been away from the shooter ASAP or on the ground for a variety of reasons. I would bet there was plenty of clear shots at the bad guy. Yes people's shooting skills can decrease under stress which makes hitting a bystander more likely, however, in an active shooter situation what are the alternatives? To do nothing and let the bad guy have free reign?

Yes, the defender might hit a bystander. Yes, the defender has a chance of being shot by the bad guy. Yes, the defender better be danged careful when the LEOs swarm the scene. I really don't see how the CO massacres would have been made worse with a defender who was in the theater.

There have been cases where active shooters have been stopped in crowed malls. I am thinking of one case of an off duty officer who was eating at a mall when the shooting started. Quite a few rounds went flying but he did not hit a bystander. The off duty officer also had to worry about his own safety since he had a weapon and he was out of uniform.

Later,
Dan

+1

Hot brass is not bad as long as it bounces off of you. It IS bad when it goes down a shirt, gets stuck on the back of your neck, or sits perfectly on the top of your shooting glasses leaving a nice "brand" on your fore head. :laughing: Worse is when you roll over a case that just got ejected by the guy next to you and it REALLY brands your arm. Trying to explain a perfect bottle shaped brand to people for a few weeks gets tiring. :laughing:

Rain is ok. Cold is not too bad. HEAT sucks. Worst of all is heat, humidity and WIND! I have had some training canceled because the wind would tear off the targets which is pretty impressive given that the range is built below grade. :laughing:

I once qualified at a range in FLA that was in a swamp. Sad thing was that housing developments had been built AROUND the range. When the range was built it was in the middle of no where. BECAUSE IT WAS A SWAMP! Can't believe people built and bought houses out there. One evening it was so humid that "steam" was rising off our bodies which was very odd to see. Our safety glasses would instantly fog up and was the first and last time I will ever shoot without glasses on a range. I had a piece of metal hit an inch or so below my eye. If I had been shorter or the person had been taller I would have been hit in the eye. :shocked:

Later,
Dan

I haven't shot in anything that bad, but sure had brass down my neck a time or two.