Posted on 02/20/2019 12:08:14 PM PST by JayCh
At the moment, YouTube is one of the biggest online platforms in the world. Well, if we take a look at what YouTube does, we’ll see that it is the only popular platform in its field of activity.
In short, when one says that they want to watch a video, we don’t have to ask what website they are going to open. It’s already clear, YouTube will pop up and they’ll start searching for what interests them. However, YouTube is a place where you can do so much more than just watch videos of cute animals and such. This entire platform can be seen as a school, as an institute of education, if you may, where one can search for a tutorial or a guide and learn what the one behind it has to offer.
Moreover, even YouTube itself sort of favors the content creators that choose to engage in creating educative content. Thus, if you want to learn something, searching for it on YouTube will definitely help.
In this respect, today we’ll be talking about how helpful YouTube can be when one wants to learn how to handle a weapon. We’ll take all of the important points into consideration as well as compare this technique to classic gun training classes. How Easy Is It to Find Such a Video?
If we type “how to handle ” into YouTube’s search bar and click enter, we’ll be rewarded with more than just a page of results. Moreover, some will be surprised when noticing that some of the videos on the first page have the words controls, assembly, disassembly, and function in their title. Therefore, we can be sure that such a video will be truly in-depth. Even more, there are more than enough videos showing world champion shooters teaching how to properly aim and shoot with a certain gun. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll come across such things in a library, for example. So, clarity is no issue when watching such a video. They are well-explained, featuring the voice and even the presence of a highly-trained professional. Furthermore, given their popularity, it is safe to assume that they have helped more than enough people learn to handle their gun. For example, a beginner guide on how to use and what one should know about an AR-15 has around 1.4 million views. Something that should be mentioned is the fact that all of these videos are age-restricted. This means that someone can’t see them without having a YouTube account that has the age-restriction turned off. In short, if a parent is interested in such videos, they can simply turn age-restriction on and even protect it from being turned off via a password or other means.
How In-Depth Are the Videos?
After watching a couple of guides on how to use an AR-15, for example, we can say that, even though we do not own or have used such a gun, we know how to clean it, how to check if there’s a bullet in the chamber, and many more. For example, did you know that, in order to load a magazine with bullets, you have to grab the magazine with your non-dominant hand while inserting the bullets with your dominant hand? This is because they need more than just a push to fit in there.
Even more, we know that we always have to make sure that the safety clip is still on when loading a magazine into a gun. Furthermore, one of the professionals recommends that a magazine should not be fully loaded when clipping it in, especially if there’s already a bullet on the chamber. It can be quite difficult to make it stick to the gun in these specific conditions.
Guess what? We know all that with just a couple of videos watched. If we spend more time, we could fully learn how to disassemble or even disarm someone that has an AR-15 in sight. Therefore, it is safe to say that, when clicking on such a guide, we will get the most of it. Moreover, by the language these trainers use, it is clear that they are either former soldiers, veterans, highly-trained personnel of some sorts, or literal gun experts. What more could you wish for? One individual, with a rifle in their hand, teaching you everything you need to know about it. Also, checking their channel for additional content, the like to dislike ratio, or even reading the comments can give you more than just enough insight as to if the person teaching you actually knows what they’re doing.
The Flaws of YouTube Weapon Handling Guides First of all, we wouldn’t generally call them flaws – they’re just some things one could need further in order to learn better how to handle a certain weapon. Naturally, we are talking about physical training and such. For example, we’ve seen more than enough people that have learned to play an instrument or code using certain software just by looking at YouTube videos. However, we have to keep in mind that they had the instrument of practice, so to say, and means to use it as well.
In these two aforementioned cases, the individuals either couldn’t afford specialized training classes, or they just wanted to do this by themselves, in order to grasp more knowledge in a short period of time. When it comes to weapons, if one fully relies on such a guide, they might experience a kick – yes, we are talking about recoil here. Thus, learning how to handle a weapon through YouTube has its limitations. Of course, you can learn the basics of a certain weapon – how it works, how you should reload it and such. But when it comes to physical training with it, one would have to get down to the shooting range and give it a go.
Another flaw might be the fact that each content creator that has videos on how to handle certain guns might come with different instructions when compared to other content creators. Like all things, some may have a different approach than others when it comes to some weapons. In this respect, it is recommended that you stick with only one teacher, so to say, so that you don’t get mixed up between two or more different techniques on how to load a magazine and so on. The Bottom Line In the end, we can safely say that one can learn how to handle weapons through YouTube. Just play the video of your choice and you’ll know everything you need to know about the weapon you have, or you intend to buy. Moreover, such videos can teach you how to protect yourself and the people surrounding you when you are using a certain gun. They can even show you how to safely aim the weapon, shoot with it, position it when shooting or when in standby. However, you also need the practice part. And for that, you have to go to a certified shooting range. There’s no other way around it.
About as well as how to land a commercial jetliner...
I wouldn't trust any youtube video to properly teach firearm safety.
I learned how to build my computer, my AR-15 and it’s binary trigger installation and testing through YouTube. No issues at all.
Of course, this was before the YouTube purge.
JayCh
Since Feb 15, 2018
I think it sets up situations ripe for Darwin awards.
You can certainly learn what not to do.
See post five.
The answer is No.
Thanks for posting.
Yes,I noticed that too.But it must be noted that he/she didn't suggest that DJT was headed to prison or anything like that.
I’ve got some very useful gunsmithing tips off of youtube. As far as firearms, “handling,” goes, there is no substitute for actual, “handling.” That said, I’ve found some pretty decent shooting drills on YouTube (Travis Haley is one of my favorites) that I’ve put to work on my backyard range.
No one puts bullets in a chamber or a magazine.
Bullets are what leave the muzzle at a relative high velocity after the firing pin struck the primer, igniting gun powder, causing an explosion, pushing the bullet down the barrel. That thingy that contains all the parts is a CARTRIDGE. If you can’t get the lingo right, stay away from things that could potentially cause you or others harm.
Absolutely. In our videos (On a completely different subject) we tell people "This is what works for us. No guarantee it will work for you"
later
Yup. The guy is an idiot.
To a degree, absolutely yes. I’ve watched old military classroom videos teaching soldiers how to handle an M16. So, I was able to learn as much as a US soldier learns in the classroom. Certainly, in order to ingrain these lessons you’ve got to spend time on the range - much more than a range class or two. You can be instructed not to put your finger on the trigger until time to shoot a zillion times. But until you spend time on the range spending a lot of effort and concentration to keep that finger off the trigger, a lot of people will unconsciously put that finger right on the trigger as soon as they pick the gun up and point it downrange.
On a related note, Eugene Volokh of The Volokh Conspiracy is doing a series of 1A videos. I love his disclaimer. It’s something like:
“This video is not legal advice. If it were, it would have been accompanied with a bill. Use responsibly.”
I learned how to build a computer ... but that was in the 1950s ...
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