Posted on 06/14/2015 7:09:29 PM PDT by BenLurkin
(1) Always point the firearm in a safe direction. Always.
(2) KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE BANG SWITCH UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE.
My daughter is just starting trap and skeet. She had shot hundreds of rounds but was still nervous with skeet. She was all lined up for calling the bird with her gun pointed downrange. She called “Pull” and pulled the trigger at the same time! Huh!? No harm no foul though.
The instructor had previously commented on her good form in keeping her finger off until the last moment.
Will cops now call it S&W Leg instead of GLOCK Leg?
When I am at the range and switch from my M&up to my 1911, the trigger pull is so different it is startling, the M&P has such a heavy pull I am surprised anyone would fire it by mistake.
I worked for The Dupont Company, the ptemiere in safety. The policy was that there are no "accidents."
There are only incidents.
Yeah. It's the gun /s
Yes, true, but offset by perhaps a quicker first shot. Just hope I never have to find out.
“(2) KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE BANG SWITCH UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE. “
In the article they state that the old Beretta training was ‘on target, on trigger’ for the gun with over 10 pounds pull on first shot.
the Smith is only six pounds first pull with no safety.
OTOH, most of the examples they gave were where the officer had no target in sight.
That is not different from what I said, which is to KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE.
"On target, on trigger" presumes that when drawing the gun you are already determined to fire on the target when the gun is aligned and the target is acquired. But while drawing and presenting the gun, and it is not pointed at the subject, suffering a wound or unanticipated distraction may cause your grip to automatically clench, and you or other unintended people may be wounded or killed if your finger is inside the trigger guard.
Look, I just paid $125.00 to refresh myself with the NRA "Basics of Pistol Shooting" course, 8 hours of individual instruction by an accredited NRA Instructor, with a final checkout on actual drawing, presentation, and live firing of my usual carry gun, a Colt M1911A type .45 pistol, to visually demonstrate that I am handling proper gun handling and trigger contol. Without question, the Safety Rule on page 4 of the NRA Guide for this course states--without any demurrers;
======excerpt====
"ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. Your trigger finger should always be kept straight, alongside the frame and out of the trigger guard, until you have made the decision to shoot.
Unintentional discharges can be caused when the trigger of a loaded gun is inadvertently pressed by a finger left in the trigger guard instead of being positioned straight alongside the gun's frame."
=====end of excerpt=====
Regarding the above, The bolding is in the text exactly as shown. The course instructs that keeping the finger alongside the frame means especially for an auto-loader gun, one should index the fingertip above the guard and on the frame such that one's finger cannot be pushed back into the guard.
What I believe is that anyone carrying a holstered gun should regularly practice his/her draw (with an unloaded gun) to ensure that correct procedure becomes habitual and 100% automatic, without fail. One should always self-check (whenever handling an unloaded or a loaded gun) that one is not ever lapsing back into old carelessness of trigger control at any time.
There is no basis or excuse for a gun carrier to shoot themselves or anyone they do not wish to. The trigger finger is the only reliable safety mechanism, and it must always be under control.
Nothing regarding trigger control and weapons handling has changed since my basic training as a rifleman, sixty years ago.
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