Posted on 01/25/2021 5:05:23 AM PST by COBOL2Java
When I’m not creating content for any of the NRA publications I’m operating a company that I started about nine years ago called Renaissance Firearms Instruction. I founded this outfit by teaching students one at a time until I eventually needed to recruit more than a dozen instructors in order to keep up with our 2,000+ students a year. These days I spend the majority of my time either in front of the classroom or overseeing operations on the range, but I do still handle 99 percent of the one-on-one training.
In order to keep our fees down we utilize a number of public ranges and shooting clubs. We introduce the newcomer to the process of arriving, shooting at, and leaving a public range so they have a means of putting what we just taught them into action. Unfortunately, they occasionally get an education on how to spot unsafe behavior as well and address it before it becomes a safety concern. Here are three warning signs that now put me on alert for potential safety violations:
If you listen carefully, you can hear the ocean! (On a serious note, this is a staged photo with a remote-controlled camera.)
Then there are communication difficulties. If there is a language barrier, then they may not have understood the safety briefing and got by with just saying “Okay” when checking into a public range. Our instructors are trained to engage students in conversation and ask questions that require a specific answer other than “Yes,” “No” or “Okay.” It's amazing how easy it is to get into a firearms course and sit through the safety briefing without having to engage in conversation unless pushed. This is one of the driving principles behind Total Participant Involvement. Conversational English is a requirement for any of our courses as we need to ensure vital safety information has been effectively received by each participant.
My introduction to this came during a morning hunt with a Hunter Safety Instructor that I’ve befriended over the years. As we exited the woods he decided to help me by unloading my shotgun and casing it up. As we got into the car he handed me two shells…..there were five in the gun. Turns out he wasn’t as familiar as he thought with this particular firearm and created one of the very scenarios that new hunters are warned of.
The point is that we are all capable of mistakes. After a demonstration I often have my students check my firearm before I put it down. Sometimes this is met with a funny look but I always explain “This patch on my back doesn’t mean I’m not human anymore.” Often times experience leads to complacency—“familiarity breeds contempt”—and we slowly drift away from those three critical safety rules.
Now of course not every behavior “A” leads to infraction “B,” and it is important to know that the preceding represents the minority. I have seen some of the safest writers mount the latest holographic optic backwards on a firearm. I’ve also shared the range with many young Israelis, who exercise the utmost discipline; as military service (with live fire training) is a requirement for them to live in their country. Lastly our cherished police officers, gun salesmen and instructors typically exhibit exemplary handling skills, as most understand the slippery slope of complacency and never want to put the lives of those around them in jeopardy. In closing, please remember that firearm safety is everybody's responsibility, so take a moment to gently correct and educate those who need a little.
We need mandatory gun safety class in every school.
“We need mandatory gun safety class in every school.”
When I went to school in the 1950s, you had a choice, learn to play a musical instrument in band or learn firearms safety and marksmanship taught by a certified NRA instructor.
I never learned to play a musical instrument.
“Fewer experiences in life are more frightening than looking down the muzzle of a firearm.”
Then you’ve never walked up on a bear in the woods while unarmed. I have twice. It’s a bit unnerving....
The term ‘gun safety’ means something a little different to those on the other side.
Especially if the bear is armed!
They have a right, don-cha-know...
Regarding the “professionals”, the worst safety incident I ever experienced at the range was due to a uniformed deputy sheriff in Calcasieu Parish LA who thought it was funny to discharge his rifle while the line was confirmed cold, red lights flashing, and I and others were down range changing targets. He literally laughed as I came back yelling at him. Happened nearly 20 years ago, but still chaps me.
In my non certificated intro class I have a method called “grip-it”.
I don’t reinforce what not to do “keep your finger off the trigger” I encourage a positive action “do grip it the right way”.
I was at the outdoor range yesterday and was just getting ready to fire when I noticed some guy casually strolling out to put a new target on without the range safety officer calling a Cease Fire.
The safety officer yelled CEASE FIRE! and dressed the guy down. He had no idea he’d done something wrong.
Oy...
I took a gun safety course just before I became a teenager, some 60 plus years ago. It must have been given by the NRA, though I don’t remember anything about the organization offering it. I remember vividly the important rules, though. You never ever, ever allow a gun under your control to be inadvertently pointed at another human being. You always unload a gun for transportation and storage. You never, under any condition look down the barrel of a gun. It always amazed me, when ever AI saw others violating these rules.
I took the course sometime during my fourth and fifth grade at school. I remember it because I was attending a two room country school for those two grades. The school had a very strict gun control policy: Any weapon brought to school must be unloaded before entering the school building, and stored unloaded in the coat room. No exceptions were tolerated. My, how times have changed.
I take my 11 and 14-year old grandkids to the range. They’re fully trained. When he gets older, I’ll train the 3-year old. ;-)
Too many kids learn all they know about guns from video games and movies.
As long as guns are a mystery to them they are easily pulled down one of two paths.
Fear
or disrespect.
I think our local school boards may be a big part of the problem. (a very big part).
Solution , teach a kid to shoot.
“...the worst safety incident I ever experienced at the range was due to a uniformed deputy sheriff in Calcasieu Parish LA who thought it was funny to discharge his rifle while the line was confirmed cold, red lights flashing, and I and others were down range changing targets. He literally laughed as I came back yelling at him. Happened nearly 20 years ago, but still chaps me.....”
Yeah. I remember this incident being brought up in a safety discussion at one of our gun club meetings. That’s been quite awhile ago. Geez, has been 20 years?? Man, time flies.
“....I take my 11 and 14-year old grandkids to the range. They’re fully trained. When he gets older, I’ll train the 3-year old. ;-)...”
Yep. One can either kid-proof their guns or gun-proof their kids.
Not to sure how I feel about that, keep your finger off the trigger seems to be a solid statement.
I will say when clearing a weapon I don't check for a cartridge . I look for an empty hole.
So if it works for you I suppose it works.
First thing I did was point it away, drop the mag and cleared the chamber (it wasn't empty).
Then I handed it back to her - THIS is how you pass a firearm. My B-in-L was embarrassed - "Dammit Lori, I showed you how to present your firearm".
Poor guy - my sister is just a ditz....
I’m thinking it was around 2004 or so. And yeah, I’m the guy that reported it to club leadership. Perhaps others did as well.
Re: The Professional
I’ve left a range after a bunch of ‘officers’ showed up and displayed extraordinarily bad trigger and handling discipline. They had no respect at all for their weapons.
OTOH, the class for Concealed Carry in our town was run by the Police Chief, and was free to residents. He was a great guy who apparently spent weekends in Ft Worth doing reenactments. The policy of free resident training was his own and was canceled then he retired, sadly.
Safety Merit Badge
Marksmanship Merit Badge
State Hunters Safety Course
Reading all Dad’s Field and Stream and Outdoor Life with gun articles and safety-based ads.
Reading all Boy’s Lifes with NRA safety ads. ‘The 10 Rules of Gun Safety’. Then I would try to rememeber them.
#10 Gunpoweder and Alcohol don’t mix. At the time I thought, why? do they dissolve. Sounds bad.
Continuing Adult training for CW and proficiency.
Teaching Juniors, emphasis on safety.
Now, if I even point my finger like a pistol, it is in a safe direction.
But at the range, or handling guns with friends or in a store, no one has a problem with double checking, or asking the other guy to show it’s empty.
Safety is about three levels deep. NOt to skimp on two of them, but to keep safe.
And then fun can happen.
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