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Gun safety rules - she stumped me

3K views 27 replies 21 participants last post by  XDM40cal 
#1 ·
I have been shooting for years and since I was young we always lived by the gun safety rules

Treat all weapons as if they were loaded, never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot, keep weapon on safe until you are ready to fire, keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to fire, Always point the gun in a safe direction.

So I was drilling this stuff into my girls head since she has never been around guns till she got with me. I was showing her how to clear the gun and inspect it. Then (UNloaded) I put the gun into my IWB holster at about 3:30/4. She then asks me "since when is your butt a safe direction?!?!" I did not know what to say.....
 
#2 ·
You should be able to holster without covering yourself. This generally involves sticking your hip out a bit so that you can cant the gun away from your body while holstering. It may look a bit silly, but if you did somehow manage to hit the bang switch while doing it, the bullet would hit the floor and not your butt, thigh, knee, calf, or any other piece of tender flesh.

Unfortunately, a lot of people do exactly the opposite---they point the muzzle inwards towards the holster mouth, and hence towards their pelvis. This is, to put it mildly, NOT GOOD.

Same for drawing. With a little geometry on your side, you'll draw without ever covering your legs.

Since one of our club's IDPA shooters managed to put a round through his leg while holstering (he was smart enough to do this at a match away from out club), we know regularly see somewhat exaggerated holstering posture around the club. This is not a bad thing. :smile:
 
#7 ·
You should be able to holster without covering yourself. This generally involves sticking your hip out a bit so that you can cant the gun away from your body while holstering. It may look a bit silly, but if you did somehow manage to hit the bang switch while doing it, the bullet would hit the floor and not your butt, thigh, knee, calf, or any other piece of tender flesh.
That is kinda what I do for that reason! But good point to the other readers
 
#6 ·
That was my response to her statment but it did not seem like she was ok with that. She followed it with then why treat it carefully one time and not others. she is trying everything she can to convince me to not carry. I told her I plan to carry everyday when I get my CHL!

I'm confused... was she talking about the act of you holstering it or when it was already in the holster?
Holstered. Its not pointing directly at my rear but if it did go off in some freak failure of the fireing pin block it would graze me or just miss. What helps me out is the fact that I am shaped like grimmus and my fat roll angles it away from me :)
 
#8 ·
Okay, I see the issue now. She is one of those people who thinks guns can just randomly go off by themselves...

Yes, that is a different set of concerns, but it comes down to accepting the assumption that a well-designed, well-maintained pistol can only go off if somebody's booger hook gets on the bang switch.

In the case of a double-action firearm, this is pretty obvious---the hammer only goes back to cock the weapon if the trigger gets pulled, of course. For a single-action gun in Condition 1, there is a theoretical possibility of the safety failing (or becoming disengaged), the sear failing, and the hammer intercept notch failing, all resulting in an unintended bang with no human interaction.

In that case, the easy explanation is to fall back on the explanation that the safety rules are rules for safe gun handling---the rules apply to people, not to guns sitting all by their lonesome.

After that, you are down to comparing guns to other everyday objects, like kitchen knives, lawn mowers, and late-model Toyotas. Yes, merely having them around invites some level of risk associated with mechanical failure, but we live our lives anyway by minimizing the risk we add to the situation personally through our own actions.
 
#22 ·
...... and late-model Toyotas.
Ouch. Shooting one at the Japanesse.

New conversation in 2A friendly households:

Honey I gotta go buy something. No, it isn't a gun. I promise it isn't a gun. What? I need a new truck/car. (Sudden acceleration to the dealership!) :smile:

Back OT, I carry my DOA P-3at supertuck and have shot my butt yet.
 
#10 ·
Then (UNloaded) I put the gun into my IWB holster at about 3:30/4.

She then asks me "since when is your butt a safe direction?!?!"
Yup. This is the one problem I have with having pistols without a manual safety. It bothers me a bit, particularly since I am not that good with reholstering easily. Can do it, just not easily.

If something is forgotten, it's a ND waiting to happen.

Two possibilities: (a) Holster up with the gun already in the holster; or (b) don't have a cartridge in the chamber when holstering up. I choose the first option.
 
#11 ·
"She then asks me "since when is your butt a safe direction?!?!" I did not know what to say....."

Because the really important stuff is on the front?
 
#13 ·
But, but, but ... that's nuts. Don't want to be doin' that. She'll go ape. :tongue:

It'll be hard to explain and square with the safety guidelines, that's for sure. That, and the whole appendix carry concept.
 
#15 ·
If you're up on your second floor in your home and you are holstering your firearm - since when would the tops of the heads of people walking around on your first floor be a safe direction?

Something for you to think about unless you have concrete floors in your home.

Just always keep your finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger.
 
#17 ·
Guns go 'bang' when you OR SOMETHING ELSE pulls the trigger. Specifically,
  • You choose to shoot something;
  • You choose to pull the trigger and you shouldn't have (round in chamber and you thing you're dry-firing at the TV, for example);
  • You pull the trigger without meaning to (finger inside trigger guard and you sneeze, or grabbing a gun sliding down the inside of your slacks, for example);
  • Some object pushes the trigger back (shirt-tail while holstering, keys with pocket carry).
The only exceptions to this that I've ever heard of are some older guns when dropped ("Gotta buy a new gun, Honey! For SAFETY!"), and the cop's pistol sucked into the MRI.

Once you holster your weapon, your butt is no longer off limits.

Um... there may be a better way to say that...
 
#19 ·
I treat the second rule as an exhortation to remain ever-conscious of the direction of the muzzle and it's implications depending on its current situation (e.g. in a holster, on a table, in your hand, etc.) -- not as an absolute, literal requirement.

My observation is that in many common cases it is impractical or impossible to obey this rule literally. For example: appendix carry, SmartCarry holster, horizontal shoulder holster, pocket carry, examining display guns at a gun store, guns on display at a gun show, when you're in a multi-story building or multi-unit dwelling... the list goes on.
 
#20 ·
Guns are inherently dangerous. Brains have to be engaged. You CAN NOT carry a gun without unintentionally covering SOMEONE SOMETIME. Guns are big kid toys requiring big kid rules and a little common sense. The rules are rules, not laws.
 
#21 ·
IMO cock,lock,ready rock is a 1911 motto, and i use it for my Springfield XD and XDm..
Holsterd in, will not go off...How can it ?? unless ,some how the safty is off..

I just can't see that happen,but i won't say it never will...IMO

My SA has palm safe with a trigger kinda like a glock..unless i grip it it will not shoot,also without a mag it wont either..
some of the safty thing about the my HG, Agreed that HG safty is allways a must..
 
#23 ·
Well, we had a guy in our city who was carrying a .380 in his back pocket without a holster, who shot himself in the butt when he got the gun out of his trunk and was sticking it in his back pocket. It can be done.
 
#24 ·
Well, we had a guy in our city who was carrying a .380 in his back pocket without a holster, who shot himself in the butt when he got the gun out of his trunk and was sticking it in his back pocket. It can be done.
He learned that the gun needs to be stored properly, ie in a holster.
 
#25 ·
1) Try very very very hard not to do that while holstering. Its possible, but does take practice
2) Thats why there's more than one rule, because you will break one of them. Thats why the others are there to protect you. This of course is not an excuse though, obeying all the rules is very important, especially when doing things like holstering
 
#26 ·
Don't think it couldn't happen, because it just did:

Off-duty officer injured when gun accidentally fires
By ANITA HASSAN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
April 10, 2010, 10:42PM

A police officer was injured when he accidentally discharged his weapon at an off-duty job in southwest Houston late Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The officer arrived at his off-duty job around 5:25 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 10500 block of Spice Lane.

He was taking his pistol out of his waistband and placing it in his police holster when he accidentally discharged it, said Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties.

The officer suffered a minor injury when the bullet grazed him in the leg. He was treated at the scene.

No one else was injured during the incident and no further information was immediately available.
 
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