Incident at a well known gun store.

[pax]

From an excellent post on another board:

At the class that JD and I took about a month ago our instructor said that gun shop employees, gunsmiths, range officers and firearms instructors have a unique opportunity. We all get to see more unsafe gun handling than anyone else.

He also said that he has had three Accidental Discharges in his presence and he's sick of it. If someone points a gun at him or does something unsafe with a gun, he's going to act.

His advice was sound and something that I've been trying to put into practice.

He said, "Think about it. If someone came up to you and pointed a gun at you in the street, you wouldn't just stand there and allow it. You'd do SOMETHING to defend yourself because that is the most aggressive behavior someone can demonstrate towards you. So why would you allow it in a shop, on a range or in your home?

"Your first reaction when someone points a gun at you shouldn't be, 'Oh, well, I don't want to offend him.' You should get PISSED. He is threatening your life even if he doesn't intend to do so. You have every right to get furious!"

That was pretty good advice for me as I have had COUNTLESS guns pointed at me in the last year and at least three of them have been loaded.

Words to live by. More people are accidentally killed with "unloaded" guns than by loaded ones.

Remember this thread? http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=282550

pax

 

[Cosmoline]

It's not just kids doing it. A lot of adults cover people with firearms, without a second thought. It's hard to tell a 60 year old man that he's being reckless.

 

[W.E.G.]

Its perfectly appropriat to say something in that situation.

How you say it is just as important as what you actually say.

Firm and polite is usually the best when it comes to careless behavior.

 

[rantingredneck]

I was at a gunshow about a month or so ago and one of the dealers was apparently "demonstrating" an XD for a potential buyer. He brought the weapon up in a modified weaver stance and promptly swept about 20 people with it including the potential customer and me.

It isn't just youngsters that do it. A lot of times it's people who should know better.

The indoor range that I frequent (when it's too cold or wet for the outdoor range) is run by a husband and wife team that are both LEO's and instructors. The husband told me not long ago that they've had 3 ND's on the range since they opened their doors 14 years ago. All 3 of them were LEO's who were there for qualifying. He also said that LEO or not, their policy is the same. Any unsafe gun handling up to and including ND's gets you a lifetime ban from their place of business.

 

[BobMcG]

I'm with the General on this one.

just would have politely commented, "woah, that's not a toy. Try to keep the muzzle pointed away from others..." with a calm smile. Chances are highly likely that the boy just didn't know any better.

Agreed. Spot on. It would have politely gotten the correct message across and shouldn't have upset anyone in doing so. It might just have caused the father to be a bit more vigilant about what is going on around him and to try to be a better teacher to his son even if he has a lot to learn himself.

Not all of gun safety is rocket science, it's common sense. I think the father would have benefited from the polite exchange too. Yeah, some people are just offended instead but IMO it's worth the while.

 

[Bily Lovec]

i assume me screwing my 45 in his ear hole is the wrong thing to do ?

 

[BobMcG]

Yeah, that might be a bit too much.

 

[skinewmexico]

That's why I don't go to Benchrest matches anymore. When my kids got nervous about being swept, we left.