YouTube Karens are out in full force...

Well, looks like you are getting the feedback you earned.

And the good news is you get to improve your next video.

Trey Veston said:

Of course it is clear. Who would handle a firearm that wasn't cleared??

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You seem like a decent guy , and I don’t mean to take a shot (ha), but - since you solicited comment - the thinking expressed above is flawed.
Flawed thinking in regards to firearms leads to danger.

I only read the first page of comments here.

I am not making videos on the web trying educate people, but if I was I wouldn't have gone about it quite as you did.

I'm going to go against the grain here but personally, I get tired of seeing exhaustive safety checks and verbalizing it throughout a video. On the other hand, I believe there are alot of viewers who don't know safety and I suppose it's important to set a good example for less experienced folks. At the same time though I'm thinking ok get on with it, you cleared the gun at the beginning we don't need to see 40 safety checks, etc....

DustyGmt said:

I'm going to go against the grain here but personally, I get tired of seeing exhaustive safety checks and verbalizing it throughout a video. On the other hand, I believe there are alot of viewers who don't know safety and I suppose it's important to set a good example for less experienced folks. At the same time though I'm thinking ok get on with it, you cleared the gun at the beginning we don't need to see 40 safety checks, etc....

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Like when you want to see a SIG P226 undergoing a complete teardown.

Best ones are where the presenter sits down, instructs purely with gestures, and doesn’t speak.

Hickock45 did not start a thread on THR asking for comments about his videos. You did. We complied.

And - Hickock has plenty of detractors. Pretty much EVERYONE who is prominent on Youtube does. Like it or not , it's part of the deal.
No one is forced to display themselves by publishing videos.

There's an old saying ... "if you can't stand the heat , get out of the kitchen".
Thanks Harry.

Robert said:

While that is second nature to many of us, showing clear to the camera costs nothing and gives the viewer the feeling that you are following the 4 rules to the letter.

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^^^This. If you are going to post to the general public and in anyway implying you are an expert with firearms, you have to make sure you act that way. May even come down to post editing anything out that even looks the tiniest bit of being unsafe. Even then you will get flak from those who think they know better than you.

Kleanbore said:

I would have retaken the video.

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BINGO! Gun handling safety must be perfect in videos, photos, and in-person; when it isn't it affects your credibility and all your work is for naught because your message is overshadowed by the safety violations. Let this be a learning moment.

I believe all of this behavior comes from folks feeling scared and powerless. As the sense of daily oppression increases so does the fighting and bickering, Many mistake real life with the ability on the net to remain anonymous and safe from retribution as well. I see open altercations where "karens" decide its their duty to police mask wear in public. Even being told to F-off in public can be devastating to them. A punch to the face would prolly make them suicidal. I predict this will not end well.

Perhaps instead of being insulted by the comments, take a step back and assess why having a gun pointed at your hand, with your finger on the trigger, could be perceived as unsafe by the viewer. Do they have a point?

OP, an observation: I don't think that the rules of safe gun handling, in any of the versions that are widely accepted anyway, include the caveat that if you obey one you can ignore the rest.

Ah Youtube. It is quickly becoming the armpit of the Internet. At least in the comments section. I rarely read the comments on a video let alone post one. My favorite "safety" comments on a gun video for awhile were the ones that complained the firearm was pointed at the camera. Like a bullet was going to go through the camera, the internet, and hit whomever was watching the video days, weeks or longer down the road. "Those that don't matter, pay no mind."

If you decide to play on social media, you get whatever comments occur.

There was a well known video where a gun writer was promoting the Serpa holster. He was trying to debunk the claim that the release mechanism press would lead to fingers hitting the trigger and causing an ND - which has been seen.

So he videos his draw to show this - well, then folks slowed it down and guess what, there was a scary finger in the trigger guard.

https://blog.krtraining.com/paying-attention-to-your-draw-technique/

Point - Serpas - not that great, next - you live and die when you post your expertise. Best technique, acknowledge the flaw, look at the video in slow motion before posting and / or don't post.

Trey Veston said:

In my videos, I try to come across as someone who loves guns, has a bit of experience with them, but is not an "expert" and is always willing to learn. I try to be funny, sarcastic, and self-deprecating in my videos as an alternative to the hundreds of "operator" posters who wear tight black T-shirts, Oakley shades, and show themselves ringing steel at 5 yards over and over.

I'm a fat, low income, genuine guy with a history in law enforcement and the military who enjoys firearms and has used them professionally, personally, and safely for over four decades. Hard for me to comprehend that people out there would try and attack me and my methods.

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If you post on You Tube, the trolls will come.

That said, between :30 and 1:45 I could see why you got such comments. I know you cleared them before handling them like that, but many who have a passing knowledge of firearm safety ( or none) do not. Your left hand did go in front of the muzzles of the pistols you picked up; momentarily with each one. I recommend opening with a montage of you clearing each one, and explaining exactly what you are doing each time.

Your other peccadilloes;

2:10 -finger in trigger before on target with the G19.
3:22-you did it again with the P365.
4:29 - and again with the XdS.
5:51 -and again with tthe G29.

In your defense, yes I know they were all downrange when you did have the finger on the trigger, and yes, particularly in the military, they tend to be not as strict on that as LE and certainly not as strict as youth shooting sports. We had to teach the kids in Trap to put their safety on between shots. Two of my Trap guns don't even have safeties, and on the others the safety stays off the whole Trap season. It was a bit ironic when some of those kids shot leagues that we'd tell them to leave it off while on the line.......
but I digress.

Otherwise, very informative video.

Not trolling here, we have similar backgrounds. But, like you said;

Trey Veston said:

It is so ingrained in my DNA, that I fail to realize that others require more obvious evidence.

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I understand this point of view. However, having taught 4-H Shooting Sports and been a Range NCO in the military, I have learned you have to speak to the lowest common denominator, and on You Tube, that is waaaaay down there.

Trey Veston said:

I've seen videos in which they will clear the pistol on camera and I always think that it is a bit ridiculous and overkill. Of course it is clear. Who would handle a firearm that wasn't cleared??

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Again I agree, but many people do every day. Most get lucky and nothing happens, but every time they do so they go against the law of averages, and some eventually lose, sometimes with tragic results.

I'm going to have to agree with Robert here:

Robert said:

Rule #1. Even if I'm handed a firearm I know to be clear, I still double check.

While that is second nature to many of us, showing clear to the camera costs nothing and gives the viewer the feeling that you are following the 4 rules to the letter.

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Trey Veston said:

Just watched a Hickok45 video and he committed the same "sins"

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That makes it ok?

From birth most of us (as kids) learn to pick up a toy gun aim at whoever is near and pull the trigger. This in ingrained in human behavior and made worse by violent movies and games. It also de sensitives and lessens/eliminates the fear and respect for firearms unless we really concentrate. I would say all of us are affected to some degree and the slightest distraction can make us forget even the simplest rules of firearm safety. When being filmed the distraction of it is clear and recorded forever. When a loaded firearm is in your hands it should be the only thing on your mind.

A person can be an advocate of 2nd amendment rights , a shooting enthusiast and a proponent of safe handling of firearms without falling into the "Karen" description.
Lots of such folks hereabouts.

You're fine. Ignore those idiots on Youtube, friend.

I heard a radio discussion on why folks are picking on each other. One speaker said it was intentional and part of the destabilization plan for the US. Another agreed and added a phenomenon he called "injection regret". Dunno which is right, maybe both but folks are really treating each other badly lately on the net and in public.

Trey Veston said:

I was seriously offended by the accusations.

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Trey Veston said:

I've seen videos in which they will clear the pistol on camera and I always think that it is a bit ridiculous and overkill.

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People do stuff like that so that they don't end up being seriously offended. If you are going to put your stuff out in the public domain, there will be people who won't like it, plain and simple. However, if you served in 3 branches of the military, I am sure you can handle comments from a few strangers on the internet, right? Then again, some of them may have some valid points. If a lot of people are pointing out the same issues, then they likely aren't "Karen" issues.

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Trey Veston said:

been handling firearms since I was 10 years old, have had a CCW for 19 years, and have never once had a negligent discharge.

I consider myself a very safe person in regards to gun handling and am a bit paranoid when it comes to carrying a loaded weapon.

In the video, before filming started, all firearms were cleared. Repeatedly.

I did not point them at myself or anyone else.

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Trey Veston said:

I reviewed the video in question and all I see is my fingers briefly going in front of the muzzles while handling the pistols. My fingers may also have gone inside of the trigger guard a couple of times.

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Trey, you are so safe, you are downright complacent. You are so complacent that you do not even recognize that what you are doing violates safety rules even when you write them out.

Rule One: All guns are always loaded.
Rule Two: Never let the muzzle cover anything which you are not willing to destroy.
Rule Three: Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
Rule Four: Always be sure of your target.

Trey Veston said:

I did a video earlier this summer regarding the recoil of various carry pistols.

I just got a couple of comments from viewers stating that I violated all sorts of gun safety rules and "are an accident waiting to happen".

I reviewed the video in question and all I see is my fingers briefly going in front of the muzzles while handling the pistols. (Definitely a violation of Rule 2, arguably a violation of Rule 1)
My fingers may also have gone inside of the trigger guard a couple of times. (Definitely a violation of Rule 3 and again, arguably a violation of Rule 1)

I was seriously offended by the accusations. (They seem more like observations than accusations. Observations that you admitted were correct in the previous paragraph).
I have served in three branches of the military, been handling firearms since I was 10 years old, have had a CCW for 19 years, and have never once had a negligent discharge.

I consider myself a very safe person in regards to gun handling and am a bit paranoid when it comes to carrying a loaded weapon.

In the video, before filming started, all firearms were cleared. Repeatedly. (If you cleared them "before filming started", then it obviously wasn't "In the video").

I did not point them at myself or anyone else. (What about "my fingers briefly going in front of the muzzles while handling the pistols"? That sounds suspiciously like the weapons were pointed at you).
I was in the middle of nowhere and alone. None of the weapons left my sight from when they were cleared and when I handled them.

Are the comments simply the result of internet trolls doing what they do? Or did I display unsafe gun handling worthy of derision and correction?

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I don't know about derision, but a little correction certainly seems indicated.