Big OOPS on the range last weekend

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offroader1006

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I was out with a buddy who I regularly take to the range with me. He brought another friend and the friends spouse. We had been shooting rifles for a while, and getting the wife comfortable with shooting and controlling recoil.

We went down to the pistol range to shoot some steel plates. The guys wife had been shooting his Walther .22, and he wanted her to try his .380. She loaded a magazine, and fired a round or two. She was jolted by the violent muzzle flip and turned to talk to her husband. We were all standing behind the line talking, when I saw her turn from the firing line.

As soon as I looked down I freaked out. I'm sure my eyes were saucer-sized, and I could feel my heart skip a beat. She was pointing the loaded .380 around at everyone, with her finger ON the trigger. I was quick to shout a loud "WHOA" and motion the gun away, and she quickly realized what she had done.

I dont think I have ever been so terrified, so briefly, before. This is the first time I have actually looked down the barrel of a loaded gun. It was partially my fault, as both of the guys I brought have shot with me before, I didnt give the normal safety speech before we started.

The realization of what could have happened still haunts me. Next trip will be different.

Short story shorter: DON'T SKIMP ON THE SAFETY TALK.
 
Start beginners with one round in the mag. That is how my kids shot until they proved trustworthy.

And don't skimp on the safety talk.
 
great idea, I am getting ready to start shooting with my grand son and I will let him load on round into the mag of a savage .22, until I think he is ready for more, I learned to shoot on a single shot, so should everybody.
 
I taught my grand kids how to shoot,and I run the firing line just like in basic training,lol.I can only wonder what you felt-wow.Lucky it turned out ok.
Thank you,
Henry
 
If you have a new shooter and you're 1:1 with them, you should stand behind and to their left while they shoot until the firearm has been made safe with action open and up and placed on the table. From there, ask the shooter to step back from the firing line slowly until they're in vulture's row with the others.

Most new shooters are clueless (not all, but most of them) with very poor safety discipline. It's not because they don't want to be safe, but because they're overwhelmed and nervous. You have to be there watching them like a hawk.
 
Start beginners with one round in the mag.
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yep, especially with a centerfire pistol.
And always be standing where you can control the gun arm of a noob shooter.
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yep, same policy is applied with my stepsons, from BBgun to 12Ga to .30WCF.
What's your focus, son? Target, Front Sight, Muzzle Control.
Fire when ready.
 
That's reminds me of the first time I went to the range with my brother in law, we saw a guy come out of his lane after shooting with his finger on the trigger and he pointed the gun in a few different directions, the guy was completely oblivious to what he was doing, so after ducking for cover we commented to each other what an idiot this guy was, and we decided to go to the other side of the range, after my brother in law shoots about 2 mags off and is getting some nice grouping he decides to get my attention and while doing so he does the exact same thing the IDIOT guy did.:banghead:

His response to me, it's not loaded:cuss:
 
Thats a SCARE for sure. Very glad there was nothing else to report! ( no errant shots) :what:

Sinks it home...redundant safety talks. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be the first to remind my group at the next range trip!

Mark
 
also...when you're done shooting set the gun down. no need to hold the gun and be talking to someone. that should go for any level shooter i'd think
 
I'm probably changing the subject a little, but...


Does anyone remember back in the days when double action revolvers were the standard handgun and nobody cared if your finger was in the trigger guard or not in the trigger guard? Of course people cared about where the gun was pointing back then, but the whole finger off the trigger thing was not an issue with revolvers.
 
Luckily, as everyone knows, a .380 would barely scratch you. Now if she'd been holding a 9mm that would have killed you dead!
 
Yea, verily I say unto you, do not allow a noobie to shoot without the four commandments faithfully recited:

You treat all guns with the respect due a loaded, lethal weapon.

You keep aware of where the muzzle is pointed at all times and never sweep an unintended target.

You keep the finger off the trigger until the sights are on an intended target.

You clearly identify the target and the background where the bullet will go before pulling the trigger.
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Emphasize, Emphasize:

On a firing line, muzzles should be straight up or downrange.

When something unexpected happens, always keep the muzzle downrange and don't turn with the weapon to talk to someone.
 
Start beginners with one round in the mag.
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I don't do that.

And don't skimp on the safety talk.
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I do always give that talk. I stress that muzzle control is paramount. As long as the muzzle stays pointed in a safe direction (ground, down range), any other violation (or a gun malfunction) won't result in injuries. I'll gently remind about tirgger finger and other rules as the day progresses, but everyone is safe and I'm comfortable as long as the gun is always pointed in a safe direction.

As for kids, I don't single load the gun, but I also don't give them a handgun or semi-automatic until they are ready. Same result; If they lose focus and swing around after firing, no live round in the chamber.
 
Noobies remember the safety talk when everything is going perfect. Throw in a failure-to-fire, fail-to-extract or -eject, or fail-to-feed and the distraction can make them forget the safety talk.
 
Jeff82 is absolutely correct. With a new shooter, stand where you can control the shooters arm movement if necessary. This technique is not only for teaching kids how to shoot....
 
I have my kids recite the 4 rules no less than three times before shooting. If they get one wrong, they start over. Redundant repetition of repetetive redundancy. They start off with one round in the mag, then three. then, provided no errors have occurred on TFL, they load their own mags from then on. Which is fine, because they can't seem to load more than six rounds in a ten round .22LR magazine.
 
For those I’ve instructed I stand directly behind them with my arms partially extended out side of the shooters shoulder width thus not allowing them to turn from the direction of the target.
 
As part of the safety talk, I throw in a discussion with finger-gun demonstration of what not to do. Saying, "Never point your gun at anything that you are not willing to destroy," is not enough. Showing that turning from the firing line effectively points the gun at others can help the newby (?) internalize the point.
 
Had a similar situation with a buddy one time. He shot 4 out of 6 in a 357 mag and turned around swinging the barrel around at a group of us asking " is it empty" I removed the gun from his hand. We had a little talk and I refrained from popin him up side the head. Needless to say it is a scary moment
 
Noobies remember the safety talk when everything is going perfect. Throw in a failure-to-fire, fail-to-extract or -eject, or fail-to-feed and the distraction can make them forget the safety talk.
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Yep. I was teaching one lady to shoot and the front sight worked loose on a newish Ruger Mark II. She turned around and pointed the gun at me while her off hand pointed to the (rotated) sight. I calmly asked "Yes, and where should the gun be pointing?" and her eyes got as big as saucers.

Now when I give the safety speech to a group for the first time I retell that story, then when we recite Rule 2 they add "even is something unexpected happens" or "even is something goes wrong". Thanks for the reminder.
 
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