Jlr2267
Member
Until today, I would have said "no" if mandatory. Well, today I watched a guy (new gun owner it appears) who obviously hadn't a clue about gun safety blow off his own finger. Yes, I literally saw the man shoot himself before my own eyes and saw the blood gushing from what remained of his finger as his wife and a couple of by-stander children gasped in horror.
It took all of about 5 seconds to go from a bad initial decision to a traumatic, and probably lifelong, injury. He shoots one shot, and the gun malfunctions. So he drops the mag without clearing the chamber (mistake #1), grabs the MUZZLE with his left hand (mistake #2), while keeping his finger on the trigger (mistake #3) and proceeds to push on the slide. Next thing you know, BANG! Lucky for him, he had just turned the gun away from pointing directly at his gut when it fired. He appeared to have not even a slight hint that anything he was doing was dangerous...could have just as easily shot another patron.
Scares the hell out of me to think about the high cost of carelessness and improper training. When that bullet leaves the chamber, its gone and you cannot call it back, no matter what the consequence...it is gone and could take an innocent child's life, or just bury up in the dirt...it is out of your control at that point. We (responsible gun owners) all understand that gun safety is paramount, and that 4 simple rules will prevent the vast majority of accidents, because we are taught that, either by our families or by an instructor. Who is teaching these folks that grow up in gunless homes and decide at the age of 35 to buy their first pistol and head down to the range? These folks "don't know what they don't know" so we can hardly blame them.
Sorry for the long-winded rant guys (and gals) but this incident today really has me considering the need for a different approach.
It took all of about 5 seconds to go from a bad initial decision to a traumatic, and probably lifelong, injury. He shoots one shot, and the gun malfunctions. So he drops the mag without clearing the chamber (mistake #1), grabs the MUZZLE with his left hand (mistake #2), while keeping his finger on the trigger (mistake #3) and proceeds to push on the slide. Next thing you know, BANG! Lucky for him, he had just turned the gun away from pointing directly at his gut when it fired. He appeared to have not even a slight hint that anything he was doing was dangerous...could have just as easily shot another patron.
Scares the hell out of me to think about the high cost of carelessness and improper training. When that bullet leaves the chamber, its gone and you cannot call it back, no matter what the consequence...it is gone and could take an innocent child's life, or just bury up in the dirt...it is out of your control at that point. We (responsible gun owners) all understand that gun safety is paramount, and that 4 simple rules will prevent the vast majority of accidents, because we are taught that, either by our families or by an instructor. Who is teaching these folks that grow up in gunless homes and decide at the age of 35 to buy their first pistol and head down to the range? These folks "don't know what they don't know" so we can hardly blame them.
Sorry for the long-winded rant guys (and gals) but this incident today really has me considering the need for a different approach.
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