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Old July 28, 2021, 10:56 PM   #1
Prof Young
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The shorter the gun . . .

Was helping some friends who have never shot a pistol before and, again, noted for them that the shorter the gun . . . the easier it is to accidentally shoot your self with it. The wife of my friend had a tendency to take the shot and then get her left hand down range father than the barrel of the gun. Not in front of the barresl but down range of it. I was trying to help her undersand that this was a mistake.

The shorter the gun the more easy it is to accidentally shoot yourself.

Does that seem true to you?f

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Old July 29, 2021, 04:56 AM   #2
jmr40
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Never really thought about it, but if comparing rifles to handguns then I suppose so. But the difference between most commonly used self defense and carry handguns is pretty small.
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Old July 29, 2021, 06:13 AM   #3
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Quote:
Does that seem true to you?
Yes. It's one of my three misgivings about SBRs. That 10.5 inch barrel may be very handy, but under stress are you going to get a finger around the muzzle device?
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Old July 29, 2021, 06:22 AM   #4
Spats McGee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prof Young View Post
Was helping some friends who have never shot a pistol before and, again, noted for them that the shorter the gun . . . the easier it is to accidentally shoot your self with it....The shorter the gun the more easy it is to accidentally shoot yourself.

Does that seem true to you?f

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Yes. That's one of the reasons I always suggest starting young* shooters on rifles.

(*=young in age, as opposed to "Young shooters," like you. )
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Old July 29, 2021, 11:01 AM   #5
ballardw
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Originally Posted by Spats McGee View Post
Yes. That's one of the reasons I always suggest starting young* shooters on rifles.
I would say
(*=young as in experience with firearms)

It is ever so much easier to see the barrel of a rifle start to drift in the wrong direction and may have time to address the issue before it is actually dangerous.
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Old July 29, 2021, 12:21 PM   #6
44 AMP
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Quote:
The shorter the gun the more easy it is to accidentally shoot yourself.

Does that seem true to you?f
It's true. and its not just shoot yourself, its you and EVERYONE ELSE.

Its because the smaller the the gun is (shorter primarily) the easier it is to move around. This is a particularly high risk with beginning shooters who have not yet learned muzzle control (and keeping fingers OFF triggers) down to the level below active thought.

The rifle and shotgun are long, they require both hands, you put them to your shoulder...and when not shouldered, you're still holding a fairly long, heavy object that generally speaking, you are fairly aware of.

The smaller the gun, the less aware you get. A handgun is in your hand. Its a one hand thing, just holding it, and its really easy to put fingers on triggers, even total non shooters have had literally thousands of hours of "video instruction" in their lives, watching ACTORS put their fingers on triggers while holding guns onscreen.

Off of the firing line people move their hands, a LOT. Some people can't seem to talk without moving their hands .
Pistol in hand; hand moves; muzzle sweeps EVERYTHING without the beginner even realizing it. And high probability of beginner having finger ON trigger or in trigger guard. High risk situation. (and, if its a GLock like "safety" system, I'm outta here!!)

I've actually, personally seen a man shot (luckily for him, in the leg) because an under trained shooter was shooting, and turned from the line to speak to someone behind them, still holding the pistol. They did lower it, but it was still pointed at a person and it "went off".

The other side of the coin is the experienced shooter, who becomes complacent. "Familiarity breeds contempt" applies to a lot of things, and absolutely to safety rules. Brush up against, bend, or even break a safety rule and get away with doing it with no one hurt, do it over and over without accident, and one gets complacent. The rule doesn't matter, "I do it all the time and no one ever got hurt" UNTIL THEY DO...

"I don't worry about accidently pointing a gun at you because I KNOW its not loaded, or I KNOW its on SAFE...." that attitude works, until it doesn't and someone DOES get shot because what the user "knew" was wrong.

So, yes because it is soo much easier for a small gun to be pointed in the wrong direction they are more likely to accidently shoot someone, including the user.

I don't know if its still on the web but there used to be a video of an undercover cop at an elementary school class (might have been a kindergarten I don't recall) holding up his duty pistol showing the kids, and telling them "I am the only one in this room qualified to handle a Glock Fou-tay (that's the way he said it)
He then holsters the pistol.
BANG!!!!!
Cop shot himself in the leg...

I thought that was an excellent "teachable moment".
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Old July 29, 2021, 06:20 PM   #7
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I agree, and when it's an auto-pistol rather than a revolver, its even more likely.
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Old July 29, 2021, 08:08 PM   #8
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I remember that video that 44amp mentioned.

I vaguely remember him then reaching for an AR or something when someone (teacher?) stepped in.
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Old July 30, 2021, 06:11 AM   #9
Spats McGee
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Originally Posted by ballardw View Post
I would say
(*=young as in experience with firearms)

It is ever so much easier to see the barrel of a rifle start to drift in the wrong direction and may have time to address the issue before it is actually dangerous.
Agreed on all counts.
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Old July 30, 2021, 12:16 PM   #10
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They are just checking to see if the laser site is on. LOL
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Old July 30, 2021, 12:47 PM   #11
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With a revolver...also make sure you don't put your support hand over the face of the cylinder when cocking it --- Cuz if it accidently goes off --- it'll have the chance of splitting the palm of your hand wide open.

About six months ago...a shooter at our range put his finger on the side of the muzzle brake of his SBR while firing it --- and the fiery blast consequently blew off the tip of his finger.
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Old July 31, 2021, 12:19 PM   #12
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It's a matter of training. It's better to go over firearm safety before even allowing the person to touch a firearm. I use a dummy gun when I do this (it's foam).

The verbal instruction also affords the trainer an opportunity to determine the communication between pupils and trainer. Is it effective? Are the students learning and demonstrating safe practices?

Then before going to the range, it's firearms handling. How to operate a firearm safely. All classroom. Again, communication, feedback and the trainer determines if the student is suitable for handling a firearm.

After the student(s) is familiar with safety and competent handling, then it's range time. Even then, it's dry fire (repeat classroom) before loading with one bullet. As skill increases then so does the bullets loaded in the firearm.

Time spent on classroom prevents on range accidents.
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Old July 31, 2021, 03:26 PM   #13
rickyrick
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I seen a person with a pistol grip shotgun blow his own sling off of it.
The sling got in front of the barrel, the buckle part of it.

His cool hit man stance wasn’t quite as cool after lol. No injuries except pride.
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