Читать книгу Beretta 92FS/M9 Handbook - Erik Lawrence - Страница 3

Safety with handguns is one of the most critical aspects of handgun training. Because of the size and portability of handguns, they are prone to being inadvertently pointed in directions that the possessor does not intentionally desire. Often when an individual is addressed while holding a handgun, he or she will turn to face the person speaking and thereby accidentally point the pistol at that individual or some other unsuspecting person on the range. For that reason, shooters must be aware of the muzzle orientation of their pistol at all times, keep their finger off the trigger unless firing the weapon, and if at all possible, safe the pistol and return it to the holster or render it safe and point it in a safe direction when interacting with others that are not hostile.

There is often confusion between what I will refer to as “administrative protocol” and “weapons safety.” Administrative protocol or a “range-ism” consists of what each range institution has decided it will or will not allow and generally consists of guidelines on how it wants training conducted. Some of these are safety oriented but more often than not, they are designed to limit the range of actions that can be taken by a shooter and thereby not give that shooter the opportunity to make a mistake. The practical downside to most of these restrictions is that they do not coincide with combat-oriented training, and shooters learn to act only if directed to do so and begin to stop thinking independently for fear of being reprimanded. They will wait to be directed and conduct actions that often defy common sense without a second thought, and that action creates a substantial safety risk.

Having witnessed several accidental discharges and shooting incidents, I have heard the three statements you will hear before anything else: “I didn’t think..., I didn’t know..., I didn’t see...” The one that covers it all is “I didn’t think.” When you direct someone not to think on his own, often he stops thinking all together and just follows commands robotically. That is where the safety hazard is hidden.

A perfect example of a “range-ism” is the clearing procedure on most ranges. Often you will see shooters told to drop the magazine from the weapon onto the ground instead of dropping it into their hand and transferring it into a pouch or pocket. This is done for one of two erroneous reasons: 1.) because the institution does not trust the shooter to control a magazine in one hand and a pistol in the other; to that I respond if one can’t safely do that, one shouldn’t have a pistol in the first place. 2.) “If they drop the magazine in their hand, then they’ll do it in a gunfight.”

This is based on the Newhall incident in 1970, where four California Highway Patrol officers were killed by two heavily armed criminals. There have been contradictory stories as to whether or not the officers had been found with empty brass in their pockets. If so, this is very likely attributable to putting the expended cases in the shooter’s pocket to avoid range cleanup, a range habit that in years gone by was all too common when shooting revolvers.

The point is good training does not mean doing all things only one way; it means doing all things the logical way. There is no reason, at the close of a shooting evolution when the line has been administratively directed to go cold, that a shooter must drop a magazine to the ground. There are verbal and physical cues that reinforce the administrative clearing action, and that is distinctly different from an actual tactically oriented shooting drill. Remember, when you go “admin” (administrative), that means there is no constraint of time or tactical necessity; i.e., you’re not on the clock, and nobody is shooting at you. As long as there are distinct cues in your training that are reinforcing situation-appropriate actions, there is no need for protocol-driven range practices that are of no benefit.

Safety, on the other hand, is quite clear and easy to understand.

•Treat all weapons as though they are loaded, regardless of their condition.

•Never point a weapon at anything you are not willing to kill or damage.

•Keep your weapon on safe and finger off the trigger until your sights are aligned and you make the conscious decision to fire.

•Know your target, foreground, background, left, and right. Be aware of the ballistic capability of your weapon and the backstop.

“DOWN RANGE”

Down range is an administratively designated area where projectiles are intended to impact. Conditions and range status will identify it is a direction where a weapon may or may not be safely pointed and discharged.

“SAFE DIRECTION”

A safe direction by definition is a direction in which a weapon is pointed where a negligent or accidental discharge cannot harm personnel or equipment.

*DOWN RANGE IS NOT ALWAYS A SAFE DIRECTION!