Officer Expertly Takes Down Idiot Breaking the #1 Rule of Range Shooting
Gun safety isn’t hard. Don’t rest your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Know what’s in front of and behind your target. Always treat a firearm as if it’s loaded, even when you’re certain it’s not. And don’t ever point a gun at another person unless lives are at stake.
A video posted on Instagram Monday shows a man at a gun range either oblivious to these rules, or acting in clear defiance of them. At one point, a pistol is even pointed to his friend’s head.
A quick-thinking range employee stepped in, expertly diffusing the situation and distancing the show-off from the gun.
This doesn’t look like the range officer’s first rodeo.
He expertly pointed the shooter’s hand and firearm downrange while controlling his body with one hand to the back of the neck. After everything was cleared and safe, he sends the idiots packing.
Fortunately, no one was injured despite several instances where the firearm was pointed at extremely vital organs.
This video goes to illustrate a point Second Amendment advocates have been repeating for years. By far the most dangerous thing you can put on a gun is a human finger.
Gun safety isn’t difficult-to-find and arbitrary information, either. Ranges often hold basic safety classes, and many offer more personalized instruction. For them, safety is the name of the game.
Unsupervised, uninformed, and underage people are all risks on a gun range. Accidents often happen due to one or more of these factors.
In one infamous 2008 case, as NBC and other outlets reported, a young boy was killed when he could not control an Uzi he was shooting. The gun bucked, pointing the barrel towards his body before the fatal round was fired.
Although the boy was being supervised, no one expected recoil from the gun to be too much for the 8-year-old.
Even when all rules are followed, human error has a way of interfering. And it’s not just firearm greenhorns who make grave mistakes.
In 2017, according to KTRK in Houston, a gun range employee began working on a rifle. It went off, and a bullet struck a man in the head, killing him.
If you’ve spent time at a gun range, you’ve most likely seen people acting dangerously. Sometimes these are laughed off and the shooter given a crash course in what not to do. Strict range officers do exist however, and are known to eject people for minor infractions.
To be as safe as possible, be your own range officer. Hold yourself and others accountable to safety rules. Brush up on the basics and keep your head on a swivel.
This is a reason many choose to shoot at private ranges and clubs, avoiding public ones like the plague. When the guy in the next lane has the power to kill you with one mistake, it’s nice to know he’s someone you trust.
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