Firearms instructor shoots himself.

Anyone know who it was? Sheriff or RSO or at the match this evening or something?
 
One of our regulars left in a huff a couple of Sundays ago. He swept me 3 times in 30 seconds. I quietly said something to him off to the side and later made a general announcement about muzzle safety. I looked up in about 5 minutes and he was gone. My home...my range...my liability...and His feelings got hurt???? If I shoot me...no biggy. If you shoot you...oh Shiite!!!!
 
How does that happen?? A PROFESSIONAL FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR SHOOTS HIMSELF???? They are the Gods, the exalted, they know everything and will gladly take your money and teach you how to shoot yourself also...
 
Yeah, we all cant be so lucky as to learn how to shoot from amateurs...
 
One of our regulars left in a huff a couple of Sundays ago. He swept me 3 times in 30 seconds. I quietly said something to him off to the side and later made a general announcement about muzzle safety. I looked up in about 5 minutes and he was gone. My home...my range...my liability...and His feelings got hurt???? If I shoot me...no biggy. If you shoot you...oh Shiite!!!!

yep, and if you don't like it..... GTFO!
 
Stuff happens. Tough lesson to learn for sure. Anyone who has been on the training line when there a bunch of folks with guns knows the worry is real.

How does it happen? Hard to say without seeing a video, finger on the trigger or something impinging on the trigger during holster most likely. When you have done something a million times maybe you get complacent? On a job where you have machines people get injured all the time. They do things day in and day out. When you around dangerous things little mistakes can be catastrophic. Guns are no different than any other machine.

V
 
On a serious note. Based on comments from LEO and folks in the legal community, as in the DAā€™s office, the ADā€™s and Death by AD, is much higher in the LEO than the general population.

They said that handling firearms and being ā€œtooā€ familiar with them was typically the reason. The experienced individuals just get complacent and ā€œget into a hurryā€, like not clearing a round and then doing a disassembly of a striker fired piece. What is the LAST thing you do, once the slide lock is released and the slide moves forward.... pull the trigger. It go BANG.

I was the Director of Safety at the division level of a major US company and had plants all over the world. I would get phone calls at all hours where an employee had been injured. Typically it was someone that was a setup person or an experienced operator. One lady in Mexico on April 17, 2003 stuck her arm up and under a rotary indexing machine to clear a jam and told the new operator on another machine to cycle it so she could bet a better grip on the part. It broke her arm, but did not shatter it. I interviewed her the next week....as i could not leave town the next day since my GS was being born.

She said that a microsecond AFTER she said Push the Buttons....that it hit her....OH NO....this gonna hurt.

Me and a friend just this past Sunday, sat through the orientation and safety course at the Wake range and were probably there when it happened.

The Charlotte PD or Mecklenburg PD have lost SWAT team members and one assistant DA can name over 10 officers killed or injured in the past 15 years or so,
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Guns are like rattle snakes. I used rattle snakes in my electrical safety seminars. Eventually a good snake handler will get nipped or bitten. The wise ones wear protective clothing. The ā€œhey....I have been doing this for 20 years onesā€ usually have the date of death on their tombstones.

I am a certified RSO at a local range. I finally got the message on Sunday and came home and marked all my cases with the muzzle direction. You donā€™t want to drop your guard. You donā€™t want to get into a hurry. You donā€™t want to put your finger in the trigger guard and pull it on a gun that you have not cleared....even though it has been out and laying on a bench or mat or whatever.

Donā€™t know the circumstances....hope the deputy or whomever is OK.
 
Man, when I see people quickly jamming their Grocks into their holster without so much as a look, it makes me cringe every time.

Holstering: this is where you shoot yourself. There is no match/range/ anything anywhere that requires you to quickly, without looking, jam your Grock into the holster.

LOOK at what you are doing and do it slowly and carefully.

This means you 1911 folks, too. Jam that thing into a holster with a decent grip, while forgetting to snick safety on and BANG. Doesn't take much to bump a short light trigger.
 
I have never seen a reason to holster a firearm in a hurry. In combat, switching between primary and secondary...perhaps...but normally the pistol is the primary for all but full time .mil
 
One of our regulars left in a huff a couple of Sundays ago. He swept me 3 times in 30 seconds. I quietly said something to him off to the side and later made a general announcement about muzzle safety. I looked up in about 5 minutes and he was gone. My home...my range...my liability...and His feelings got hurt???? If I shoot me...no biggy. If you shoot you...oh Shiite!!!!
It wasn't me, I don't got none of them dangerous man killerz.
 
How does that happen?? A PROFESSIONAL FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR SHOOTS HIMSELF???? They are the Gods, the exalted, they know everything and will gladly take your money and teach you how to shoot yourself also...

I've handled, carried on and off duty and taught firearm safety on and off for over 37 years. I am a NRA and NC CCW Instructor what I am not is a God.

The minute I think I know everything is the very minute I need to sell my guns never touching another one because I've just become a danger to myself and others.

I don't care how long someone has been around or handled firearms there is always something we can learn from others who share our passion for shooting whether at paper, in competition or to provide food for our table.

In this incident we can learn this sport can be dangerous and the moment we lose respect for what a firearm can do and think we are its master, thats when murphys law will strike. And if your lucky you'll put a hole in a wall, door or other object. If your not so lucky maybe a hole in yourself and if murphys really pissed, God forbid, a hole in someone else.

Hopefully everyone will look at this and other recent accidental shootings and learn from them. Never stop learning and always stay safe.
 
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Guy shot himself, thought it wasnā€™t bad. Packed up and went home without reporting it. At home, decided it was bad enough to go to the ER. At the ER they call cops for gun shot wounds. Next thing you know the range is full of Sheriff deputies and they call cease fire and everyone go home so they can investigate. He was a left handed shooter, practicing drawing from hip. On the far left side of the pistol bay , the one where you can setup a table, no bench. I am also left handed and have done this many times. But probably not going to be allowed in the future.
 
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Guy shot himself, thought it wasnā€™t bad. Packed up and went home without reporting it. At home, decided it was bad enough to go to the ER. At the ER they call cops for gun shot wounds. Next thing you know the range is full of Sheriff deputies and they call cease fire and everyone go home so they can investigate. He was a left handed shooter, practicing drawing from hip. On the far left side of the pistol bay , the one where you can setup a table, no bench. I am also left handed and have done this many times. But probably not going to be allowed in the future.

Don't you love that treatment for GSW verses if the guy cut himself with a razor blade, cut himself with an ax, or poked a piece of rebar thru his leg, etc. I'm so effing tired of the double standard for 'firearms' verses anything else that could be used to kill another human.
 
Stuff happens. Tough lesson to learn for sure. Anyone who has been on the training line when there a bunch of folks with guns knows the worry is real.

How does it happen? Hard to say without seeing a video, finger on the trigger or something impinging on the trigger during holster most likely. When you have done something a million times maybe you get complacent? On a job where you have machines people get injured all the time. They do things day in and day out. When you around dangerous things little mistakes can be catastrophic. Guns are no different than any other machine.

V
Yup, recently had a bloke thatā€™s driven the same type of reach forklift for 25 years get close to a fixed object, by reflex he stuck his hand out and lost over half of his thumb by crushing.
 
Thanks Ole Pard. I don't intentionally try to hurt folk's ego....but Damn!!!!
Iā€™ve learned thereā€™s a proper technique to bruising someoneā€™s ego. If theyā€™re convinced youā€™re doing it because you care about them, you can say harsh and painful truths. Theyā€™ll still appreciate you, not so much the moment.
 
I heard about this on the radio on my way home from work today. Sorry to hear the guy is injured but I was happy to hear it reported as "he shot himself" instead of "the gun just went off".

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The range manager where I go doesn't allow any drawing from a holster, probably lucky for all of us, especially new shooters like me!

@Millie why do they not let people practice drawing from a holster? From a self-defense standpoint drawing your weapon efficiently is important.
 
@Millie why do they not let people practice drawing from a holster? From a self-defense standpoint drawing your weapon efficiently is important.
Maybe because it's indoors, I'm not sure. I know drawing is important, but maybe they have lots of new shooters there, and he doesn't want people waving guns around....I guess I should ask him, right? LoL.
I just do my drawing at home, sneaking around the house while the cat watches and shakes his head!
 
Practicing the draw is a great use of dry fire time.

Here's a tip I read in Karl Rehn's book, which he attributes to Claude Werner. If you shoot at a range that doesn't allow you to draw, then practice pressing out and firing from step two in the draw. This allows you to build your grip, find the sights, fire the shot, without drawing and without ever breaking the "one shot per second" rule that lots of ranges have.
 
Maybe because it's indoors, I'm not sure. I know drawing is important, but maybe they have lots of new shooters there, and he doesn't want people waving guns around....I guess I should ask him, right? LoL.
I just do my drawing at home, sneaking around the house while the cat watches and shakes his head!

Every range has different rules. If I were you, I would ask cause that one I just don't get but they may have a good reason. I do a lot of drawing during dryfire practice which is helpful but we need to put all the steps together on the range when we can. I would be interested in knowing his response if you decide to ask.
 
There are reasons why manufacturers have heavier trigger pulls. All the more reason why DA and de-cockers are nice. I own striker fire handguns but I must say they do make me a little wary.
 
then practice pressing out and firing from step two in the draw
This is how I get around the no draw rule. I'm glad to know I'm doing something else to help my shooting.
 
Every range has different rules. If I were you, I would ask cause that one I just don't get but they may have a good reason. I do a lot of drawing during dryfire practice which is helpful but we need to put all the steps together on the range when we can. I would be interested in knowing his response if you decide to ask.
I'll try to remember to ask if he's there the next time I go, which will be tomorrow or Friday.
 
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