SHOT Show 2018: Toys, Tools, Guns & Rules

One of the great things about SHOT show is all the celebrities you can see.  This year I was fortunate enough to meet Mrs. Julie Golob.  Julie is a veteran, national and international shooting champion and a great spokeswoman for the shooting community.  

She was at the Girls with Guns booth promoting her new book, "Toys, Tools, Guns and Rules".  TTGR is a book designed to introduce guns and gun safety ideas to children.  It is kept simple so children can understand.   

It is a great introduction for children to the world of guns and gun safety.  Grab a copy and read it with your children today.

"Toys, Tools, Guns & Rules"
Written by Julie Glob
Illustrated by Nancy Batra


Additional resources:

Kidsgunsafetybook - Additional information and companion resources to the book.

Project Child Safe - Gun accident prevention program

Eddie Eagle - Gun accident prevention program

Girls with Guns - outdoor apparel designed by women for women.


About Julie Golob:

JulieGolob.com
JulieG.TV
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram
Facebook

There Is No Such Thing As An Accident

My sister's youngest daughter was running through the living room and knocked over a margarita glass that was sitting on the floor, which shattered the glass.  My niece looked horrified for a moment, then shrugged and said, "accidents happen".

No they don't!

Accidents don't just happen and we have to get that concept out of our head.  It removes our personal responsibility to utter that phrase, when, in fact, someone is responsible and was negligent - otherwise the so-called "accident" would never have happened.

I tell my students this all the time and I receive blank stares, sometimes even stammers, "but ... but ...".

Let me repeat that: There is no such thing as an accident.

As a society, we have allowed the word "accident" to mean "unintentional". We need to remove "accident" and "accidental" from our vocabularies.

In my real life, I'm a medical instructor.  I teach fledgling youngsters how to become professionals in their field.  One of the classes I teach is phlebotomy, and that's where I hammer this concept home.  The textbooks are notorious for talking about "accidental needle sticks".  There is no such thing.  There are unintentional needle sticks, but there are never any accidental needle sticks.  In fact, every "accidental needle stick" I've ever seen has been a "negligent needle stick".

For example, let's say a phlebotomist is getting ready to draw blood and has the index finger of her non-sticking hand in front of the needle to stabilize the patient's arm.  Let's just say the patient is terrified of getting his blood drawn and flinches away right as the phlebotomist begins to stick.  Instead of the needle going into the patient where it belongs, it is now buried deep into the phlebotomist's own finger.

Was it intentional?

Nope.  Trust me, no phlebotomist on the planet wants to get stuck with a needle. But that doesn't make it an accident just because the phlebotomist didn't intend to stick herself.

Was that an accident?

Nope.  It was negligence, pure and simple.  The phlebotomist was negligent for putting a body part (the index finger) in front of the sharp, pointy object destined for the patient.

Another example:  Five years ago, my youngest son was hit by a car as he was skateboarding.  It was a bad collision that he was lucky to live through.

Did the driver of the car intend to hit him as he was crossing the street?  No.

Did my son intend to get hit by a car as he crossed the street? No.

Was it an accident? No.  It was negligence.

Both my son and the driver were negligent and that caused the collision.  The driver was negligent in that she was speeding in a residential area and not looking for kids in or near the street.  My son was negligent in assuming that he didn't have to look both ways and that a car would (or could) stop for him.  If either one of them had been paying attention, the collision would never have happened.

One more non-gun example: I was a wrangler for years.  I took out trail rides and was responsible for keeping my guests and horses safe at all times.  I took the responsibility very seriously, and to this day I believe that if there is a "wreck" or if a guest falls off, it is the wrangler's fault.  If the saddle slips to the side and the guest falls off, the wrangler was negligent in his or her duty of ensuring safe and properly adjusted tack.  If a horse starts kicking at the horse behind it, the wrangler was negligent: either he didn't watch the spacing between the horses and correct it; or he put the horses together who didn't get along; or he had a known kicker and didn't put the kicker at the back of the line where it couldn't kick anyone else.

Why am I going on and on about non-gun-related things?  Because as shooters and instructors, we are very well aware of the fact that there is no such thing as an "accidental discharge".  Ever.  There is either a "negligent discharge" or a malfunction, but never an accident.

However, we need to change the way we look at "accidents" in our daily lives as well.  We can't practice (and preach) that there is no such thing as an "accidental" discharge, if we don't take responsibility in the other aspects of our lives as well.  By accepting responsibility for the "accidents" in our lives, we can act on that responsibility and in the end, we will all be safer.

Remove the word accident from your vocabulary and you'll be amazed at how differently you begin to look at things.

Why Safe Gun Handling Is A Must

Some of you might know that I put my horse down last week.  I did it, not the vet, and I did it using my Para.

I was thankful for the knowledge and ability to end her suffering quickly.

I was also thankful for years of gun handling.  Now, I've never been in a fire fight, and I don't ever want to be, but I did learn some things when I put Estes down.  Stress works in funny ways.  On one hand, I was worried because all I had with me was target ammo and I was worried about over-penetration.  (It was days later that I remembered I had an eight-round magazine full of defensive rounds in my bag.)  I also worried that the wound channel and hydrostatic shock wouldn't be sufficient to immediately incapacitate the medulla.

Turns out, the target ammo did the job and I compensated for the over-penetration by angling my shot so that the projectile had the length of her body to stop it.  I did not look for an exit wound, nor did I hear a second impact, so I'm going to assume there was no over-penetration.

Good gun handling made doing the job easier, but I was most thankful for it in the moments immediately after delivering the shot.  Even overwhelmed with grief, my finger was straight and along the frame and I had engaged the safety without thinking about it. 

When my step-father came to take the gun from me, I unloaded and showed clear without a second thought.  Muscle memory took over.  (I never did hand over the gun, though, I stowed it myself.)

In moments of grief and high stress, it's exceptionally important to have good gun handling skills, not only for your safety, but for the safety of those around you.

Practice good gun handling yourself.

Insist those around you have good gun handling skills.

Because you'll never know how you'll react in a high-stress situation and having those skills without ever "cheating" or taking short cuts will continue to ensure your safety.

Range Rules

From time to time, I have heard people moan and complain about range rules. "But, I want to draw from a holster." "I want to practice double taps." "I want to do a mag dump as fast as I can pull the trigger."

Well, there is a reason for those rules. You don't want to play by their rules....GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

Why do I point this out?

Because the Dallas area is short one indoor gun range this morning because some MORON decided he wanted to shoot a TRACER round into the back stop at an indoor range in VIOLATION of the range's rules.

Retard.

I happen to have frequented this range on more than one occasion being as how it is the host range for the action pistol club of which I am a member. It had the advantage of being convenient (more or less) to my commute home from work.

It's a good thing I happen to know a new, better range range where I can get my indoor recoil therapy fix; however, if DFW Gun Range rebuilds to a higher standard, Eagle Gun Range in Lewisville may have some competition.

I tell you. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies.

Shooting with Kids

It seems like a lot of the post suggestions asked about shooting with kids.  I've got three of my own who were raised with guns and started shooting at a young age.  None of them are as "hard core" as I am, but they all enjoy a day at the range and ask to go out a few times a year.

I've not taught a huge number of children to shoot, but I do have experience with a variety of ages, starting with my own.  I've taken Deejo's and Junior's kids shooting and have the pleasure of most recently shooting with Itty Bit.

Since they were very young (Monster was about 2 years old, Ashinator 4, and Digger 6) when we were "hunted", I had a small gun on me at all times.  I even showered with the gun within arms' reach.  Our house rule at the time was, "if you have questions about the gun, or want to touch it, you have to ask me first."  I didn't even own a gun safe, because the gun was literally on me at all times and was never out of my sight.

I never hesitated when they wanted to look at it - I took every opportunity to start pounding safety rules into their heads - I stopped what I was doing, unholstered, unloaded, and answered any questions they had.  In no time, it became a non-issue.  They never even noticed I had it on most of the time.

I started taking them shooting when Monster was about 8.  I tried to keep our shooting sessions safe and fun.

One mom and three children at the range - it could have been a disaster, but because they had years of hearing the safety rules and of observing how I handled my gun, they had a good basis.  When we started, we focused simply on safe manipulation of the gun.  Older kids and adults can focus on multiple things: safety, trigger control, sight picture, stance, etc.  However, whenever I take young kids to the range, the only thing I focus on is safety.

As long as their finger is off of the trigger and the muzzle is pointed downrange at all times, I don't worry too much about if they hit the target or not.  We work on how to manipulate the gun, which can be tricky with their smaller hands, while keeping their finger off the trigger and the muzzle pointed downrange. 

Only when I am comfortable with their safe gun handling skills do we add in other skills.

Last October, the Once Upon family came to visit and I had the pleasure of shooting with Itty Bit.

Itty Bit has lots of family members who are hunters and LEOs, in addition to his parents being shooters, so he has the opportunity to come across guns in his every day life.  He's got a good knowledge base, as Mr. Daddy and Rachel have taken him shooting in the past.  Though it wasn't discussed, I partnered up with Itty Bit so that Mr. Daddy could play with the big boys.

Itty Bit was at all times respectful of the firing line.

Very young shooters often don't have the strength to hold the gun,
so I always keep on hand on it for support.
This serves double duty; I can also take control of the gun if necessary.

The first time he shot the revolver, I manipulated the hammer.
The second time, he managed to do it and remembered (most of the time)
to take his finger off the trigger as he cocked the gun.
A simple reminder is all it took.

Even as "small" as a Henry Survival Rifle is,
it was far too big for Itty Bit.
He did a great job with it, despite the fact that his arms are
fully extended.

I think that kids are probably better than adults and aiming instinctively.  The only things I worked on with Itty Bit were keeping the gun pointed downrange and keeping his finger off the trigger until he was ready to shoot.  He was hitting the steel plate more than half the time with both the revolver and the rifle.

If I had been thinking, I would have filled some gallon-sized jugs with water, even though we were crammed like sardines in the truck.  Even as an adult, shooting jugs of water is one of my favorite things.

If you choose to use water jugs as your "reactive targets" when shooting with your kids, you can always play around with using food coloring.  OR...you can do what I used to do when I had time to prep: use the jello jiggler recipe and fill the jugs with jello.  Always a ton of fun.  I have tons of pictures of the kids and I shooting at them, but that was back before the days of digital cameras.

As kids get older, you can start adding in other fundamentals, but I firmly believe that safety needs to come first, followed by fun.

Someone asked me at what age do I feel comfortable teaching other people's kids to shoot.  That's tough.  I've taken my kids' friends out to the range with us when they were teenagers, and with their parents' permission.  I don't know that there is an easy answer to that question; I guess I'd have to take it on a case-by-case basis.  Some children are ready to shoot at a younger age than others, and some children need some extra maturity before they are ready to hit the range.  Sorry, I wish I had a better answer.

Those of you who have taught your kids to shoot, at what age did you start them?  Do you have any tricks for keeping them interested?

Firearms 101 - The Rules

I posted this over on my personal blog, Preachers and Horse Thieves, a while back before GunDiva invited to the party here. Since we are starting a new year with an imminent battle over gun rights and responsible gun ownership, I figured now was a good time to repost this here.

I originally prepared this for a friend who is interested in learning to shoot. Enjoy.

The Four Rules

1. All guns are loaded.

2. Never point the muzzle of a firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to shoot.

4. Know your target and what’s beyond it.

Memorize these four rules. They are the basis of all firearms safety. It is highly unlikely to the point of being statistically impossible to be hurt by or hurt someone else with a firearm when obeying the four rules. Further, there is no such thing as an “accidental discharge” when properly handling a modern firearm in accordance with the rules. More importantly, no matter how many safety features that are designed into a firearm, the most important safety feature a firearm can have is the trained mind of the person holding it.

Further explanation of the Rules:

1. The longer version of Rule 1 is “Treat All Guns AS IF They Are Loaded.” Every time you pick up or are handed a firearm, you personally should check its chamber or cylinder to verify whether or not it is loaded before doing anything else with the firearm. If someone else is handing the firearm to you, it is not a matter of trust/distrust to verify that the firearm is unloaded. It is a signal to responsible shooters that you are not a fool who will waive a gun around indiscriminately, that you respect firearms as tools that must be handled mindfully in the same way that you would operate power tools and respect your life and the lives of others. Responsible gun owners/shooters EXPECT you to verify the condition (i.e. loaded versus unloaded) of the firearm. 
2. Rule 2 is fairly straight forward. Bullets come out of the muzzle end of the barrel. They come out fast and have a lot of kinetic energy that they are just waiting to dump into something, anything in their way. So, don’t point the barrel at anything you don’t want a bullet to hit or go through. Such as your wife and child, your car’s engine, the neighbor’s house, etc. If you would like some examples of what bullets will do, go to: http://www.theboxotruth.com/index.htm for plenty of examples with photos. 
3. Rule 3 is also pretty straightforward. If your finger is on the trigger, Mr. Firearm is no one’s friend whether it’s loaded or not. If your finger is not on the trigger, the chances of a loaded firearm discharging are significantly reduced. Most modern firearms have been designed and tested such that you can literally hammer nails or tent stakes or small children with them and still not discharge; however, smart people follow the rules religiously and don’t tempt Murphy’s Law. 
4. Rule 4 typically gives people the most fits. Once a bullet is fired, it does not stop until its kinetic energy is completely dissipated. Where and how that energy gets dissipated depends on several variables including bullet design, muzzle velocity, trajectory, target density, gravity, etc. For instance, a 230 grain .45 caliber bullet fired at 1000 feet per second (which is a typical bullet weight and speed for a 1911 style handgun) parallel to the ground at a shoulder height of 5 feet will travel approximately 156 feet before impacting the ground due to gravity assuming it hits nothing else in its path. If the bullet hits a rock at impact, it could ricochet in unpredictable directions with unknown consequences. That same bullet fired straight up at 90 degrees to the ground will climb to over 15,000 feet before coming back down. Big difference. For this reason, most firearms ranges have some sort of ballistically proven back stop material to safely dissipate the energy of a bullet and secondary measures to prevent you from inadvertently shooting someone in the next town. A huge pile of dirt works very well which is why it’s used almost exclusively at outdoor ranges. Concrete and/or ½ inch to inch thick steel works well with some caveats. Sheet metal doesn’t work too well which is why cars do not provide very effective cover in shootouts despite what Hollywood has portrayed.

Last thoughts on safety:

1. Obey the rules and no one gets hurt.
2. Disobeying the rules might get you shot and not necessarily by someone else.
3. Do not fear the firearm. It is only a tool used to hit a target in the same way a saw is used to cut wood. They are neither good nor evil. They just are.
4. If you are not sure, ask questions. There are no stupid questions.

The Babineaux Method - a bad, bad idea

Before we get into the post, I want to remind everyone of Southern Winds' fundraiser.

Yesterday, Women firearms instructors shared a link on Facebook via Rob Pincus.  Though I'm not friends with Rob, I have utmost respect for both Women firearms instructors and Rob.  I'm absolutely certain they posted the article from CheaperThanDirt.com as an "Oh My God, who would do this?" thing, because that's exactly how I took it.

The article has since been removed from CheaperThanDirt.com, so I'll have to summarize it from memory rather than directing you to the article.

Basically, the article suggested that one way to re-holster a striker-fired gun without an external safety was by using the Babineaux Method.  This "method" instructs the shooter to lay his/her finger along the frame, drag it back to the place that would be opposite of the magazine release and then insert their finger into the trigger guard behind the trigger to prevent rearward movement of the trigger.  The thought being that the shooter's finger is a physical block so that there's absolutely no way the trigger can move.



From Google Images

The thing is, that this "method" is being passed off as SAFE. Are you freaking kidding me?

I don't know about you, but this scares the hell out of me.  The old firearms "law" that the fingers must be out of the trigger guard until ready to fire is a "law" for a reason.  Fingers never venture into the trigger guard for any reason unless you're willing to destroy what's in front of the muzzle.

I've never really thought of safe holstering/unholstering as an advanced skill.  Yes, it's a skill, but it is a skill that every shooter should have and be proficient at.  And if you're concerned that your holster will "drag" on your trigger, thus causing an ND, then maybe you should re-think your choice of holster.

I am appalled that this is being passed off as a safe practice for holstering a gun.   All it takes is someone to get in a hurry trying to get their finger behind the trigger guard and Bang!.  It's really not  if it's going to happen, it's when.  It's only a matter of time before someone shoots themself.

Especially if you carry in what I like to call the "pecker wrecker" method like this guy...

From Google Images

I'm interested to hear what you-all think of this.  And it's okay if you think this is the best, safest method on the planet.  Though, I probably won't go shooting with you any time soon. :)

The First Rule Of Firearm Safety?

"The Gun Is ALWAYS Loaded!"

This is a sticking point in our house. Even at work, where Dear Husband KNOWS the guns in the case are unloaded and confirmed "clear", he still racks the slide and physically LOOKS in the chamber to make sure.

Why? Because you never assume something is unloaded.

That leads to Negligent Discharges.

And Negligent Discharges Lead To Injury and Death.

Just dropping the magazine from your pistol does NOT make it safe. Proper protocol for handing over a gun:
- Drop the magazine
-Rack the slide back several times, to ensure a clear chamber
- Lock slide back
-THEN hand it to the other person, with the slide locked back. And ONLY then.

The person on the receiving end:
- Check the chamber
- Unlock and rack the slide
- Examine weapon
- Lock slide BACK when handing firearm back to original person

I heard a story not long ago about two people who are both Firearms Educated. One uses a handgun for a living. One shoots on a regular basis. Both know the Golden Rule that A Gun Is Always Loaded.

A moment of inattention caused a Negligent Discharge to occur.

No one was hurt (thankfully.)

Think about it folks-- once that projectile leaves the barrel, there is no getting it back until it comes to a rest.

Why am I not calling this an accident?
Because plain and simple, it was not. It was negligence on BOTH parties part. The original gun holder for ONLY dropping the magazine and NOT clearing the chamber, and the receiver for NOT taking a moment to clear the chamber.

That is not an accident.

That is stupidity.