Lesson learned?
Via the charming and engaging Mrs. Bubba (who is married to this guy), comes a report about a DEA agent charged with teaching gun safety and it goes a bit badly:
During the speech, the agent drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, the report said. He then pulled back the slide and asked a man in the audience to look inside the weapon to make sure it was not loaded, the report said.
“The person nodded that it didn’t have ammunition,” Farmer recounted. “The gun was never pointed at anyone.”
Witnesses told police that the agent kept his gun pointed toward the floor and when he released the slide, the weapon fired one shot into the top of his thigh
First, I was taken aback by the fact a newspaper actually displayed some knowledge of the operation of a firearm. Good for them. Too bad our DEA agent didn’t seem to grasp a few things:
First, ejectors can fail and not eject the round when the slide is racked. So he was smart to have it checked.
Second, always check it yourself, something he didn’t do. Maybe the other guy doesn’t know what he’s doing or is careless. Even if I see some one rack a slide and clear a gun before handing it to me, I rack the slide and check myself.
Third, the weapon likely didn’t fire on its own. He likely had his finger on the trigger, which is a no-no unless you’re ready to fire it.
As Mrs. Bubba said: Who is teaching us gun safety? Although I’m sure she is referring to the fact it is odd someone displaying improper firearm handling techniques has a job teaching kids gun safety, I think it’s odd that the DEA is teaching it.
April 30th, 2004 at 1:18 pm
Now that’s effective gun safety training – actually shooting yourself to demonstrate how careful one must be in handling firearms.
Taking one for the team.
April 30th, 2004 at 1:31 pm
Uncle, I know this is a subject that you and I disagree on, but this is another case where a magazine safety would have prevented an accidental shooting.
April 30th, 2004 at 1:42 pm
I’m all for making and selling magazine disconnect safeties. I just won’t buy a gun with one. Different strokes.
This is another case where keeping one’s finger off the trigger would have prevented an accidental shooting.
April 30th, 2004 at 4:08 pm
I’m with Bruce on this one. No better example than how not to do it.
April 30th, 2004 at 4:33 pm
Les,
Perhaps you should change that “would” in your post to “might.”
After all, even magazine safeties are just safeties, and as we all know,
“A safety is a mechanical device and any mechanical device can fail.”
The DEAgent violated pretty much all the safe gun handling rules here. He, not the lack of a feature on his weapon, is solely to blame.
April 30th, 2004 at 8:25 pm
The DEAgent violated pretty much all the safe gun handling rules here. He, not the lack of a feature on his weapon, is solely to blame.
xcellent point.
April 30th, 2004 at 11:16 pm
Comedian: you’re right that mechanical safeties aren’t absolute, of course, but the reason we keep hammering the rules of gun safety is that people keep breaking them. Me included. If you’ve never, ever violated one of Jeff Cooper’s four rules of gun safety feel free to throw the first stone.
I wouldn’t discourage progress in automotive safety, and I don’t discourage progrss in gun safety. It’s tricky, though, because we don’t live in a perfect world and some of the “safety advocates” in this case are just plain old gun haters.
For instance, I think internal locks are neutral at best. On the other hand, magazine disconnect safeties would prevent a lot of ADs, particularly among newbies, but also among more experienced shooters. Watch enough of these stories go by and you’ll get used to the refrain “the magazine was out so I thought it was unloaded.”
May 1st, 2004 at 9:30 am
Magazine Safties,are a attempt to engineer around idiots,at the expense of effectiveness.
I don’t know this,but would be willing to bet a large ammount of money the DEA Agent in question,will,the next time he clears a weapon do it himself;rather than let someone else do it.
Guns in and of themselfs are not dangerous,but are unforgiving of the people that opperate them in a careless manner.
May 3rd, 2004 at 10:01 am
I have several “problems” with magazine safeties; the most important is that they lead to the mindset that the gun is “safe”.
May 3rd, 2004 at 11:53 am
Ditto. That is why when I hand a weapon to someone else to look at, the slide is already locked back and the breech is open.
May 3rd, 2004 at 5:15 pm
We should make this guy the new spokesman for gun safety ala Smokey the Bear:
It’s “Gimpy the Fed”, the LEO who forgot basic gun safety!
“Remember kids, only you can prevent accidental discharge”
April 30th, 2004 at 7:57 pm
Miller’s Twelve Pack…
Thanks goodness, the weekend is almost here. Lots of good stuff to choose from this week, and here are some that caught my eye:
May 3rd, 2004 at 6:09 pm
Thank You DEA
You f*ckers just created a new group of anti-gunners. UP
March 11th, 2005 at 1:16 pm
[…] March 11, 2005
Gun safety
|By SayUncle|
About a year ago, I mentioned a DEA agent who shot himself while giving a class on g […]