Recruiting Center Negligent Discharge Discussion At Oath Keepers
BY Herschel Smith
8 years, 9 months ago
I was going to comment on the fact that when folks carry weapons – whether they are defending a recruiting center or simply carrying to defend themselves – and they have a negligent discharge, they are helping no one but the forces of anti-gun politics. I’ve harped on trigger and muzzle discipline so much that I’m sure readers tire of it, but it always pays to rehearse the rules one more time. But David Codrea beat me to the punch.
Basic safety rules are things Oath Keepers with real-world experience can share with all gun owners. So are command, discipline and training, all vital elements whether performing guard duty or participating in an armed event. Leaders organizing such operations must make certain those joining them understand all safety and conduct rules, which should be assured beforehand and then monitored for continued compliance.
Serious business is at hand that requires alertness and attention along with seriousness and maturity. If someone shows up and is resistant to that, you don’t need him.
Good intentions on the part of volunteers are not enough, because we all know where the road paved with them leads.
To me the most interesting perspectives are found in the comments:
flinter: Perhaps it is time to tell civilians who show up at recruiting centers to leave their guns at home. Lets leave the ARMED stuff to the veterans and oathkeeping LEO’S………….I will cook for them and give them any support I can.
GIJEFF69: I NEVER keep one CHAMBERED! Wtf?
Now, these two commenters could always be trolls. God knows there are enough of them to go around. But I find it interesting that these comments were made at Oath Keepers. We all know LEOs and we all know the statistics. LEOs have their fair share of NDs. But differentiating between LEOs and ordinary civilians is a throwback to collectivist thinking, and saying that you will make dinner for boys who come out and show moral support has the obvious intention of insulting the reader.
As for the notion of carrying without a round chambered, you can make the decision you want to, and there are times I have a round chambered and times I don’t (depending upon the circumstances that would be too involved for this specific conversation). But for a supposed LEO to say something like that is astounding. If you join reddit/guns and tell those boys that you carry a gun without a round chambered, you will be savaged in the comments. And honestly, if you cannot trust yourself to carry a weapon with a round chambered because you want to handle it or touch it or are afraid you’re going to stick your finger inside the trigger guard, you probably shouldn’t have the gun to begin with. Something is wrong with you.
All in all, the entire exchange of comments at this Oath Keepers discussion thread is technically and tactically juvenile, and the tone is highly disappointing. I expected better.
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On July 27, 2015 at 8:06 am, Billy Mullins said:
” if you cannot trust yourself to carry a weapon with a round chambered because you want to handle it or touch it or are afraid you’re going to stick your finger inside the trigger guard, you probably shouldn’t have the gun to begin with. Something is wrong with you.”
+10K to that, Herschel. Somebody like that doesn’t need a gun, they need a KEEPER! I worked armed security for a few years and almost the only time I put my hand on my sidearm was when I was about to draw the thing (which I had to do a couple of time. never discharged it LOD, thank heaven). A couple of times I DID lay my hand on the grip (fingers NOT around it), lean in and – in response to “no ingles” (which is not uncommon here in South Texas) -ask “Habla Glock?”. Funny thing there. The answer was ALWAYS “Oh, si! Si! Habla Glock!” and, suddenly and mysteriously, they developed a facility for English. Imagine that. ;-)
On July 27, 2015 at 12:50 pm, Mitch Rapp said:
Chambering a round is quick and easy. On an AR, you pull the charging handle till it stops, then let it slam forward. It take a quarter second and can be accomplished while running or diving for cover. There is no need to have a round chambered in a ‘no immediate threat’ situation. A weapon without a chambered round cannot have an ND. Besides, the sound of that handle and bolt flying forward into lock when a real threat materializes can warn folks to take cover without saying a word.
On July 27, 2015 at 4:49 pm, Billy Mullins said:
I always carry with a round in the chamber. I have never heard/read of a Glock going off absent a booger-hook moving the bang lever. Since I am reliably informed that it does not hurt the spring that throws the firing pin to have it stay in the “cocked” position I carry my Glock 22 with a round chambered and the action cocked. When I carry my Uzi Eagle I carry a round in the chamber with the hammer down – but only because it is a double/single action device which requires little more effort to go from hammer down than it does from the hammer back position. Oh and before I go out I always chamber a round, drop the mag, pop in another round on the top of the mag and reinsert the mag.
I consider the slide/bolt/whatever racking sound to be hollywood nonsense right up there with a man being hit by a slug and flying backwards. The Mythbusters disproved that convincingly. When the fertilizer is about to impact the wind machine I seriously doubt ANYBODY is going to notice that little noise.
On July 27, 2015 at 6:13 pm, Mrs. Patriot said:
Good for times when you don’t care that you’re making noise.