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Forum Posts (9)
- The dilemma of mass shootingsIn TACTICAL MEDICINE·October 29, 2022Mass Shootings (MS)include multiple-victim shooting incidents that occur in connection with some other crime. These may include felony-related shootings where both the victims and offenders may be involved in unlawful activities, such as organized crime, gang activity and drug deals. Domestic disputes are incidents where the majority of victims are members of the offender’s family, not random victims as are associated with mass public shootings. Depending how the MS data is sliced, events associated with domestic violence and criminal activity make up80 to 88 percent of mass shooting incidents in the U.S. with four or more fatally injured victims (Krouse, William J. and Daniel J. Richardson, Mass Murder with Firearms: Incidents and Victims, 1999–2013, Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, R44126, 2015.). Assault Rifles Although the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired on September 13, 2004, in accordance with its sunset provision, the definition provides a basis for identifying how many mass public shooters used this type of firearm. That definition of “semi-automatic weapon” included specific semi-automatic firearm models by name, and other semi-automatic firearms that possessed two or more certain features. Based on the GunFacts.info MPS Database, assault rifles were used in approximately 14 percent of those events. High-Capacity Magazines Per the Heritage Foundation website, noted in The Current Gun Debate: Mass Shootings (March 2018), “Few mass public shooters have used high-capacity magazines, and there is no evidence that the lethality of such attacks would have been affected by delays of two to four seconds to switch magazines. In fact, some of the largest mass shootings in U.S. history were carried out with low-capacity weapons: The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 and injured 17 with two handguns, one of which had a 10-round magazine and the other a 15-round magazine. He simply brought 19 extra magazines. Twenty-three people were killed and another 20 injured in a Killeen, Texas, cafeteria by a man with two 9mm handguns, capable of maximums of 15-round and 17-round magazines, respectively. A mentally disturbed man armed with two handguns and a shotgun shot and killed 21 people in a San Ysidro McDonald’s and injured another 19. The handguns utilized 13-round and 20-round magazines, and the shotgun had a five-round capacity. Although mass public shootings account for only 0.1 percent of the total firearm-related mortality between 2000 and 2014, they bring national attention to the issue of firearm violence. Then a familiar series of events follow: First, there is a discussion of how that particular event could have been prevented, followed by a public outcry that stricter gun laws are needed. In actuality, existing laws that, if followed, may have prevented the event in question, are often not enforced. In March, based on Michael Siegel Claire Boine’s article entitled “What Are The Most Effective Policies In Reducing Gun Homicides?”, knee-jerk reactions rooted in emotion will not solve the problem. To date, evidence shows that the problem requires solutions that are versatile and grounded in evidence. Analysis shows no significant association between homicide rates and assault weapons bans, large-capacity ammunition magazine bans, one-gun-per-month laws, “stand your ground” laws or prohibitions on gun trafficking. The findings suggest that laws which regulate the “what” (i.e., what guns/products are allowed) do not have much of an impact on overall population homicide. In contrast, laws that regulate the “who” (i.e., who has legal access to firearms) may have an appreciable impact on firearm homicide, especially if access is restricted specifically to those people who are at the greatest risk of violence: Namely, people who have a history of violence or represent an imminent threat of violence. Source: https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/gun-facts-and-fiction/mass-shootings/004
- Can someone under 21 years old legally own and shoot a pistol?In US GUN LAWS·October 29, 2022Yes. The recent law that passed this year (2022) increasing the purchasing age for a handgun only affects FFL points of sale (Federally licensed Firearm Dealers). An individual 18 years old or older may own and purchase a handgun from another individual residing in the same state (commonly referred to as a "private party" sale) without a background check under both state and federal law.008
- Trigger disciplineIn SHOOTING FUNDAMENTALS·October 29, 2022Good trigger discipline can eliminate a large portion of those “I accidentally shot myself in the leg” stories you read about. It all boils down to one thing…keeping your finger off that little curved thingy until your ready to put a hole in something. This needs to be something beyond a conscious effort. This needs to be practiced and driven home until it becomes a natural reflex no matter what gun you pick up, even if it’s one of those arcade games. You want to do it so often that it is permanently committed to muscle memory. The easiest way, and this is the way taught by military, police, NRA and more, is to keep your finger extended and resting up on the slide or cylinder. By keeping your index finger there, you are making it near impossible to accidentally manipulate the trigger. Trigger Pull & Follow Through In a perfect world, you would have a rock-solid grip and ignite the gunpowder by just thinking. But of course, we have to deal with mechanical inputs and human reactions. As a beginner shooter, you know there’s going to be a loud bang with some recoil. So you will likely press the trigger fast to get everything over with, which adds some movement to the gun and barrel. The bullet still takes some time to move down the barrel, and if the gun/barrel moves, your bullet will be off-target. So the trick is to cause as little movement to the gun as possible when you are pressing the trigger. Use the middle of the first index finger pad Remove the initial slack or “pre-travel” in the trigger Slowly squeeze the trigger towards the back of the gun “Follow through” by not immediately letting go of the trigger “Reset” the trigger by easing it forward just enough to hear a *click* Slowly squeeze for the next shot Trigger Pull Stages Now, when it comes to actually pulling the trigger, that’s a whole other can of worms. Every time you pull the trigger, there’s 4 distinct points: The Initial Slack – this is a no man’s land of movement between where the trigger rests normally and where it breaks. The Trigger Break – this is where the gun actually fires. The Stop – After the gun has fired, this is where the trigger stops moving. Most times the stop and the break are the same point. Some guns it’s not. The Reset – This is the point where, upon releasing the trigger, the gun is ready to fire again. During the course of those four points, there about three and a half things that can go wrong with a trigger pull that will negatively affect your accuracy. One of the best ways to work on a good pull is with Dry Fire Practice. This means pulling the trigger without having any ammo in the gun. If you’re going to be doing this extensively, I would highly highly recommend investing in some snap caps. These are dummy bullets with padding on the back that will keep your firing pin from over-extending itself. Pro Tip: Some guns, namely striker-fired guns, require that the slide be cycled after every trigger pull. When doing dry fire practice, you don’t need to pull the slide back to the point that the dummy round is ejected in order to reset the striker. Spend some time with your gun to figure out where the reset is and you’ll save yourself a lot of time chasing ejected dummy rounds around your room when you’re practicing. I find with my Glock that it takes about 1/4 of an inch to reset the striker. Fix Your Trigger Pull Anyway, back to the 3.5 things that can go wrong with your trigger pull… Number 1: First and foremost is jerking the trigger. You don’t want to just yank it all the way back as hard as you can. You want to squeeze it smoothly and consistently every time. When I say “squeeze” I literally mean squeeze it like you’re trying to slowly squish one of those rubber stress balls between your thumb and index finger. You can speed it up later but for right now you need to focus on keeping it smooth from start to stop. Also, don’t just stop the trigger pull when you hit the point where it fires (also called “the break”). You want to keep pulling that trigger until the trigger itself stops then release the trigger to the reset point. If you find that you are consistently shooting to the left of the target (or to the right if you’re shooting left handed), and you have verified that your sights are fine, then it’s almost certain that you’re jerking the trigger. Number 2: Anticipation of the recoil/gun shot. If your shots are going all over the target, you might just be anticipating the recoil. There’s a very easy way to diagnose this one: load some of your dummy rounds randomly into your magazine along with live rounds at the range. Load a couple of mags this way then mix the mags up. What you’re trying to do is make it so that you have no idea if the next round is going to fire or not. When the gun doesn’t go boom, if your gun still twitches like you shot a round then you’re anticipating/flinching. This is a not-so-easy fix. What you have to do is seriously slow down your trigger pull for a while. Expanding on Problem 1: you want the squeeze to be so smooth and slow that the firing of the gun literally surprises you (at least at first). The only way to fix this is to reset your muscle memory on just a consistent squeeze and that’s only going to happen by slowing it down and pulling the trigger a bunch of times. You have to unlearn then learn again. I’ve been through it myself and it’s a pain but in the end you’ll be glad you did. Number 3: The last major thing is “follow through.” As I mentioned before, there will be a definite part where the trigger breaks. In many cases, this isn’t always where the trigger will stop moving backward. In many it is the case. Regardless, you should never stop as soon as the break happens. If the break doesn’t coincide with the stop then continue to the stop. Regardless of where the break/stop is on your gun, you should then release just to the point of reset then start your squeeze all over again. The reset point is different on every gun and it’s rarely the point where the trigger rests when your finger isn’t on it. On a Glock, for example, it’s at almost the same place where the trigger breaks. Number 3.5: Pad of your finger on the trigger. I didn’t classify this one as a full blown issue because it’s rather inconsistent about causing problems for people. A lot of people tend to wrap the indentation of their first knuckle around the trigger. Scholars, instructors and pros will tell you that you should use the pad instead of the knuckle. Personally, I noticed an improvement in my shooting when I started using my finger pad but I also happen to know of some amazing shooters that have always used their knuckle and hate using the pad. This one boils down to “it depends on the person”. Anyone could learn to ride a bike by sitting on it upside down while peddle it with their hands and steering with their feet. Doesn’t mean it’s the best or worst way to do it. It just means that’s how you learned to ride a bike. If you can honestly say that you’re not doing problem 1, 2, or 3 and you’re still having problems, then double-check your sights and double-check what part of your finger you’re using. Conclusion In the end, dry fire practice is a great way to get your trigger pull down without spending a lot of cash on bullets and range time. It is not, however, a substitute for range time. You still need live fire to learn how to compensate for recoil and to see if your dry fire practice is paying off. Keep it slow, keep it smooth and follow through every time. Source: https://www.pewpewtactical.com/trigger-discipline-control-guide/007
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