Sunday, May 10, 2020
Jerry Miculek takes a walk down memory lane with the first center fire pistol he ever shot
Interesting history, a neat little gun, a fun video.
But that's not the main reason I posted it. The main reason I put this up is to illustrate the one, single beef I have with Mr. Miculek: the near-fetish he makes of bore flags.
Now, he's been shooting competitively for decades, and he's indisputably one of the greats of the sport, and I'm sure that safety is drummed into the heads of competitive shooters incessantly. Nonetheless, if you're sitting at your own bench in your own house, or standing on your own outdoor firing range, do you really need to stick a plastic twist-tie into the bore of your pistol every freakin' time you're not actually shooting it? If he just did it without drawing attention to it, I probably wouldn't mind so much, but he actively proselytizes for these things ("You can buy a bag of a hundred for a couple of bucks, no reason not to have a bore flag handy"). Thank you, no. When I shoot a semi-automatic pistol, the slide will typically lock back when I've emptied the magazine. I always look in the bore to make sure it's empty, and I remove the magazine. And I leave the pistol on the bench, slide open, muzzle pointed down-range, while I reload the magazine. Enough is enough. I don't need to be trailing plastic twist ties all over the place.
Of course, the first time I shoot myself, or somebody else, in the leg with a gun "I could have sworn wasn't loaded", I'll eat a nice, big crow sandwich. But, until then, I'll use that couple of bucks to buy some cleaning patches or a bore brush or something.
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12 comments:
I'm an range safety officer for a local range. I recommend to new members that they always leave their firearm on the bench, muzzle downrange, and clearly unloaded, so that other users can see tat. I point out that bore flags can be used for that purpose.
There are a couple of cases where bore flags are needed. Revolvers, for example, are difficult to leave with the "action open". A bore flag makes that easier. An automatic pistol really doesn't need one.
I don't use bore flags myself, as I am careful as you are, Paco. I have a few of the more substantial varieties, for use when needed -- training sessions, mostly.
On the flip side ... ... I can see why Mr. Miculek pushes bore flags. A bore flag for noobs is a reasonable safety measure.
There are a huge number of new gun owners in the country. I routinely meet them when they join our club; it's on private property (leased land), and range orientation is mandatory. They join to have a plan to practice and train, but many are very inexperienced. We've never had an accidental shooting, but sometimes I wonder why -- and I include old hands in that statement.
So, assuming that Mr. Miculek is targeting new or inexperienced shooters, he's just pushing safety.
But, yeah, he overdoes it.
I'm sure they have their proper uses, including in the instances you cite as examples.
As for me, I did most of my shooting in past years under the watchful, if not paranoid, eyes of the employees at the range at NRA national HQ in Fairfax, VA. I wasn't nearly as afraid of shooting myself or bouncing a shot off the wall as I was of being upbraided by that one little old lady with the long gray ponytail who seemed to notice the smallest infraction of the rules.
Yeah, that's the problem with rules -- there's always someone willing to enforce the letter of the law, while ignoring the intent of the law. Common sense ain't all that common anymorte.
We called those nattering nannies "Regulation Charlies" in the Army (a term I introduced to my peers whilst still working for the feds. Some of them were not amused. Heh!). We have them on our range, and they are not appreciated by anyone. The board is dealing with one such now.
The point being, safety is a state of mind, not a series of checklists. There's a reason why our range hasn't had a shooting accident, and it's not because of the rules. It's because the vast majority of the shooters know and follow safety procedures.
I didn't mention this before, but our range does not have full time range safety officers, so there is no supervision of the firing lines. We're there only if called in for problems, and for organized events, primarily those for new shooters. That range orientation sets up members as range officers -- which means club rules are self-enforced.
So, I feels your pain, I do. We have had some close calls.
The point being, safety is a state of mind, not a series of checklists.
Very well put.
I forgot to mention that I had some very important object lessons in gun safety when I was growing up, including:
1) the time cousin Ronnie blew out one of Grandma Paco's kitchen windows with an "unloaded" shotgun, and
2) the time Old Paco shot himself in the leg with a Llama .45 while tucking it into his waistband.
Those obnoxious little pieces of plastic that the lawyers force on us, much like the trigger locks that everyone has several of. But, on to brighter subjects. I just ordered some Hornady .308 boat tails in 150gr. Hopefully this will get me through the PLANdemic until the projectile manufactures catch up. With all the shortages we've been through in the last few years, I'd think that all the domestic manufacturers would be set up to add a third shift at a moments notice. Anyone who could ramp up their production in a week would be making bank now.
Maybe I ought to join the ranks of Big Ammo!
Those are the sort of lessons that are burned into your brain, yes, indeed, Paco!
Funny he mentioned the duffle bag thing. My father served in Bougainville and managed to swap some fine Australian stuff for a pair of Yankee pearl handled revolvers. He said they were Colt 45s, just like the cowboys use. He hid them in the bottom of a duffle full of dirty underwear and had most of his good stuff in another duffle bag. Months later, when he finally got on a ship and entered Sydney harbour, an order came around that only one duffle would be allowed when disembarking. Well over the side went the dirty washing bag. He said the realisation hit him as soon as he let go of it and could only watch as it sunk below the surface.
Mike, I believe that's the saddest thing I ever heard of.
Mick, I mean.
Very sad Paco. But it was surprising how much it made him and his mates laugh over a few beers on Anzac day.
Yeah, I bet he dined out on that story for a long time! So, a little bit of a silver lining.
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