9 Oct 00

I don't advocate the weak-side index finger being wrapped around the front of the trigger guard in any kind of pistol shooing, but the practice is particularly ill-advised in defensive shooting. Confirming this is a friend who is a range officer with a large PD:

"We see shooters with the index finger of the support hand curled around the front of the trigger guard all the time. Like you, we discourage the practice, but many trainees, having read the gun rags, have their own ideas.

One day I was viewing some video of our SWAT guys going through a building search. I found it worth noting that, among those who use the above grasping method, the support trigger finger was pulling the trigger guard back (and consequently pulling the muzzle down) as the firing-hand index finger was pressing the trigger. I now understood why they frequently had low hits on their targets. Not surprisingly, the low-hit problem became more acute as the stress level went up.

Another subtlety I observed on the same film:

Every time one of them turned his head to look, for example, around a corner, he would involuntarily blink his eyes. Thus, we should always scan twice, when possible. Mom and Dad probably didn't really know why they told us to look twice before crossing the street, but, as it turns out, it was sage advice."

/John

9 Oct 00

Problem with S&B ammo again:

"A student shooting an AR-15 had a ka-boom with factory S&B ammo. The bottom of magazine blew out, dumping rounds, spring, and follower on the ground. The shooter was startled but unhurt. I wish I could say the same for his rifle. The bolt was damaged, and the magazine well was bulged. The lower receiver is history, which means he will have to get a new rifle.

When we retracted the bolt, we recovered a spent casing from the chamber in good condition. It appears to have fired normally. However, the next round in the magazine detonated when the chambered round fired, and that is what caused the damage.

It's the first time I've seen anything like that!"

We've had chambered cases rupture and leak gas into the received with similar results. I don't know how the above incident could have happened, but I, for one, won't be giving it a second opportunity!

/John