Gun Safes in the UK

13 Dec 07

Gun Safes in the UK, from a friend there:

"When I visited the USA to attend my first Farnam Course, I was astonished at the sight of gun safes the size of refrigerators, filled to the brim all manner of privately-owned firearms. I vowed then and there that I had two ambitions left in life; (1) to own such a safe. and (2) to fill it!

Unfortunately, in the UK our police (who are there to 'regulate,' not to ' serve') are hyper-anal about us peons religiously locking our firearms away, even insisting that bolts and ammunition be locked away separately. Oops! I keep forgetting that one.

Our government insists the only 'good reason' for having a gun out of a safe is to clean it!

My solution is to have a number of small, innocuous metal cabinets bolted to walls. They are out of sight in closets and cupboards, with keys hidden in various places. Having these 'safes' in different parts ofthe house has the advantage of permitting me access to my guns no matter where in the house I find myself. I never know where I will be when the sudden urge to clean a gun grabs me, eh?"

Comment: Where you stand depends on where you sit! Risks invariably attach to any course of action, even to "doing nothing." Each of us must select a strategy for securing our guns, knowing that, whatever option we choose, it won't be perfect. Guns that are "perfectly safe" are simultaneously " perfectly useless!"

/John

ND!

13 Dec 07

Actual use of a Safe Direction Ballistic Pad! This from a student:

"I shot a big, fat hole in my Safe Direction Pad yesterday morning! Here's how it happened:

I'm reading a compelling, political book that is dizzying in its implications. As a result, after I put the book down, the implications contained therein continued to swirl around in my head, demanding my attention. Unfortunately, they received the attention I should have directed elsewhere!

Next to my bed, I have a lock-box, in which I keep a 1911 pistol and a spare magazine. In the morning, I routinely unload the pistol, put it in the box, and lock it up.

I picked up the pistol as usual, but then paused, thinking about my book. When I "came to," I was holding the pistol and looking at the spare magazine, sitting next to my Safe Direction Pad, which was sitting on my bed. I said to myself, 'I've removed the magazine. Now I'll clear the chamber.'

I then pointed the gun at the Safe Direction Pad (thank heaven, out of habit!), pulled the slide to the rear and let it go. The chambered round ejected as expected. Still musing about my reading, I then directed the muzzle at the center of the Pad and pressed the trigger. When the pistol discharged, I was instantly, and fully, brought back to 'present-tense!'

I looked at the smoking gun, momentarily puzzled as to how this ND could have happened. There was obviously only ONE way: The magazine was still in the gun. For a moment, I was sure I remembered removing it, but then I realized I only remembered seeing it next to the Pad. The one I saw was the spare magazine, not the one that had been in the pistol. In addition I failed to ' lock-and-inspect' before 'dry' firing. The pieces reluctantly fell into place!

I was alone, standing in my bedroom, with a smoking gun, blushing in embarrassment, feeling really stupid, but also really lucky! Thank God I had a Safe Direction Pad and was in the habit of using it!

The report was muted. No damage. Police did not get involved, The Pad worked as advertised. The errant bullet is still in it. Nothing damaged but my pride.

I learned an important lesson yesterday morning, and the only price I have to pay is replacing my Safe Direction Pad!

It can happen to anyone! When handling guns, you have to pay complete attention to what you're doing and strictly adhere to procedure, never leaving out nor transposing steps.

Ask me how I know this!"

Lessons: Like most automobile accidents, nearly all NDs result from the confluence of three factors: (1) Exhaustion, (2) Distraction, and (3) Poor Procedure. You may not be able to do much about exhaustion. You may be tired and still have to handle guns. But, you can limit distractions. When handling guns, (1) Stop all conversation, (2) Turn off the TV/radio, (3) Don't answer the phone, and (4) Clear your mind of clutter and pay attention to what you're doing.

Whether loading, unloading, performing a chamber/system check, or cleaning, perform the drill from start to finish, without interruption. When you are interrupted, go back and start the entire process over, from the beginning. Don't try to 'pick it up where you left off !'

In addition, your procedure must be competent and must be followed to the letter, every time. Steps are sequence-critical, and, when steps are left out or transposed, disaster awaits!

Watch where your muzzle is pointed! When handling guns, don't allow the muzzle to flop all over the place. Keep its direction tightly controlled and continuously pointed in a safe direction.

By "safe direction," I mean "relatively safe." No direction is completely safe. You often hear this concept expressed, "Don't point your muzzle at anything you're not willing to destroy." Clever, but poorly phrased. When I point my pistol at the air conditioner in my motel room while performing a chamber-check, I'm not willing to destroy the air conditioner, but it is still a relatively "safe" direction and, under the circumstances, safer than any other available direction.

All gun owners and carriers should have Safe Direction Pad and, like my student above, use it routinely. With it, you can manufacture a "safe direction" anywhere you find yourself. Again, it is not absolutely safe, but it is always safer than any other direction available.

/John