I buddy of mine sent this to me and I thought it might be of interest to some of you fellows.
Shooting Yourself 101: Facility bans holster after two ADs
**************************************************
Thanks to Gary Smith of HandgunHunt.com for the info:
RECENT HOLSTER-RELATED SHOOTINGS (BLACKHAWK SERPA HOLSTER NOW
PROHIBITED IN KR TRAINING CLASSES)
At IPSC and IDPA matches in San Antonio recently, two different
shooters shot themselves in the leg while drawing. In both cases, the
root cause was the shooter putting his finger on the trigger before
the muzzle was in a safe direction.
Drawing a pistol safely at high speed cannot be mastered without doing
a lot of slow speed, dry fire practice, preferably in front of a
mirror where you can see what you are doing. In a correct and safe
draw, the trigger finger does not touch the trigger until the gun is
gripped by both hands, and the muzzle is pointed at the target - what
we call "step 3" or our "ready position". In our classes we emphasize
keeping the finger off the trigger when at "ready" and only putting
the finger on the trigger when you intend to shoot and are moving the
gun from "ready" to a firing position (position 4). It takes 3000 or
more reps of slow dry practice to make correct trigger finger
placement during the draw an automatic action that happens whether you
think about it or not.
Those who only practice drawing when attending our classes or on match
day risk the same kind of negligent discharge that resulted in both of
these shooters taking a bullet in the leg. You cannot go fast safely
until you understand what a safe technique is, and you can do it
safely at slow speed. Trying to run before you can walk in this case
can get you seriously hurt.
Equipment issues played a role in these shootings: one shooter was
using a 1911 style pistol. These guns are normally carried "cocked and
locked" with the hammer back and thumb safety on. In order for the
1911 shooter to shoot himself, he had to take the safety off during
'step 1' of the draw, as he established his grip on the pistol, and
then put his finger on the trigger as the gun came out of the holster,
before the gun got to our "step 2" which is the first point in the
draw where the muzzle is guaranteed to be clear of all body parts.
When drawing a 1911 style pistol, the safety should not come off until
the gun is at position 3 (ready position) and should ONLY come off
AFTER the person has made a decision to shoot and is moving the gun to
a firing position.
The other shooter was using the Blackhawk SERPA holster, which has
been banned by many shooting schools. The problem with the SERPA is
that the user must press a lever with the trigger finger to release
the pistol, and if the shooter does not practice indexing the trigger
finger along the slide (away from the trigger guard) as the gun comes
out of the holster, the natural flow of body movement is to continue
curling the trigger finger as the gun comes out. That movement can
obviously lead to the trigger finger pressing on the trigger way too
early in the drawstroke. There have been multiple self-inflicted
gunshot wounds at multiple schools all over the US, all a result of
the design of this holster and the failure of holster users to put in
sufficient slow dry practice to master the complex movement and fine
motor skill of operating this holster while drawing. I believe that
the number of schools banning this holster has reached critical mass
and that prohibition of this holster has now become an industry "best
practice", so KR Training now prohibits the use of the SERPA holster
in our classes in the interest of preventing student self-injury.
************************************
Shooting Yourself 101: Facility bans holster after two ADs
**************************************************
Thanks to Gary Smith of HandgunHunt.com for the info:
RECENT HOLSTER-RELATED SHOOTINGS (BLACKHAWK SERPA HOLSTER NOW
PROHIBITED IN KR TRAINING CLASSES)
At IPSC and IDPA matches in San Antonio recently, two different
shooters shot themselves in the leg while drawing. In both cases, the
root cause was the shooter putting his finger on the trigger before
the muzzle was in a safe direction.
Drawing a pistol safely at high speed cannot be mastered without doing
a lot of slow speed, dry fire practice, preferably in front of a
mirror where you can see what you are doing. In a correct and safe
draw, the trigger finger does not touch the trigger until the gun is
gripped by both hands, and the muzzle is pointed at the target - what
we call "step 3" or our "ready position". In our classes we emphasize
keeping the finger off the trigger when at "ready" and only putting
the finger on the trigger when you intend to shoot and are moving the
gun from "ready" to a firing position (position 4). It takes 3000 or
more reps of slow dry practice to make correct trigger finger
placement during the draw an automatic action that happens whether you
think about it or not.
Those who only practice drawing when attending our classes or on match
day risk the same kind of negligent discharge that resulted in both of
these shooters taking a bullet in the leg. You cannot go fast safely
until you understand what a safe technique is, and you can do it
safely at slow speed. Trying to run before you can walk in this case
can get you seriously hurt.
Equipment issues played a role in these shootings: one shooter was
using a 1911 style pistol. These guns are normally carried "cocked and
locked" with the hammer back and thumb safety on. In order for the
1911 shooter to shoot himself, he had to take the safety off during
'step 1' of the draw, as he established his grip on the pistol, and
then put his finger on the trigger as the gun came out of the holster,
before the gun got to our "step 2" which is the first point in the
draw where the muzzle is guaranteed to be clear of all body parts.
When drawing a 1911 style pistol, the safety should not come off until
the gun is at position 3 (ready position) and should ONLY come off
AFTER the person has made a decision to shoot and is moving the gun to
a firing position.
The other shooter was using the Blackhawk SERPA holster, which has
been banned by many shooting schools. The problem with the SERPA is
that the user must press a lever with the trigger finger to release
the pistol, and if the shooter does not practice indexing the trigger
finger along the slide (away from the trigger guard) as the gun comes
out of the holster, the natural flow of body movement is to continue
curling the trigger finger as the gun comes out. That movement can
obviously lead to the trigger finger pressing on the trigger way too
early in the drawstroke. There have been multiple self-inflicted
gunshot wounds at multiple schools all over the US, all a result of
the design of this holster and the failure of holster users to put in
sufficient slow dry practice to master the complex movement and fine
motor skill of operating this holster while drawing. I believe that
the number of schools banning this holster has reached critical mass
and that prohibition of this holster has now become an industry "best
practice", so KR Training now prohibits the use of the SERPA holster
in our classes in the interest of preventing student self-injury.
************************************
Anyway this lady now has a CWP and don't even know how to load a gun. When i got mine i had to take a 5 hr class and i had to shoot at a target and do it right to pass. Now she gets it because some man is more or less passing them out for free. Man what a joke!! I sure hope i don't ever need her to protect me. She might just shoot me trying to figure out how to shoot the gun. (Sorry) but i don't agree with this.
