Don't point that at me!

There is only one excuse to point a gun at some one, your protecting life or property. "Bang your****" Yes I said property too, it's "mine" not yours. So many guns, so many fools.:rolleyes:
 
Generally, I've seen pretty good muzzle control at gun shops. The scary places are gun shows. I actually had a shotgun muzzle pointed inches from the side of my head. Not happy about that at all.

It seems to me that people really let down their guard when they "know" a gun is empty because a dealer handed it to them. To me, even an empty gun that I checked myself is still a deadly weapon and should never be pointed at any thing you don't want a hole in.
 
Gun Safety

I have experienced this same scenario in gun shops before. I showed my son the incident when it happened and used that time to reinforce the message of gun safety.

He is currently 6 years old and reminded me of gun safety the other night, right before I was about to violate a cardinal rule. I was showing him my new M6 weapon light/laser that I had acquired to go on my Sig P250. He wanted to see how it worked on the pistol and so I placed the light on the Sig and proceeded, I am ashamed to say, to start to sweep the muzzle in his general area so he could see what he wanted to see. The conversation went as follows:

Son: Dad, you are not supposed to point a gun toward anyone.
Dad: I am sorry but it is unloaded. (I know, stupid comment)
Son: It doesn't matter and besides I haven't checked to make sure it is empty.

That is one of my proudest gun moments with my son. He saved his old man from making a stupid mistake. I am proud to say that the message has been getting through for the past 4 years.

Jonathan
 
I worked in gun stores for the better part of fifteen years. If I had a $10 bill for every time some yob pointed a heater at me, I'd buy my own gun store tomorrow.

Sure as God made little green apples, when you handed a customer a handgun from the showcase (action open, of course; that habit was so ingrained that I usually accidentally tried to jack the slides on the blue guns we used for light/laser demonstrators), two things would happen:
  1. Their booger hook would go straight to the bang switch as though drawn by a magnet.
  2. They'd point the muzzle right at my tummy.
Only once or twice in all that time did I give in to temptation and use the following dialog:

"Excuse me, would you please not point that at me?"

"It ain't loaded."

"Yes, well, this one is, and having guns pointed at me makes me very nervous."
 
Two of my favorite gun shops have a similar setup. A HUGE flourescent orange target up at the top of a wall near the ceiling. They tell everyone to sight on that target if you are going to dryfire or anything else. The one time I saw someone fail to do so was a young kid who immediately got belted in the back of the head by his dad.

Other places (Gander Mountan, Wal-Mart, gunshows) have been a lot less happy in terms of being "swept" by muzzles. :(

"Excuse me, would you please not point that at me?"
"It ain't loaded."
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When I hear that I often wonder if they would be willing, without any further checks, to put it to their head and pull the trigger.

(edit, anyone who IS willing to do so should be disarmed IMMEDIATELY in my opinion).
 
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There is no excuse for ANY store that carries guns not to do two simple things to avoid muzzles being pointed at people:

1. Post a big sign at the gun counter: DO NOT POINT GUNS AT PEOPLE WHEN HANDLING

2. Instruct clerks that they are to advise every patron not to point the gun in the general direction of anyone in the store every time they get a gun out of the case.
 
I was out hunting with a "friend of a friend" from Colorado last January, and he swept me with the muzzle of his .223 while we were standing by the truck discussing where we wanted to go next.

I told him to keep that (*&( rifle pointed away from me.

The 2nd time his did it, I told him I wasn't feeling to well, and headed back to town. I dropped him off at his motel, and haven't heard from him since.

Not that I miss him or his carelessness.

Daryl
 
Skans said:
2. Instruct clerks that they are to advise every patron not to point the gun in the general direction of anyone in the store every time they get a gun out of the case.
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If I did that with every customer, one of them would have got all butthurt and run to the nearest computer and whined on an internet gun forum about how "The sales people at XYZ guns are jerks because when she handed me the gun she aksed me not to point it at anyone in the store and i hadnt even done it yet!"

I preferred to admonish only when the error was actually made, which was plenty often enough. Better than 50%, certainly.
 
I was at a beginner handgun course and the instrctor was having everyone place their guns on the front table before class started. Most had them the original case, range bag or gun rug. One young lady sat down and the instructor asked her if she had placed her gun on the table or was going to use a rental. She said she had it in her purse, so he asked her to put it on the table and be careful not to point at him. She got mad and left the class. Since the instructor spent a lot class time on muzzle control I don't think he was implying anything by his comment just trying to careful.
 
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when it happens with me I get VERY Undiplomatic

Hi,
I was born in South America and grew up in Israel, so to say the least I have to remind myself in many occassions that it is best to be diplomatic when responding to annoying situations.

a firearm poined at me is not one of those occassions.

As one of the members said, this does happen in the military, but then it is either one of my unit members (it happens sometimes, for example, when you are moving in a double column, and you happen to be on the left-hand column, or if you are in a long column of APC's it is likely that at one stage or another there will be some barrels that happen to point in your direction), in this cases, it is part of the job and I trust them with my life in any event, when it happens it is due to circumstances, not as result of negligence or stupidity.
I am sure that this probably sounds strange to many, but anyone who has been in infantry/marines is familiar with this.

And when it is not one of "our guys" that is covering me with hiz muzzle,then in most instances my firearm is pointed back at them and it is quite likely that I am also shooting.

In Civilian life, I am much more sensitive, and I can be very direct in my response if I see a barrel even getting close to covering me.
In the shooting clubs where I am member, allowing your muzzle to cover anyone earns you immediate disqualification, usually accompanied with a polite but firm request to leave the range. ( we have a firm policy of "safety before diplomacy".

IMO, if someone is careless enough to point a gun at anyone who does not pose a threat to him, the response should be such that he will remember it for a long time. it is likely that a well remembered reaction will prevent a tragedy from happening.

Brgds,
Danny
 
Pizza Killer nailed it - something about hand guns. I'm ashamed to admit that recently whilst looking over a handgun at a shop (obviously unloaded, the salesman checked it and I checked it) I was not taking great care where it was pointed while looking over the fit/finish. My 13 year old son corrected me on the spot! Talk about red faced with shame...

Now don't get me wrong, I didn't point the damn thing at anyone while holding it in a shooting stance (I may have been asleep that day but I'm not brain dead...yet) or anything that foul, but the boy was right and I was wrong! Not sure what it is about handguns but people seem to forget.

Just me talkin'.

Oly
 
"Rules" and dogma will never truly make us safe. Using your brain, thinking clearing about what you are doing and why you are doing it, and using common courtesy will make us safer than relying on dogma. The problem with rules like "the gun is always loaded" is that the gun is not always loaded. We all know that.
 
I have had many experiences in gun shops and having the clerk point the gun at me.It truly bothers me to no end.I feel like dope slapping them.One time at a range,I was invited to shoot with a couple of guys.I was told the guys Grandfather was into guns big time.Unfortunately,he wasn't into firearm safety big time.In a half hour he swept everyone at least 4 times once even trying to clear a jam in a 1911.Some people just don't get it.
 
ursavus.elemensis said:
The problem with rules like "the gun is always loaded" is that the gun is not always loaded.
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With which part of "Don't point that thing at me, dammit!" are you having difficulty? :confused:
 
"Rules" and dogma will never truly make us safe. Using your brain, thinking clearing about what you are doing and why you are doing it, and using common courtesy will make us safer than relying on dogma. The problem with rules like "the gun is always loaded" is that the gun is not always loaded. We all know that.
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I don't know why this is feeling like a "my house/my rules" redux, but...

If I decide a gun isn't loaded and decide to point it at myself, that's okay.

But if you THINK a gun is not loaded and you point it at me, that's not okay.

How many "unloaded" guns were involved in various AD/ND incidents?

p.s. common courtesy says, don't point guns at people
 
I once was showing a 1911 to a customer and he actually dry fired it while it was pointed at my chest. I have never had such an unerving feeling
 
Accidently pointing or having a gun pointed at you should not go un-corrected. Brainfarts when handling firearms is what gets people shot. I don`t even like a partially diss-assembled gun pointed in my direction and am not bashful when it comes to correcting the problem. When I was a kid, rabbit hunting, I accidently pointed my shotgun at my dad:eek:. He unloaded my shotgun and made me carry it the rest of the day parallel with my shoulders with my arms over gun. That lesson has remained with me many years later.
 
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