What would you do?

C

Conceal Carry

New member
About five years back at my current job an office colleague (not a friend) brought his revolver in the office and while showing it off to other colleagues jokingly poined it at me (it was loaded but not cocked).

I never take guns pointed at me as a joke and never do such stupid things myself. As I was relatively new in that job and didn't want to make a scene out of that, I simply dismissed it and walked away from there, and never launced a formal complaint.( Now I think I should have done that).

I wonder if I did the right thing by walking away. What message did I convey? Did I appear weak? Should I have told him firmly that it was not a joke and he should put it away?

Any opinions..
 
yeah...5 years is kinda outside the statute of limitations. (unless you're female - they remember EVERYTHING)

copy this to a nice document/font and leave a couple laying around the office. i'd bold the 1st three rules.


The 12 Golden rules for Safe Gun Handling

1. Always treat the gun as loaded.
2. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
3. Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
5. Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy.
6. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
7. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the gun you are using.
8. Always use proper Ammunition.
9. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before loading and shooting.
10. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, hold your shooting position for several seconds; then with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, carefully unload the gun.
11. Don't rely on the gun's safety to keep it from firing.
12. Be aware of your surroundings when handling guns so you don't trip or lose your balance and accidentally point and/or fire the gun at anyone or anything.
 
I don't think the question is what he should do about it now, 5 years later.

The question is, if it happened today, how should he react.

I'd have told the guy IMMEDIATELY that what he did was unsafe and totally inappropriate in the workplace or anywhere else.

Here's an interesting anecdote that is marginally relevant. I went to my local range a few weeks ago and there was a guy there who was obviously employed as a private security guard. Apparently he had just taken some kind of re-qualification test. He had his range bag in front of him but was complaining that he couldn't find his handgun. I guess he had left his range bag unattended for a moment, and somebody employed by the range decided to confiscate his gun to teach him an object lesson. Idiot mistakes need to be corrected immediately.
 
4. Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I just can't agree to this one in all circumstances. Now, yes, if you are handling the gun, as in showing it to someone, then unload first. Otherwise, for me, it stays loaded 24/7 until it is time to not use the gun, as in cleaning or displaying to others.
 
Quote:
4. Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.

Sorry, I just can't agree to this one.
Click to expand...

It depends on what "ready to use" means. If it "using" includes carrying and putting the gun in the nightstand and stuff like that, I agree. If "using" means shooting, I too disagree.
 
Totally uncool and immature!

Even as a teen, I knew that you need to assume all guns are loaded
and not to point a gun at anything you don't want to kill.

For an adult to do this at a job is flat out wrong.

Also gives responsible gun owners a bad name!

Even at the range, please give me the courtesy of keeping your gun
pointed down range!

You don't want to be "talking with your hands" with a gun in it.

-1 for poor gun safety!
 
About a year ago, during my first trip to a gun range, I had made the mistake of setting my gun down in such a way that it was NOT pointing down range like it should have been. Someone walked by, turned it the other way, and politely explained that it was essential that I do so in the future.
1. I didn't feel the need to "save face."
2. I didn't feel he was intruding or "getting in my business"
3. I recognized that what I was doing was incorrect and unsafe
4. I thanked him for taking the time to point it out to me
 
When I was a civilian I had a co-worker point a 1911 at my chest, it was unloaded and caught on video. I took the pistol from him and hit him in the forehead with it (leaving a nice mark). He said he was going to make a complaint, Not before I did though. He was banned from entering the gun department at the store we worked at. He was the fishing dept manager. He is lucky all I did was smack him with it. I was so mad words can not express what I felt...........
 
Someone points a gun at me, and assuming I didn't kill the guy or he killed me, I would skip the human resources department and call 911 straight away. No reasonable person deliberately points a firearm, loaded or not, at someone else unless he or she wants to terrorize, injure or kill another. It wasn't a joke. If the investigators figure he isn't reasonable, there are nice mental health care facilities for those who prove to be a danger to themselves or others. Such people, reasonable or not, shouldn't be roaming around society.
 
What he did is called "brandishing" and "assault". Some states consider simply pointing a firearm as "use of deadly force". I'd have had him charged jailed.

That crap isn't even remotely funny. I reamed a smart a$$ at a local pawn shop the other day for jokingly suggesting I was going to shoot him with my CW. Wouldn't have been AT ALL funny if a plain clothes LEO had overheard him.
 
I suppose for me it would really depend on the specific situation.

If it were an "education opportunity" for someone who was uninitiated and unfamiliar with firearm safety or firearms in general, well bashing them in the head for a "novice no-no" might be a little overkill when a constructive course correction could suffice and leave all concerned better off than they started the day.

On the other hand, if it were "wanna-be rambo, ex-leader of seel team 47", trying to impress or acting like an idiot, well bashing him in his forhead with his own balls seems a little more appropriate.

just my nickel's worth.
 
seen/heard this happen too many times, three yrs ago, once a co-worker dry fired an empty 92 Berreta three times into another co-workers belly, no complaints filed, just heated arguments. Few weeks back, a friends best friend lost a 15 year old son because a 21 year old did this and forgot it was loaded. Piss Poor Training Leads to Piss Poor Excuses!:(
 
If your laws are similar to TX law, this is called "Deadly Conduct" and is a Class A misdemeanor.

Texas Penal Code § 22.05. DEADLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he recklessly engages in conduct that places another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.
...
(c) Recklessness and danger are presumed if the actor knowingly pointed a firearm at or in the direction of another whether or not the actor believed the firearm to be loaded.​
 
Tell him a story about the countless amount of people to die from the mis-use of firearms. All the kids who ended up being shot or shooting themselves because they were pissing about... All the women who died because there husbands left their guns reloaded...

The best way is to educate...
 
The 12 Golden rules for Safe Gun Handling

1. Always treat the gun as loaded.
2. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
3. Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
5. Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy.
6. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
7. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the gun you are using.
8. Always use proper Ammunition.
9. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before loading and shooting.
10. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, hold your shooting position for several seconds; then with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, carefully unload the gun.
11. Don't rely on the gun's safety to keep it from firing.
12. Be aware of your surroundings when handling guns so you don't trip or lose your balance and accidentally point and/or fire the gun at anyone or anything.
Click to expand...

These just keep expanding!
Remember when there were 2 rules for safe gun handling, then the "10 commandments", now 12.

I'm not disputing that these are good safety rules, just that we're beginning to follow SOP instead of THINKING while having a forearm in our posession.

For example some of these rules apply mainly at a target ranges, but don't apply overall, as in unloaded firearms when carried for self-defence is a bad idea.

If rules are going to be made they should be clear, and apply in all situations, but should NOT be blindly applied..

The most dangerous part of a gun is the nut behind the trigger.

In answer to the original post.
after 5 years it's way past time to do anything.
However my usual response to something like this is to take the person off to one side & explain firmly, but politely, the error, and why it is important to not do things like this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top