Safety checks on guns on reviews on the internet.

[Craig.Mo]

How come on videos and stuff of reviews on any gun they prove to us that the gun is empty and do the safety check. It will not hit me through the internet. I just think this wastes our time. I know its great to be safe but why on camera! Is it to make us be safer?

 

[Firefighterchen]

While I do agree it's better to be safe than sorry...

Just clearing the magazine (if the camera is of high enough quality to see inside the chamber clearly, clearing the magazine doesn't even have to occur) and locking the slide open would suffice me, as a viewer, and would only take 2 seconds. The long 20-30 second safety check on most gun related videos does get boring quick.

 

[Craig.Mo]

Glad to hear this. I thought maybe it was just me

 

[Firefighterchen]

Just imagine when you go to the gun store to find a new handgun...and every single time they take one out, they explain in detail and repetition, "the gun is safe, here is my safety check, (mag released), making sure its safety checked, no ammo in the magazine, (rack slide rack slide, lock slide), gun is being safety checked, no ammo in the firearm, (rack slide rack slide, insert mag, lock slide), safety check compete, here you go." On each one. While I would have no problem with the extra safety precautions, I tend to go to the stores that treat me like I have some experience.

I prefer the stores that take the handgun out, lock the slide, visual check the top of the magazine and the chamber, and hand it to me. I release the magazine, and reconfirm empty, (usually inspect magazine quality and function at this time) reinsert magazine, and return the firearm into battery. I lock slide back when I hand them the firearm back.

 

[Nightmare45]

More folks die from empty guns than loaded ones, I have no problem with reminder as I have been swept with EMPTY guns on many occasions, next time you are at a gun show watch the number of folks that pick up a gun and place their finger on the trigger immediately. Safety First Always.

 

[zacklmpd]

I think most of the people who do the safety checks on reviews do so because they would be Harped for not doing them I have read some reviews on videos where a person just locked the slide open and had 100 comments on how the weapon was not shown clear but that's just IMO

 

[zacklmpd]

But I will agree some people go to the extreme

 

[Firefighterchen]

More folks die from empty guns than loaded ones, I have no problem with reminder as I have been swept with EMPTY guns on many occasions, next time you are at a gun show watch the number of folks that pick up a gun and place their finger on the trigger immediately. Safety First Always.

Better to be safe than sorry......but exactly how are people dying from empty firearms? Are they being beaten with them?

 

[USN2Pulpit]

No Problem Here

I get the OP's point, but I like it when the store owner shows me the gun is safe. And then I check as well, first thing. Apart from 2-3 seconds, it really doesn't cost any time - and IMHO, it just reinforces a good habit pattern.

 

[Nightmare45]

Better to be safe than sorry......but exactly how are people dying from empty firearms? Are they being beaten with them?

If you don't know what I meant by that statement then you need to review firearms safety, thought the gun was empty bang.

 

[Warbirds]

I believe that safety checks are necessary, I was watching a YouTube video where a guy was showing off his 1911 and he turned it and pointed the barrel at the camera and there was a very shiny FMJ visible in the barrel. But I also agree that racking the slide 5 times is unnecessary, bullets don't spawn on the 2nd-5th racks.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CleverCrow]

It sets an example of good habits. Can never be stressed enough!

 

[Deserteagle]

Guns are evil and dangerous. Gotta make sure they are unloaded at least 5 times before you even look at one. They tend to shoot themselves...

 

[CapGun]

Some people around here are making me feel pretty smart. I knew what you meant. It amazes me that people have no abstract reasoning. Just like the original question here.
It's simply about credibility. Would anyone really pay attention to what some guy is saying or demonstrating if you saw him NOT practicing common handgun safety procedure?

 

[Kalamity023]

More importantly than the points already made; if the person in the video does not perform an extensive safety check it can give the anti-gunners fuel to claim that us pro-gunners and collectors are way to gung-ho and reckless. I for one don't mind the extra second for the person to show that it's safe. It promotes safe gun handling and helps to prove the liberal idiots wrong about us.

Besides YouTube has the ability to fast forward, as do most Internet videos.

 

[Hoganbeg]

I was trained to do a safety check anytime I pick up a firearm. While the internet viewer is probably safe from a negligent discharge, keep in mind that while the reviewer is handling the gun it is pointed somewhere, probably in his own home.

Regarding racking the slide multiple times: This is nothing more than internet monkey see-monkey do and it seems that this is how many new gun owners are getting trained. As I've said before, racking the slide several times is not the proper procedure for verifying a clear chamber. Little things like out-of-spec ammo, or, worn or out-of-spec extractors can result in a round not being extracted. One must look and/or insert a finger or other object to be 100% sure-and that is the purpose of the drill.

 

[Firefighterchen]

Better to be safe than sorry......but exactly how are people dying from empty firearms? Are they being beaten with them?

If you don't know what I meant by that statement then you need to review firearms safety, thought the gun was empty bang.

I do know what you meant...I just don't like to perpetuate white lies. An empty gun can not shoot someone, it is a physical impossibility, so empty guns can not kill more people than loaded guns. A gun thought to be empty, but is loaded, is a loaded gun with a negligent owner. I feel the difference between calling a firearm empty and loaded has to be distinguished. Just like I find repeated racking of the slide a bad habit (and boring), I do not like talking about firearms indifferently. Just like I do not call semi-auto or "tactical .22's" assault rifles. Just like I do not consider a standard 16 round handgun magazine hi-capacity if it is factory standard. The biggest problem I see with little bits of misinformation like an empty gun killing, is the anti-gun crowd taking it and running with it. It will snowball till eventually they are dumb enough to go on camera and say incendiary rounds are heat seeking deer cooking rounds. Give the anti-guns nothing, and they will be nothing (not even babbling buffoons).

I have only come across a few youtube videos (and I do not feel like finding them) that the guy on the video says, "I safety checked my weapons before the video, I won't do it now to appease the cry babies." I got a kick out of those, and guess what, when they reviewed the handgun, sure enough it was empty.

I do not mean you (nightmare) any disrespect, as 99.99% of your posts I nod my head up and down. But, I do not agree with the empty gun myth. Do the extended safety checks stop me from watching videos? Not really...

Edit: I wanted to add a funny thought I just had. Just because Rosie O'donnell thinks she is skinny...doesn't mean she IS skinny.

 

[fudo]

How come on videos and stuff of reviews on any gun they prove to us that the gun is empty and do the safety check. It will not hit me through the internet. I just think this wastes our time. I know its great to be safe but why on camera! Is it to make us be safer?

Safety is largely routine. If you follow your safety procedure THE SAME WAY, EACH AND EVERY TIME, your procedure may save you if your brain is temporarily disengaged. That is what checklists are about. "How come on videos and stuff of reviews on any gun they prove to us that the gun is empty and do the safety check." Safety- out of sight, out of mind.

 

[Krohbar]

The two loudest sounds you will ever hear:
Click when you expected bang.
Bang when you expected click.

Get into and keep safe habits.

 

[wlhump]

I was trained to do a safety check anytime I pick up a firearm. While the internet viewer is probably safe from a negligent discharge, keep in mind that while the reviewer is handling the gun it is pointed somewhere, probably in his own home.

Regarding racking the slide multiple times: This is nothing more than internet monkey see-monkey do and it seems that this is how many new gun owners are getting trained. As I've said before, racking the slide several times is not the proper procedure for verifying a clear chamber. Little things like out-of-spec ammo, or, worn or out-of-spec extractors can result in a round not being extracted. One must look and/or insert a finger or other object to be 100% sure-and that is the purpose of the drill.

Thank you!
I have thought the very same thing about the multiple slide rack "clearing." I have had only a round or two over the last 40 years of shooting that did NOT extract when working the bolt or slide, but it only takes ONCE to end a life. Nothing beats at least a visual or a visual & tactile confirmation that there is no round in the pipe and none in the mag.

Personally, I have always checked any weapon when I pick it up, even if I witnessed someone else check it. And I have taught my children to do the same. It's MY responsibility to know for sure the weapon is unloaded. Heck, call me retentive, but even if I put the weapon down a few minutes ago, if it has not been under my control or direct supervision the entire time, I check it again when I pick it up. It only takes 15 seconds to prevent a mistake that will last forever.