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Quite a few people have asked me about Ayoob’s accidental discharge at a recent MAG40 class.

Short story: Ayoob wanted to demonstrate a trigger press to his students, so he borrowed a student’s pistol, by his own admission failed to clear it properly, and unintentionally fired a shot into the air.

Ayoob wrote about this on his blog, if you haven’t heard about it:
https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/layers-of-firearms-safety-a-teachable-moment/

Another point of view, from the sponsoring instructor:
https://safetysolutionsacademy.com/lessons-from-a-negligent-discharge-at-mag-40/

To be honest, I this incident is more a case of “lessons reinforced” than “lessons learned”. My takeaways:

“Safe” Direction – In our classes we insist that any gun handling be done on the firing line, with the gun pointed down range or towards the ground. I’ll admit I’ve occasionally done this demonstration in the past – holding up the gun with the muzzle skyward – so students can see what I am doing. I am going to correct that and change how we demonstrate this.

Unnecessary gun handling – We always insist that guns are only handled on the firing line, and minimize the use of live firearms in demonstrations that don’t involve shooting. Could this demonstration (placement of the trigger finger and trigger press) been done just as easily with a SIRT pistol?

Demonstrating using student guns – Yep, I’ve done this too, while demonstrating “catching the link”, but people who’ve attended multiple classes may have noticed – I always pick a Glock, if there is one, so I have a gun I’m familiar with; I always check and dry-fire the gun before demonstrating; When demonstrating I aim the gun downrange.

Feel, don’t look – When checking to see if a gun is unloaded, you must always feel for a round, not just look for one. We train ourselves to see an unloaded chamber, and after thousands of reps we will look right at a round and not see it.

Dry-Fire to verify after unloading/clearing – The last step in our unload/clearing procedure is deliberate dry-fire in a safe direction. This incident is a good example of why we do it – if you are going to have an accident, do it under situations you control.

Bystander Effect – EVERYONE on a range is responsible for safety. It doesn’t matter who is making a mistake, if you see it, you need to say something. We empower and expect our students to call out safety issues by anyone – even the instructors.

Familiarity – In the USA, typically only lion tamers are attacked by lions. If we are going to spend a lot of time around guns, we have to always be vigilant about careful and responsible gun handling.

Distratction/Exhaustion – The incident occurred during the fourth day of a very demanding class. Pushing the envelope to prepare for a fight is important, but when people on the range are getting punchy, you need to slow down and take breaks.

“Cold” Ranges – Cold ranges are nonsense.  They teach people to assume guns are unloaded instead of loaded and the idea that unloaded guns are somehow safer than loaded guns confuses our students.  All of our ranges are run 100% hot, and we’ve never had an AD.

No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done in the past, EVERY SINGLE TIME you handle a gun, you need to do it carefully and responsibly.

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER:

I wasn’t there and didn’t see this happen.

Massad Ayoob’s professional contributions to this Art are above reproach and I have nothing but respect for the man.

I don’t feel uncomfortable sharing my thoughts because I am certain that Mas is thinking the same things.

Random thoughts on workplace carry policies and civil liability.   Fears of “liability” are usually invoked in defense of gun-free zones, but do these policies really protect the business from liability?

SCENARIO ONE:

Your workplace allows people with permits to carry. A disturbed individual enters the workplace and kills several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

SCENARIO TWO:

You have an employee who is law abiding with a clean criminal record. Maybe they have a police and military background, maybe they don’t.

They have a permit to carry and disclose this to you. Consistent with policy, they are told they cannot carry at work, and may be disciplined or fired if they do. They comply with this policy.

A disturbed individual enters the workplace and kills several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

SCENARIO THREE:

You have an employee who is law abiding, clean criminal record. Maybe they have a police and military background, maybe they don’t. This person has a permit to carry.

Previously your workplace had either no policy on carrying, or a policy which allowed employees to carry at work.

However, there have been recent changes at the company and now carrying at work is prohibited. Employees are informed of the change and that they can be disciplined or fired for carrying at work.  Your employee complies with the policy and stops carrying at work.

A disturbed individual enters the workplace and kills several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

SCENARIO FOUR:

You have an employee who is law abiding, clean criminal record. Maybe they have a police and military background. This person has a permit to carry.

They have a permit to carry and disclose this to you. Policy allows them to carry at work and you inform them of this.

A disturbed individual enters the workplace attempts to committ several murders. Your employee draws their gun and stops the attack, saving the lives of several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

This coming July 7-8, 2018, One Defense and QSI Training will host legendary trainers John and Vicki Farnam in Morristown, Minnesota. We have partnered for two courses that will cater to the needs expressed by our students.

For more information or to register online click HERE.

We’ve added our popular Multi-Class Discounts again!

You can save up to $50 on three classes with our Three-Pack.

Our best value is our Five-Pack, which saves up to $150.  That’s like getting a free class!

Any discounts paid for in 2017 may be used until the end of 2018.

To sign up, click here.

We’re experiencing some issues with class registrations.  Our web guy is working on it (we did an upgrade and are still working a few things out).

If you want to sign up for a class, please use the Contact Form at the top of the page and we’ll get you set up.  You can also send an email to erik@qsitraining.net

We appreciate everyone’s support and patience and we’ll get things back to normal as soon as possible.

Erik & the QSI Crew

I’ve been setting up complex malfunction drills this way for over 20 years and nothing like this has happened before. I’m sharing our experience so others can benefit from it.

Last weekend we were on the range doing some instructor development training, part of which was clearing malfunctions. We had just done simple malfunctions and were moving on to complex malfunctions (what are commonly called “double feeds”.)

Prior to this incident, here is how we set them up:

1. Remove the magazine from the weapon
2. Tilt the gun so the ejection port side is facing the ground (this is very important)
3. Rack the slide to eject the round in the chamber
4. Lock the slide to the rear
5. Strip a live round out of the magazine and insert into the chamber
6. Insert the full mag into the magwell
7. Release the slide

We now have a weapon with a complex malfunction that the student will have to clear. When the slide is forward, we see something like this:

Based on the number of students and classes we’ve taught I can conservatively say we’ve done this a couple of thousand times without incident. We learned this technique from a very respected and well-known trainer, and have seen it done by many others in classes we’ve attended.

This time, however, when the instructor got to Step 7, the gun discharged when he released the slide.

His fingers were nowhere near the trigger, and the gun was out of battery. The round went downrange and impacted the berm.

We immediately called a cease-fire and had the line re-holster. The instructor handed the gun off to another instructor and then checked himself out for injuries, then another instructor checked him to be sure. Fortunately, all he had was some tattooing on his left arm, likely from unburnt powder from the muzzle (he was wearing short sleeves).

If he had not turned the gun sideways with the ejection port facing down, that could have been a lot worse. This is why it is our procedure to always do this while loading and unloading. The arm position has the added benefit of protecting debris from hitting you in the face.   We do this because of the potential for accidents while unloading or loading – you don’t want the gas and debris from the ejection port to blow up in your face.

Orientation of the instructor’s arms when the round discharged.  He was turned “into the gun” and the muzzle was pointed downrange.

 For safety purposes we are demonstrating this with an Airsoft gun in this photo.  

Upon further inspection, the gun had clearly fired out of battery. The magazine floorplate was blown off the magazine body was split.

We found the shell on the ground, split open, further indicating an out-of-battery detonation.

One of our other instructors, who is a Glock armorer, tore down the gun. Most of the lower parts were damaged and will need to be replaced. He wasn’t sure about the frame but thought it should probably be replaced as well. The slide had a lot of tiny debris inside it, including in the breechblock and under the extractor. The barrel looked fine, but of the slide’s internal components were also damaged. It will cost about $200 to fix the gun, assuming the frame is not damaged.

We’re not sure exactly what happened.  The gun was in good mechanical condition and had no modifications other than an aftermarket slide.  We initially suspected that a round had bounced into the ejector, or something like this incident – however, upon closer examination, that does not appear to be the case.  The round went downrange via the barrel, which indicates it was in the chamber when it discharged.  We also could not find any deformation or damage to the gun’s ejector.

Re-creating the conditions with dummy rounds, we discovered this possibility:

After being dropped into the chamber, the round slid back and seated its primer against the nose of the top round in the magazine. When the slide was released, the force detonated the round.

Regardless of the cause, we’ve decided to change how we do this drill in the future.  Our solution is pretty simple; we’re going to set up using two dummy rounds at the top of the magazine. Once we got everything back under control at the range we tested this method and it worked great.

The lesson reinforced here is clear: No matter who you are, and no matter what you are doing, you must always handle guns carefully and responsibly.  

We also recommend wearing eye protection whenever handling a gun – even if you aren’t shooting it.

We’re glad everyone is OK, and hope that sharing this experience can prevent future incidents.

Sunday March 26, 2017 – Sunday March 26, 2017

18832 Lake Drive East

Description:

This class satisfies all requirements for a Minnesota Permit-to-Carry a Pistol. It is guaranteed to be accepted by all Minnesota Sheriffs. This course will also be accepted by any State which accepts NRA-certified training.

What you will learn:
– Avoiding Conflict
– The Law of Use and Threat of Deadly Force
– Deadly Force and its Aftermath
– Everyday Police Encounters
– Firearm, Ammunition and Holster Selection
– Mechanics of Everyday Carry
– Legalities of Minnesota Carry
– Out of State and Airline Travel
– Firearms Safety
– Shooting Exercise
– The Permit to Carry Application and Appeal Process
– Additional Resources

What you need to bring:
– Handgun (rental handguns available)
– 10-20 rounds of ammo
– Pen & notepaper for taking notes
– Photo ID and payment

Cost of the class does not include a range fee of $15/student.  This will be paid directly to the range.

Register

A couple of years ago, I was at a training class out of state.  The final exercise of the class was for two people to fight, one as an aggressor and one defending.  Both participants were outfitted with protective gear for a full contact fight.

During one of the evolutions, when the two participants squared off, the “defender” yelled, at the top of his lungs:

“I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU.”

Afterwards, some constructive criticism of this choice of words was offered.  The “defender” adamantly denied saying it.  In fact, he went so far as to point out that he was an attorney, and would “never say anything like that.”

One of the observers produced a cell phone and showed a video, confirming that he had indeed said the offending phrase.

When you’re stuck in a self-defense situation, you’re going to be under a lot of stress, and natural fight-or-flight instincts can cause you to say (and unfortunately do) stupid things.  This is why it’s important to develop “muscle memory” and practice proper techniques.

It’s also critical to practice proper verbal techniques as well.  John Farnam calls this a “Tape Loop” – a short phrase that you memorize and practice to use in an emergency.

Tape loops can be used for de-escalating and disengagement; verbal challenges; 911 calls, and even when the cops arrive.

Verbal challenges are one of the areas I see failure to use tape loops cause problems.  I’ve seen people in both live scenario-based training and videos of real self-defense incidents draw guns and scream:

“I’M GOING TO BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF.”

“YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG GUY.”

“NOW WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?”

These all have some issues from the standpoint of the “ear-witness.”  You wouldn’t want any of those phrases attributed to you in court.  Even before we get to court, any of these might inspire a bad guy to fight.

Another thing I hear people who draw guns yell a lot:

“GET ON THE GROUND!” 

More likely than not, the bad guy is probably not going to comply with this.  And what are you going to do, shoot him if he doesn’t get on the ground?

The situation will dictate whether or not you use a verbal challenge at all.  It’s not always going to be practical to give a verbal challenge.  If events are moving too fast, you might not have time.  If you are dealing with an armed bad guy who is actively murdering people, a verbal challenge is probably not going to be effective.

The verbal challenge’s purpose is to give the bad guy one last chance to not get shot.

Our preferred “Tape Loop” for a verbal challenge goes like this:

“DON’T MOVE!”

“DROP YOUR WEAPON!”

Let’s break these down.

“DON’T MOVE!”

Not “hands up”, not “get on the ground”.  The bad guy is trying to murder you, and you need him to stop immediately.  Telling him to get his hands up is tantamount to giving him permission to murder you.  You want him the freeze in place.  Once he does that, you can further assess the situation and disengage.

“DROP YOUR WEAPON!”

If the bad guy stops his attack, the next thing we want to do is identify any weapons and get him to voluntarily disarm.  Say this even if you don’t see a weapon – you’d be surprised what comes flying out when you yell it.

Any “ear-witnesses” nearby may take note of this as well, and be willing to testify that you saw a weapon, or at least reasonably believed the bad guy had a weapon.

There’s one optional line to add to your verbal challenge:

“POLICE!” 

When we draw a gun, we are, unfortunately, in the process of becoming a victim of violent crime.  In such a situation, it makes sense to call for the police.

You aren’t claiming to be a police officer.  You’re just calling for the police, the same way that you might yell “FIRE” if you needed the fire department.  It’s not illegal to yell “POLICE” when you need the police!   Any nearby law enforcement who hear this are going to come running.

All things considered, there is certainly very little downside to bystanders and/or the bad guy mistaking you for the police.  This may reduce your chances of being attacked by the bad guy or an attempted disarm from a well-meaning citizen.  The bad guy may choose to run away, which is an ideal outcome.

Despite all this, some folks are not comfortable with that, so if you want to skip it, we’re okay with it.

The complete verbal challenge sounds like this:

“POLICE!”

“DON’T MOVE!”

“DROP YOUR WEAPON!”

It’s important to think about what you are going to say before you say it.  Like any other self-defense skill, your “Tape Loop” needs to be practiced on the range and in scenario-based training.