Posted: 6/8/2008 3:49:18 PM EDT
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I was over at Brownells and saw an ad for a Ballistics Containment System. It also doubles as a pistol carrier(all for the low price of $250). I am not quite sure I understand these systems. IIRC, they are offered to 'safely' clear a firearm. My thought is this-if you can remember to walk over and discharge your supposedly unloaded weapon into one of the systems, can't you remember to visually and physically check the chamber of your firearm to make sure it is clear? Am I missing something here? |
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Shit happens. Cheap insurance. Pull the trigger on your Glock for field strip and maybe you did it right for the zillionth time, maybe not. Chamber a round on anything prior to putting it in the holster and it might go bang if it's broke. Seen an AK run away. Seen an AR slamfire during charging. Never seen the like with a pistol but you just never know. Etc. I keep a 5 gallon bucket full of sand in the shop to point at during those times. Too many good people have joined the "Shit That Was Loud Club". No matter how careful you are you could still win that lottery. |
Yes, and no. Yes, you should be doing it right all the time anyway. No, because there's going to be the 1 out of 10000 times where you don't. Wouldn't you rather have that bullet captured than do the "follow the holes" routine and hope bullet and bodies didn't intersect? If you follow the rules AND have a clearing barrel, then it's not moron insurance, it's just additional insurance. |
I'll bet that one time you don't point it at the "ballistic containment system" either 
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I just bought two of them, one for each of my (adult, Gunsite-trained) children. (For myself, I use an obsolescent Second Chance Model Y vest.) Rule Two is "Don't point a gun at anything you are not prepared to destroy." There is no exception that says "unless you have checked it and are positive it is unloaded." See Rule One: "All guns are always loaded." There is no exception that says, "unless you have checked it and are positive it is unloaded." I don't care how many times I (or you) have checked the gun. A lot of accidental shootings have occured with guns that people were absolutely positive had been checked and unloaded. When I press the trigger on one of my guns, it will be pointed at something that can catch a bullet. Kevlar is good. If you can't afford a vest or a $250 Safe Direction, then build yourself a stop-box out of phone books or sand or something. In my old house, I used the fireplace as a designated dry-firing target. Please don't point your gun at your family or your dog or your television or your hand or your foot, just because you are absolutely, positively sure you checked it and it's unloaded. One of the advantages of the Kevlar pistol rug is that it is portable so, unlike the fireplace, you can have it with you when you are traveling, camping, etc. Like a seatbelt, if you never need it, good. What does it hurt if you make a habit of using it, and never need it? If you ever have that one in a million surprise loud noise, be sure you had the muzzle pointed at something that stops bullets safely. |
Its insurance period. When its something that you do nearly every day you might just slip once. I guess when you only shoot on weekends or once a month and don't actually have your weapon on you for 15 months at a time, you take extra extra care with safety and rounds being chambered. I know a guy who has time on ground with the military in more countries then most people have ever probably visited that had a discharge into one of these things. |
You would be betting correctly.  Worst feeling in the world knowing the bullet was now uncontrolled, with no idea where it went or who it hit. Fortunately it went through a wall and across a road into the side of a hill, with nobody was around. Truly negligent discharge on my part.A little spackle goes a long way towards hiding bullet holes!
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Precisely. I've stood at the cop shack during shift change and witnessed an M-16 discharge into the clearing barrel. The SP had a damn stupid look afterwards. Worst gun handlers on the planet. Some gun smiths need a barrel they can shoot during function check. That's a sensible application. |
Second worst maybe. Worst is knowing where the bullet went, and having to call 911 to request paramedics. Getting in the car? Buckle the seat belt. Going to press the trigger? Put the muzzle on the SafeDirection. |
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Now that I'm done being a "ballistic containment system" apologist it might be worth noting that most NDs are during administrative procedures, i.e. loading and unloading. If these could be done away with the opportunities for NDs would be substantially diminished. Life is a hot range. People should get used to walking around with hot weapons and not fingering them all the time. It would cut down on NDs at the clearing barrel! And knowing your weapon is hot wonderfully focuses one's mind. How many NDs are caused by the belief that the job at the clearing barrel was done properly? Clearing barrels are the devil's work! My club's practical/IDPA shooting activities are run with hot ranges. Life is good. |
Hallelujah and amen! To me "All guns are loaded" does not mean "Treat guns as if they were loaded." "As if," hell; they are loaded. Always. When you know your guns are always loaded, you don't point them at the TV and the cat and your foot. This business of forcing soldiers and cops (and airline pilots) to unload and load all the time is an invitation to an accident. As takeoffs and landings are to airplanes, loading and loading are to firearms. Why increase the opportunities? That said, if you are going to unload and press the trigger, use a bullet-catcher. I bought a trigger-pull gauge last month, just for fun, so naturally I had to test every gun in the house. I was careful to unload and check, but when I tested the triggers, the guns were pointing at Kevlar, just in case. No loud noises, but it didn't hurt to have a bullet-catcher, did it? I quit shooting IPSC (and only shot IDPA once) after they went to cold ranges. If they don't trust me to walk around bearing arms, why should Sarah Brady? |