Gun safety: Watch Where You Point Your Gun

Continuing on....

Everyone should know and live the four rules of gun safety.
1.  Treat every gun as if it is loaded
2.  Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target.
3.  Never point your gun at something you are not willing to destroy
4.  Be aware of your target and what is beyond your target.

Simply stated, if you don't want a hole in it, don't "point" your gun at it. 

I would say that this is the gun rule that I hear people draw the most absurd conclusions from.  I have heard people say.....

• Have you ever thought about where that gun is pointed when you sit down,  remember rule #3
• I cant practice, I would not bee keeping the third of the four gun rules.
• I ALWAYS make sure my gun is pointed down!

I think, the key word in #3 is point. Think about it.  Not where the gun is pointed, but where you point the gun.  

Let me explain, On one occasion, I was standing in line at a urinal (ladies, you might not get this) and the guy in front of me was going through the motions of preparations which often include a slight to severe bend forward of the upper body. As this man did this, his vest raised and I as looking straight at a very discernible .45 caliber barrel pointed at me. But he was not pointing it at me. There is a difference. In a good holster, the gun is in a safe position. 

I think the obvious conclusion is that when you (the operator) are in action with a gun, Be conscious of everything in the path of that muzzle while you are handling it (after all we treat every gun as if its loaded). Think about a seated draw. In your car and an attacker presents himself, Can you draw the gun without muzzling yourself? You can but probably not with out practice. Maneuvering with a gun in hand, looks cool in the movies, but watch the next action movie and look at how many things the cool actor muzzles as he races through the scene with his finger on the trigger the whole time. You might think "that's silly!". If you never practice how to maneuver with a gun, and that dreadful day comes that you have to use your gun, those movie scenes are all you know.

To me the scariest people I see handling guns are the people that do it routinely. In my shop it is very common for people to handle guns as they try them in different holsters, or holsters they are picking up. To this day the only two incidents that have startled me were police or former police that muzzled people with the loaded and unloaded guns which they were showing me. Next time you take your gun out of your holster, to clear it or for what ever reason, just for a learning experience, observe every where a bullet would go if you accidentally discharged the gun. 

If you ever hear instructions on dry fire practice, there is a VERY repetitive warning to check, double check and check again, and one more time to be sure the gun is unloaded and no ammo in the vicinity.  Reason is your going to be pointing the gun as you practice.      

When you are handling your gun, you are pointing your gun........#3 never point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.

Think about it.

Bam Bam Holsters

This Week on the Leather bench

Did two Complete setups this week.

The gun belt is .25 inches thick. Two pieces of Herman Oak Leather sewn together. This one is a cordovan color.

 Then the double mag carrier.

 And the avenger holster for a CZ75b.  Walnut and cordovan.

 An Omni  for a Glock 19.

 An Omni for an XDS 4.0

An Omni for a Glock 42

 A Wingman for a XDM 4.5

 AN Avenger for an XDS 4.5

Another Set up for a Glock 43 with Gun belt 

 And then a Single mag carrier to go on the rig as well.

Gun Safety, Finger Off The Trigger

Decided to continue on with rule #2 which is often given as......"keep your booger hook off the bang bang"

Everyone should know and live the four rules of gun safety.
1.  Treat every gun as if it is loaded
2.  Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target.
3.  Never point your gun at something you are not willing to destroy
4.  Be aware of your target and what is beyond your target.

Most every time I watch and inexperienced shooter, there is a problem keeping the finger off the trigger. It, like most gun handling skills is a discipline. Discipline is the suppression of base desires, and is usually understood to be synonymous with restraint and self-control. Your finger is going to naturally want to be on the trigger. 

The video shows one of the main reasons to keep the finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot.  In a high stress situation after an adrenaline dump many things change in your body, one of which is fine motor skills, which greatly diminish. That along with your muscles tensing up, movement, tripping, startling, ect and that gun will go off with out you intending  to do so. 

If your finger is disciplined, it wont be on the trigger unless you are ready to shoot.  How do you discipline your finger? Continual repetition and correction.  Consider again, dry fire. With an unloaded gun (check and double check). A purposely slow, smooth draw, paying attention to the finger. As soon as you clear the holster the trigger finger is on the slide above the trigger guard. As you press the gun out and on a target the finger moves to the trigger. Once you get consistent, smooth actions, increase speed little by little until you are at full speed. Once that is mastered, add a second target that you have to move to see, Finger comes off the trigger after target one and as you aim at target two the finger comes back one the trigger. 

Consider the following. I think IDPA is a great sport that any shooter can learn from by participation. My job in running shooters through stages of fire is to watch the gun the whole time. One of the biggest things I am looking for is where the finger is. The inexperienced shooter is usually going to hear a command, "finger!" which means get your finger off the trigger. This is given any time the shooter is not ready to fire but has the finger on the trigger.

The things that are absolutely essential for gun safety, will not happen on accident, or from memorizing the four gun safety rules. And they certainly wont happen in a high stress situation. For the shooter, it takes discipline, and then, those essential things happen with out any conscious thought. I used to get the "finger!" warning from the range officer a lot........after lots of practice, I don't even think about it any more, it comes natural, that frees me up to think about more important things, like hitting the intended target.

Think about it.

Bam Bam Holsters Work Bench

A New clipper. Been getting a lot of good comments on these.  This is something that has been missing in my holster lineup, a two clip, purpose driven for "on the hip" carry. Kind of my competition for the hybrid or kydex holsters.  I just think every gun deserves leather.

 This one is for a commander sized 1911. The wife has been in the shop lately, which explains why there has been some diversion from shades of brown.

Another clipper for a Glock 19.   This color is coffee.

An Avenger holster for a commander sized 1911.  Color is Walnut / Cordovan.

Avenger for a Glock 43.

Omni for a Glock 42

Still on the bench

Well, looks like a Wingman for an XDM 4.25. An Avenger for the same gun. And an Omni for an XDS.

 A couple of Glock 19 Omni Holster that are pretty close. Just lack some burnishing and then two airbrushed coats of acrylic resolene.

Examples of Bam Bam Holsters

At my website you will find info .....

• How they are made. 
• Models of holsters available. 
• List of guns that I can make holsters for. 
• Blog that gives details, details, details.... 
• Prices and how to order your custom holster

1. All of my holsters are designed to give a "full grip" when drawing the gun. That is, there is no leather behind the grip of the gun and limited leather for the sweat shield. 
2. There is also minimal leather at the top of the trigger guard. The trigger itself is fully covered but part of the guard is exposed. That part is exposed so you can get the full grip when drawing the gun. 
3. Mag release is never covered.
4. They are all hand made, using "Herman Oak" premium 8 ounce leather.
5. They are  wet formed to the gun itself. (not a "one size fits all") 

Do not hesitate to ask any question you like and visit my website for other models that can be ordered.

Complete Setups

Themed Holsters

Out side the waistband avenger style

Out side the waistband pancake style

Inside the waistband single clip for double stack

Inside the wast band single clip for single stack

Gun belts are double layer totaling 1/4 inch thick

Inside the waistband 2 clip holster

Mag carriers

Big Boy Revolvers

Belly Gun revolvers

The Gun Guys Most Practiced Rule of Gun Saftey

Everyone should know and live the four rules of gun safety.
1.  Treat every gun as if it is loaded
2.  Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target.
3.  Never point your gun at something you are not willing to destroy
4.  Be aware of your target and what is beyond your target.

If you are a "Guy Guy", you can quote these with out a problem.  Once you have been aware of these rules for a while, they become habit.  I think there is a danger to be aware of and a need to be reminded, especially to those that are Gun Guys.

There comes a time when handling guns becomes routine. I wear a gun every day and that part can be routine, but other than a press check, the gun stays in a safe position......that is what a holster is.  I handle guns untold number of times a day in holster making.  I dry fire with a handgun until the movements come naturally and until many of the things happen without thought.  In the handling of firearms ........it can become routine, and forgetful that were are handling deadly force.

I think one of the most repeated lectures to myself is about rule number one.  When you are handling a gun for other reasons than shooting it is the most important rule that we should never be forgetful of. One of the DUMBEST things we can tell ourselves is something like :I know its unloaded, I just took it out of the safe". When someone hands you a gun to look at and says it's not loaded, the automatic response should be a empty check and rack the slide 2-3 times.  If the gun is unloaded, no harm no foul. If the magazine is inadvertently left in........bullets will come flying out on the second pull of the slide happens.  If nothing comes out, we have not hurt anything, and can let the "I said it was unloaded" just go in one ear and out the other. May-bey explain what we did as an opportunity to remind what is the most important rule to the Gun Guy that handles guns a little more than the average gun guy.

Credit where credit is due  http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/tag/ben-branam is where I learned the rack the slide three time things. It is a great show

To me, the scariest "gun people" are those that say something to the effect of....."I have handled guns all my life and I know when my gun is unloaded" or any other myriad of over confident speeches.  Yet that devastated look will always be the same when that "unloaded" gun goes bang instead of click. When I was very young, I will never forget a friend of mine, who to this days, lives with the regret of killing a little nephew because the unloaded shotgun he was cleaning went off. Think about it.......I do, and then I catch myself in a "routine" and lecture myself more firmly than you can imagine.........That routine handling of a gun can have devastating results if the "unloaded gun" is mysteriously loaded because because I forgot to check it.

What's On The Bench

Springfield Armory 1911

A set up for a 4 inch 1911. This 1911 has a rail, which complicates things. A railed gun has to have teh holster loose around the rail, otherwise the rail will snag on the draw stroke. Then that makes it challenging to have proper retention over all.  Nailed it!  Good retention and draw stroke as well. The customer was very pleased with it as well/

Taurus Judge Public Defender

Avenger holster for the big boy.  Colors are airbrushed black accents on Brandy.

 Glock 43 Avenger Holster

Glock 19 2 Clip Holster that I am calling the Clipper

This is the 2nd one that I have made. Has a slight change from the one last week.

Still on the Bench

There are 4. Two completes that have not made it to the camera. The other to are pretty close to done.

Two more Clippers. A Glock 19 and a 1911.

Oath Keepers Custom Leather Holster / What's On the Bench

My son showed me a picture one day of  holster and "hey dad, can you make that?" and I said "but it's green?". Reluctantly, I told him I would get some colors and do some playing with them and see what we come up with. I had my doubts, but I think it turned out pretty good. The stamping on it is for the Oath Keepers organization. Oath Keepers is a group of people that have taken an oath to defend the constitution when they were in service and have never "un-done" that oath since, (my loose definition).

Before I did the 1911 I made this omni for a Glock 43 and listed it on Ebay.

As long as I was playing with colors, I ordered a red dye, just to see.  Experimented with an interest in pink. Turns out it aint that easy. Going to get some white dy to mix later and see what we get. I have some blue as well, so I see a red whit and blue attempt in the future.  This Glock 43 is a red with brown air brushed accents.

Below  is a Smith & Wesson Shield holster. An Omni version.

 Above is another Smith & Wesson Shield holster.
Below are two different Taurus Judge Public defender Holster with slight color variations.

And then a little skinny holster for a Taurus 5 shot revolver.  I know I built it, but it still amazes me, how this holster can be held upside down and shaken over and over and the gun does not fall out, yet draws just as easy as you please.  To hold is ant pull the gun out of the holster so easily, you would never believe it has the retention that it does.

Below is a prototype of a new design. It is my attempt at a competitor for the hybrid style holster. I have the 2nd version almost done, which I believe will be the "standard" for it. This will be the subject of the next blog entry.