There are several things to think about before deciding if carrying your firearm appendix inside the waistband (AIWB) is for you. The most important factor is your level of training and familiarity with firearms. If you are not comfortable and confident in your ability to safely handle a gun, then appendix carry probably isn’t a good idea.

The next thing is what type of holster, and I can’t stress enough the importance of a trigger guard that covers the entire trigger area. Some holsters I’ve seen have a small gap, which might be what happened to the guy in the video. His holster was made out of Kydex and not leather, so we can rule out the trigger getting stuck on the leather.

When he tucked his shirt in, part of it got stuck in that little space, and when he bent over, it caused the negligent discharge. He then makes his second monumental mistake and tosses the gun on the floor. Fortunately, the guy shot himself in the muscle, and the bullet went straight through.

I appendix carry with a Philster Enigman, and now that I am used to it, I wouldn’t carry any other way.

However you decide to carry your firearm, always and carefully reholster your weapon and choose a quality holster.

So, what are the main reasons for these failures? Well, the wrong propellant will definitely do it. Substituting a slower rifle propellant for a faster pistol or shotgun variant can easily achieve overpressure. That is still unlikely for factory ammunition, but it happens with ignorant home loaders.

Squib Loads

Squib loads and bore blockage are probably the most common causes of overpressure. A squib load occurs because the propellant does not produce enough energy to push the projectile or associated parts (such as a shotgun wad) out of the barrel. When the next round is fired, the pressure cannot escape because of the blockage, so it finds its own way out.

Squibs can happen because the ammunition is old or poorly stored. They can happen due to a lack of propellant or simply not enough. Subsonic loads may also produce this effect when there is not enough propellant compared to the barrel length of the firearm. What makes it out of a 6″ personal defense weapon (PDW) barrel may not make it down a 24″ hunting rifle.

Bore Blockages

Bore blockages can also occur because of poor maintenance. Some issues are carbon buildup, stuck patches, and mud clogged in the muzzle. You can remedy this by inspecting the bore before and after shooting or cleaning. If you’re shooting and don’t know where your round went, check the bore before shooting again.

Secondary Explosive Effect

The last issue I will mention is the secondary explosive effect. This can occur with very low charge weights and too much free case volume or degraded propellant. If the propellant doesn’t burn quickly and efficiently, it will deposit fumes within the case void. These fumes can be highly explosive and may detonate. If you’re reloading subsonic rounds, start high on charge weight and work down. Make sure you select a propellant that takes up plenty of case volume.

Reloaded Rounds

Most people imagine that the high charge weight (too much gunpowder) causes overpressure, but that is rarely the case. If we take a .223 Rem round as an example, the maximum average pressure, according to CIP, is 4300 bar. The single max pressure is 4945 bar, and the single max weapon pressure is 5375 bar.

Given that 24 grains of suitable propellant will be about ballpark for a charge weight within max average pressure and that 28.8 grains are the maximum case filled with H20 gunpowder, we can surmise that it would be nearly impossible to achieve catastrophic failure from overfilling.

An easy way to avoid all this is to buy high-quality ammunition like Swiss P, Norma, RWS, Sako, or MFS. Remember to listen to your shots, and if something doesn’t sound right or feel right, check your gun before firing that next round.

However, gun violence is a serious matter, but boiling it down to “guns are the problem” ignores the multifaceted factors like mental health, socio-economic conditions, and any other blame you wish to put towards the use of a gun in the death or injury of another.

It’s not as black-and-white as that. That would be like blaming every vehicle for a vehicle accident just because someone you might have known died in one. It’s never been the “object” that committed the act. It was the “person” using the object!

The first gun, or proto-gun, appeared in China around 1000 AD. People have been killing each other for thousands of years, using various weapons such as sticks and stones. We, the “Human Race,” have always been the “cause and effect” of our own violence. Yes, guns have, no doubt, played their part, but they have also saved the lives of people.

Perhaps it’s the same reason when there is a “car accident,” we all slow down to see, knowing something terrible happened. We seem to crave the bad and don’t care about the good. Part of being a responsible “gun owner” is knowing that you have a tool that can cause serious injury, death, or save a life.

The bad people know it, too. That’s why they have theirs and why I have mine. “I train not to be a hero, but I refuse to be a victim.”

As for using the tree for cover, yeah, no, that’s not going to work.

At least he kept his muzzle away from the camera guy, and if you slow it down, it looks like he took his finger off the trigger, but I bet he didn’t switch it back to safe.

In case you wonder how I came up with .06 seconds, I rounded off the muzzle velocity, took a wild guess at the distance, and got a calculator.

Of course, no eye protection either.

Firearm safety comes first, even if you are going to do stupid things. The target almost won that round.

Mistakes happen, but if you follow these firearm safety rules, you can minimize potentially deadly outcomes. He was a driving force behind the creation of modern firearms training, which included his version of the “Four Firearm Safety Rules.”

History Of Firearm Safety Rules

In 1976, Jeff Cooper established what would become known as the Gunsite Academy, originally called the American Pistol Institute (API).

Mark Hanbury Beaufoy made Vinger and was a firearms enthusiast who wrote a poem in 1902 that included the lines “Never shoot where you can’t see” and “Never let your gun
pointed at anyone. That it may unloaded matters not the least to me.”

Other organizations, like the NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), have their own versions of firearm safety rules.

What are the Four Rules of Firearm Safety?

Rule 1: Treat Every Firearm As If It’s Loaded

Always assume a firearm is loaded and ready to fire when handling it. Never take unnecessary risks, even if you are sure the gun is unloaded. By adhering to this rule, you develop the habit of exercising caution and preventing negligent discharges.

Whether you are at the range, in the field, or your own home, I cannot stress the importance of this rule enough. More than one person has handed me a gun, claiming it was unloaded when, in fact, it had a live round ready to go.

Rule 2: Always Point the Gun In a Safe Direction

Keep the muzzle (the front end of the barrel) always pointed in a safe direction. A safe direction is one where no one could get hurt, and nothing would get hit in the event of an accidental or negligent discharge.

I wouldn’t want to be the one to explain to the police why I put a hole in my wall and ended up hitting the neighbor’s house.

Rule 3: Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until You are Ready to Shoot

Your finger should remain off the trigger until you are ready to fire. This helps prevent negligent discharges, which can happen if your finger is inside the trigger guard and you are not ready to shoot.

In an entry-level class, I try to get my students to put their trigger finger higher than usual so I can see it easier from a distance. I’ve had guns with such a light trigger that barely touching it would make it go off.

Rule 4: Know Your Target and What’s Beyond

Before squeezing the trigger, be sure of your target and what lies beyond it. Bullets can travel a long way and can go through walls, trees, and anything else that gets in their way. Before you take a shot, you should be positive about what you are shooting at and what is behind it.

This rule reinforces the need for situational awareness and being aware of what you might hit besides the bad guy. People standing around might run across the path the bullet will travel if you have to engage a threat. Having to defend yourself in a crowd complicates an already difficult situation.

Following these four basic firearm safety rules is necessary for anyone handling guns. Always prioritize safety, and make it a habit to follow the four basic rules of firearm safety.

By treating every firearm as if it’s loaded, keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, maintaining trigger discipline, and knowing your target and what lies beyond, you significantly reduce the risk of accidents or someone getting hurt.

Before we jump in, I want to be realistic. This isn’t going to work for everyone, and it isn’t going to turn people into libertarians or conservatives overnight (perhaps not at all). I can tell you from experience, though, that once you demystify firearms for an anti-gunner, it starts to open their eyes to other things.

Talking About Guns and Finding Common Ground

The first step is to find some common ground to agree on. Yes, there is absolutely too much gun violence in this country. Yes, too many innocent people die. No, the police can’t really do much to prevent it. There’s your common ground.

Most of these people you’re trying to reach have rarely if ever, shot or even picked up a real gun. Here is where the real work begins. Invite them to go to the range. Ideally, you should find a qualified firearms instructor to help you unless you’ve had some experience teaching firearms to others. Now is not the time for your ego, so make this assessment objectively. Also, using an instructor conveys some authority and respect that you might not have on your own. Remember, the goal is to demystify guns for them.

At the range, that first round down range is going to change their lives. By the 100^th round, they will feel empowered, capable, and fearless. Some are going to get really emotional about it; some might cry. Nobody leaves that range the same person as they were coming in.

Range Practice

Next, you need to help turn them into a legal gun owner. Please be sure to follow all the local, state, and federal gun laws because you’re not going to be of any use to them in jail and/or deep in debt from legal fees. If they’re going to buy one, help them pick it out. Once they take possession of it, go home, show them how to take it apart, oil it, clean it, and load it (with dummy rounds, dummy).

If they’re anxious to get to the range with their new pew-pew, go! Then again, maybe they’ll want to get used to the idea of having it around first. Before you go, please review the firearm safety rules again and point them to some material about self-defense rules of engagement, castle doctrine (if you have it), and whatever else is appropriate for your state.

New Supporter of Gun Ownership

Behold! You have a fully functioning new gun owner. Soon, they will begin to see that the people they’ve tacitly supported over the years want them disarmed. Now they’re the “good guy with the gun.” They won’t change their political outlook overnight, but this will crack it open and let some light in.

From here, keep talking to them casually about things. Talk about concealed carry. Help them select a holster. Invite them back to the range. Occasionally, send them articles from this site about defensive gun information. You don’t want to overdo it, though, or you’ll get a lot of pushback. Don’t hammer them with gun politics. They’ll start to see it on their own.

Even if you only ever get to the first step, that’s good. You’ve made them think. Sometimes, it’s hard to know the long-term impact.

Stay safe, be prepared, and never panic!

Safety? Who needs it? Rules and safety precautions, not in this video!

Training should be as realistic as possible, but these guys are pushing the boundaries a little too far.

I’ve done some crazy things, but you are not talking me into letting you take shots at me while I’m face-down in the mud.

Always Practice The Rules of Firearm Safety

• ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. (FAIL FAIL FAIL)
• ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. (I guess they passed because they wanted to shoot.)
• ALWAYS treat every firearm as if it were loaded. (Which they did but didn’t care.)
• ALWAYS Know your target and what is beyond. (Someone I’m training with sure as heck better not ever be taking shots at me.)

Overall, these guys massively failed the firearm safety part of the course.

In my 50 years of handling firearms, I have had one negligent discharge (ND). I am ashamed to admit that I have found that if you handle firearms long enough, that will happen. Luckily for me, of the four rules governing firearm safety, I was fortunate enough to be following rule number two. I had the firearm pointed in a safe direction, away from anything I was not willing to destroy. I didn’t injure anyone, and that day taught me a lesson I have never forgotten, even after 30 years.

There are FOUR basic rules for handling any Firearm:

• Treat EVERY FIREARM AS IF IT WAS LOADED.
• Always point your Firearm in a SAFE DIRECTION, meaning away from others and at nothing you are not willing to DESTROY.
• KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUTSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD.
• Know what your TARGET is and what is beyond your TARGET.

I just left Albuquerque, New Mexico, a few weeks after Alec Baldwin’s story broke concerning a tragic incident that most certainly should have been avoided. Ironically, I was in Albuquerque for a National Rifle Association (NRA) training course, getting my handgun and rifle instructor certifications. Like many of you, I read the various news accounts of what had happened. I was shocked. How could three people handle a firearm, and no one checked to see if it was loaded or if it was loaded with what? This, of course, was a movie production using real firearms. So, blanks or non-firing rounds could have been in this handgun, yet no one verified what was there. Certainly, a live round (real ammunition) should not have been in the handgun at all!

How to Become an Armorer For Films

After reading the various news accounts and watching all the YouTube police interviews, I researched the whole situation myself. What shocked me the most was the qualifications, or, I should say, the lack of qualifications, to become an “Armorer” on a movie set. There are none! In short, you intern for another armorer. Then, when that armorer feels you have learned enough, you go to the State of California to get an Entertainment Firearms Permit BOF 051 Entertainment Firearms Permit Application. Then apply to the Prop Master Union; now you are an armorer!

I kid you not; that is the complete process!

I suppose the State of California also took note of the Baldwin incident and wanted to ensure that nothing like the “Rust” incident would happen again. I found two yet differing California State Bills concerning the use of firearms on an entertainment set. They are SB 831 and SB 829, which, as far as I can figure out, are not laws. They are both still proposed state bills.

SB 831 requires a person(s) with OSHA training to always be on the set during the production and verify the firearms and ammunition.

SB 829 requires a State Fire Marshal to be on set with firearms and ammunition. I mean, no disrespect to either OSHA or State Fire Marshals, but what training do they have to make them qualified to handle firearms?

Does that make any sense to anyone reading this, because it sure doesn’t to me!