Opinion
“It all looks great in the showroom!” ~ Salesman’s expression
Test your gear!
It is not uncommon, during our Urban Rifle Courses, for students (including LEOs) to bring M4s, XCRs, CETMEs, PTR 91s, VHS2s, M1As, M1 Carbines, et al. (upon which they have been naively relying for personal protection) that are not zeroed to any legitimate standard.
Many times, both iron sights and optics are way off, nowhere near where bullets are impacting!?
An unzeored rifle is all but useless, yet many own and keep them around in a “high state of readiness,” yet amazingly have no confidence in sight settings.
On other occasions, student rifles don’t run at all.
A student recently bought an M4 Rifle in such a condition. It would chamber rounds, but extracted cases remained in the receiver and did not eject.
Close inspection revealed that the rifle’s bolt was set up for left-hand ejection, but the rifle’s only ejection port was on the right side, so ejected cases tried to go left, but of course, there was no place for them to go.
M4 bolts usually cannot be assembled incorrectly, causing such a condition, as the camming key only fits in one way and thus cannot be inserted into the bolt from the wrong side. In this case, however, the bolt was manufactured so that it would go in either a right-hand-ejecting receiver or a left-handed-ejecting receiver and thus could be set up either way.
A gunsmith had cleaned the rifle and then naively re-assembled it the wrong way, not paying adequate attention to the task. The rifle’s owner had no idea.
Fortunately, we discovered (and corrected) this gaffe during a training course, and the only negative consequence was thus some personal embarrassment and maybe hurt feelings.
Conversely, when a faux pas like this is “discovered” during a life-threatening emergency, “negative outcomes” will be far more severe and permanent.
Your emergency guns (pistols, rifles, shotguns) need to be “tested” (i.e., shot) on a routine basis so that you can have solid faith in them.
Rifle zeros need to be re-verified regularly.
Accessories (sights, slings, attached flashlights) must be regularly checked to be sure they’re functional and tight.
Emergencies don’t make appointments, and “second chances” are pretty rare these days, as so many astonished homicide victims are (belatedly) discovering.
“The time to fix your roof is when the sun is shining” ~ JFK
/John
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Steel Handgun & Rifle Targets With Heavy Base - Steel Ipsc A, B, C, Zone Handgun & Rifle Target With Heavy B | Brownells.com | $ 320.00 |
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12"x25" Short Range Rifle Target - Target Only | Shootsteel.com | $ 145.00 |
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Challenge Targets Stake-N-Shoot Steel Rifle Target Rifle TDI Torso Plate | MidwayUSA | $ 189.99 |
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Handgun/Small Rifle Target System (SR-1) | AR500 Armor | $ 600.00 |
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About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc
As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor, John Farnam will urge you, based on your beliefs, to make up your mind about what you would do when faced with an imminent lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance if any. Defense Training International wants to ensure that its students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or in-actions.
It is our duty to make you aware of certain unpleasant physical realities intrinsic to Planet Earth. Mr. Farnam is happy to be your counselor and advisor. Visit: www.defense-training.com
My circumstances are that I often times LIVE at “the range”… 40 secluded acres on the Texas border. Always able to make noise in any direction, test, adjust, clean and repeat.
Great article Mr. Farnam. Even those of us that have had decades of experience still need reminders from time-to-time. As for the following: “A gunsmith had cleaned the rifle and then naively re-assembled it the wrong way, not paying adequate attention to the task. The rifle’s owner had no idea.” THAT is NOT a gunsmith, THAT is an “assembler”, i.e., a person that purchases parts and assembles them to build a firearm. No way in hell a true gunsmith would miss that “minor detail” when installing that BCG. This minor detail could have cost grave and disastrous injury or possibly… Read more »
In all the basic LEO patrol rifle classes I have taught. The first range exercise was to get the students zero their rifles. As mentioned other problems can arise and be found out during that time.
In the more advance classes we would expect a higher level of competence.
But then every once in a while a department would send us a person to a higher level class. That had no clue what he was doing with the particular firearm he was training with.
I try to get out to the range every week if possible. It is fine powder dust and gets really mucky when wet. I have used a couple of the indoor ranges here but really prefer getting to the outdoor range.
Great article. Most guns are safe queens. Or drawer queens for that matter. Years ago I had a student attend an Intermediate Rifle course and I demonstrated to him that he was snatching the trigger and pushing his shots to the left about four inches at 50 yards. I shot his rifle and it was adequately zeroed, within an inch. He responded by saying that was not possible, that he had been shooting for years. In other words, he rejected my advice to correct the trigger anticipation. After the class, he wrote a scathing Yelp review with all kinds of… Read more »
The problem is, my roof is 41 years on a 20 year shingle. My 1911 has no grips on it right now. My Model 700 bull barrel has no scope on it at the moment. My one AR15 has only 30 rounds through it after building a modified 7.62×39 gas system and has not been fired since the government confiscated it and I got it back. My other AR15 has never been fired since I built it. And to boot, I am working on a generator now, not any of these other things that desperately need attention. I call it… Read more »