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The Strike Report - November 2008
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"Men never do evil so completely as when they do it
for religious conviction."
~ Pascal
WEAPON SAFETY MANIPULATION
Tactical Patrol Rifle or
Select-Fire Auto-Weapons
Remember the following:
-
You cannot rely on operator
experience (trigger finger placement - indexing outside the trigger
guard).
-
As humans we are all fallible and
accidents do happen. A good example is the action you get with
"Sympathetic Nervous Reflex." This can occur when you have:
A. Involuntary Contraction
B. Startled Reaction
C. Mental Speed vs. Physical Speed
-
Combat Stressors quickly
build and add nervous tension - in low-light conditions it can be
overwhelming.
-
Training and practicing to
manipulate the weapon safely adds another layer of overall safety during
high stress situations. Just for a fraction of a second it makes the
operator slow down and think.
-
Normal reaction time has been
roughly measured at 1/4 of a second. Use of electronic Pro-Timers has
indicated that there is very little loss of significant reaction time when
having to manipulate the safety to actually engaging the target with rounds.
It does not put you behind the tactical curve.
-
It should be noted, however, that
during such conditions as "Tactical Emergency Weapon Drills" - Magazine
reloads and malfunction clearance procedures, that tactical time is at
its absolute premium! You do not want to be wasting time having to
engage the safety off and on at CQB distances. At these distances,
reaction time becomes critically compressed. Don't be so safety minded
that you wind up dead!
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By practicing and adhering to this
one simple thing: Weapon Safety Manipulation, you will greatly reduced
the chances of having an accidental discharge or negligent shooting.
Jack C. Perritt
George F. Wiley
Strike International
Reference Sources:
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Jeff Gonzales US Navy SEAL -
"Command" magazine
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Emmanual Kapelsohn, Peregrine Corp.
and IALEFI, Vice-President
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Strike International
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