Is it normal to point a handgun...

[Shootin 4 Fun]

It's not normal to point a handgun at your face. And that video does not contain said face-pointing (it's an optical illusion from the angle of the camera - it's still down-range and away from his face - this is the closest the gun comes to his face on that video that I could see):

I'm not going to. If you've taken classes in the area you already know. Like I said it has been quite some years, maybe I thought it was dangerous then and it really stuck in my mind.

Maybe you missed EZ's post. The gun is pointed safely....DOWN RANGE. Nowhere near his face or anybody, unless they're....DOWN RANGE. See that thing that is behind the shooter, that is a side berm, it's also....DOWN RANGE. Is it unsafe to tilt a gun on it's side to change mags, not if it's still pointed DOWN RANGE.

 

[Onslow]

Come on Jeff. Can We Just shoot at the side berms for fun? It is a berm after all!

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

I referenced Wagoner public range.

.

Well there's your problem....

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

Come on Jeff. Can We Just shoot at the side berms for fun? It is a berm after all!

We can at matches, in fact, some targets are set up against the side berms.

 

[dennishoddy]

It was an optical Illusion!
No one twists their gun sideways to load mags.

Really?
You need to troll some where else.

 

[Onslow]

Really?
You need to troll some where else.

I'm sorry your so sensitive.

 

[Glocktogo]

I'm sorry your so sensitive.

OP,

You're the one being sensitive. You posted a thread that is essentially calling current, modern defensive pistol techniques unsafe. You falsely claimed that instructors were teaching people to point the gun at their face while reloading. You claim that turning, twisting or canting the gun during a reload is unsafe.

You are wrong and now you're being sensitive about getting called out for it.

The fact of the matter is that we have been teaching to rotate the gun on a longitudinal axis, which keeps the eye and the front sight aligned with the target, then briefly glancing at the empty magwell as the fresh mag is inserted, then counter-rotating the gun back on target as the slide is dropped, for well over a decade. On a dynamic (think USSA) vs. static (Wagoner WMA) range, this is absolutely 100% safe and very effective. Literally MILLIONS of rounds have been fired in competition this way and no one has been hurt. It would be similarly safe, not to mention the most effective way to perform a reload in a chaotic environment (gunfight), so long as Rule #3 is strictly adhered to. Defensive and action pistol competitions are an inherently safe activity due in large part to strict adherence to safety rules that in many cases, simply aren't enforced on unregulated, public ranges.

I'm sorry you disagree and don't like the practice, but until you step up to the plate and prove otherwise, that's the way it is.
Respectfully,

Jerry Biggs
International Defensive Pistol Association:
Safety Officer Instructor
Asst. Match Director, 2009/2010 IDPA Nationals
Asst. Match Director, 2011 Inaugural IDPA World Shoot
IDPA 4 Division Master

 

[Yourshoesareuntied]

Keep in mind competitive shooters practice there movements during all phases of shooting, if they can cancel out one half second by eliminating an extra muscle twitch they will. Some people think competitive shooting and defensive shooting are two different animals...closely related but different .

 

[Yourshoesareuntied]

I may be off topic...

 

[Onslow]

Thanks Jerry.