NEW Front Sight Training Article #4

February 11th, 2015  

Our purpose at Front Sight is to positively change the image of gun ownership in our lifetime by training responsible citizens in the defensive use of firearms, to levels that far exceed law enforcement and military standards, and deliver the training without any boot camp mentality or drill instructor attitudes so the training experience is great for your entire family.

We are entering our 19th year, have trained nearly a million citizens, and look forward to the day when our training will positively impact every American.

To kick off 2015, we have a number of new programs we are implementing to expand and make our training more accessible to all Americans.

Here is what we are doing…

  1. Each week, in addition to my gun training reports, I will be sending you an article that I have focused on gun safety or gun training or Second Amendment issues. I want you to look for it and learn from it and forward it on to other Americans who can benefit from it.
  2. Once every couple weeks, I will send you a gun training video, created at Front Sight, that is focused on gun safety or gun training or Second Amendment issues. I want you to look for it, learn from it, and forward it on to other Americans who can benefit from it.
  3. If you find news videos of citizens involved in Second Amendment or gun related stories, send them to me. I will review them and use them to educate and train responsible Americans.
  4. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, In a few days, WITH YOUR HELP I am literally going to train EVERY responsible citizen in America who wants to be safe and proficient with a handgun. Watch your e-mail and get trained and then forward it on to everyone you know.

Until then, here is Training Article #2…

Factory ammunition certainly isn’t perfect. In fact, I have amassed quite a collection of misfit rounds which came right out of factory boxes produced by Winchester, Remington, Federal, and the like. I have seen bullets installed upside down, primers installed upside down, primers missing altogether, cases cracked, cases crumpled down one side like an accordion, and errant rounds of .40 in a box of .45. Yep, even the big boys screw it up on occasion.

But even with these very-rare flaws, factory ammunition is FAR superior to most home-brew reloads. The reason is quality control. The big ammunition manufacturers have multiple layers of quality control while the guy out in the garage has one, or perhaps, none. The one exception to all of this is custom, hand-loaded, centerfire rifle ammunition which is being paired to a specific rifle. In this scenario, the person doing the work is inspecting each primer, measuring each piece of brass, checking each bullet, and weighing each powder charge. After the round is built, it is measured again to verify the overall length is exact. That level of care results in a quality product.

That level of care however, is not the norm in reloading. The reason most people reload is to save money. Therefore, they purchase inexpensive components such as once-fired brass, off-brand bullets, and whatever powder is on sale. Then they sit down at their unsophisticated reloading equipment and crank out as many rounds as they can in the shortest time possible. After all, “time is money.” This process gives rise to ammunition which is inconsistent, and once in a great while, even dangerous.

During the reloading process, if you leave out a primer or a bullet, there is no safety issue. The real problem is in the powder. The goal is obviously to put exactly the correct amount of powder into every case, every time. If you skip the powder altogether, the result will be a “squib load” where the bullet is propelled only by the primer. The bullet travels just a short distance down the barrel and stops. If another round is fired right behind it, disaster looms. If the powder charge is present but too small, a semi-auto weapon will likely malfunction because there was insufficient energy to run the action. If there is too much powder, the chamber pressure climbs right off the charts and the gun comes apart. This is the one you read about and see in YouTube videos. This is the one which sends people to the Emergency Room, or the mortuary.

In rifle ammunition, the powder charge nearly fills the entire space available inside the case. Thus, any extra powder quickly spills right out the top. Handgun ammo is different. The powder charge occupies only a small portion of the case and getting a “double charge” is quite easy. Double charging is pretty common because it merely requires that you get distracted and pull the handle of your reloader twice instead of once. The phone rings; pull twice. The dog wants out; pull twice. The opposing team scores a touchdown; damn it, pull twice.

Double powder charges blow up handguns. Here is what happens when you fire a double-charged load:

  • The primer detonates as usual.
  • The powder ignites as usual. However, there is so much powder that the resulting gasses cause tremendous, excessive pressures.
  • The gas travels the path of least resistance. Normally, that path is down the barrel behind the bullet. However, in the case of a double charge, the bullet can’t move down the barrel fast enough to accommodate all that gas.
  • The path of least resistance is now right through the gun itself, and the gun blows apart.
  • Depending on the type of weapon, the gasses may be directed down through the magazine well (common with semi-autos), or up through the top of the chamber (common with revolvers).
  • Chunks of the gun are now flying through the air, and routinely into the shooter.
  • Sometimes the gun is salvageable, sometimes not.
  • Sometimes the shooter is salvageable, sometimes not.

These are the reasons we don’t allow reloads at Front Sight, and you should steer clear of them. Factory ammunition is not perfect, obviously. However, I have never seen a factory load blow up a gun. I’m sure it has happened somewhere, but not during the millions of rounds I have seen fired over the last 25 years. Go home with the same number of eyes and fingers you arrived with – shoot factory ammunition.

NOTE: Be sure to watch for what I am releasing to you in a few days because you find anything easier to attend or less costly than what I will be sending your way…

And here is an example of the type of Front Sight training videos I will be sending you every couple weeks.

Here is an example of the type of videos students send me (and hopefully you will send me great, gun related news videos, too) that I will share with you to supplement and reinforce the training articles and training videos I am creating for you.

So how many of the Four Universal Firearm Safety Rules did the police officer violate?

How did the accident happen?

Here is how it happened… He was handed a gun with an empty chamber that had a loaded magazine in it.

As students who have taken a Front Sight course know, this police officer failed to magazine check and chamber check the gun, which would have revealed the loaded magazine.

He then failed to clear the gun and loaded magazine.

Not knowing the magazine was loaded (because he never magazine checked the gun) he chambered a round by working the slide of the gun.

He failed to treat every gun as if it is loaded, even when he thought it was unloaded.

He covered his own hand with the muzzle of the gun.

He failed to keep his finger off the trigger until his sights are on the target.

BANG! Negligent discharge resulting in a blowing off his finger.

He was lucky. It could have been much worse. The bullet could have blown off his finger and then struck another person in the shop.

So in keeping with our purpose to positively change the image of gun ownership by training responsible citizens to levels that far exceed law enforcement and military standards, STUDY the two videos I have sent you. MASTER the Four Universal Firearm Safety Rules and then pass this e-mail on to everyone you know and ask them to do the same.

Keep up the great work! Together, we are positively changing the image of gun ownership hundreds of times faster than any other group in America!

Thanks again for your participation in Front Sight’s phenomenal success.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ignatius Piazza
Founder and Director
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute
7975 Cameron Drive, #900
Windsor, CA 95492
http://www.frontsight.com
info@frontsight.com
1.800.987.7719

Entry Filed under: Dr. Ignatius Piazza,Front Sight,Gun Training,Handgun Training,Monday Blog Posts,Newsletter.

Ignatius Piazza
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