Agreed. Is the current groupthink "put your foot on it", then think about what you're doing to retrieve it? Or is it some other action.Originally Posted by David S.
Agreed. Is the current groupthink "put your foot on it", then think about what you're doing to retrieve it? Or is it some other action.
If you loose control, Let it Go! If you try and grab it while it is falling it will be ugly. It this case it appears that the agent's haste approximated trying to catch a falling gun.
I've been in a class or two where recovery of a dropped gun or battlefield pickup was covered.
I have been told to always turn over a gun such that your hand comes down directly on it, not from under it. I.e. Right handed scenario: gun on ground, muzzle pointing away, but facing to your left. Grab but of gun flip it over so the but is facing to your right and pick up. Index finger well away from trigger. Do not initially attempt to slide you hand under the gun when the but was facing left and pick up that way.
Except for retention purposes I don't see value in stepping on the gun. However thinking about what you are doing is a really good idea! Already having an internal program written for how to deal with it, even better. Like Jeff Cooper said, "I've seen this before and I Know what to Do!"
On a table start, which approximates a pistol on the ground, when possible I use two hands to pick the pistol up. Support hand traps the pistol, while dominant hand acquires a grip.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
From Older Offspring after a discussion of coffee:
"If it doesn't come from the Kaffa province of Ethiopia, it's just hot roasted-bean juice."
I don’t know about groupthink, but the one time I remember dropping a gun (a G42 in a kydex trigger guard while packing guns for the range), I did exactly that, consciously, while I waited a split second to take a breath and collect my thoughts. I wasn’t worried about the gun going anywhere, it was more a matter of "the first rule of holes is when you’re in one, stop digging." It’s a good way to freeze the design for a second and catch up. JMO, FWIW, OMMV, etc.
That's kind of my thinking as well. Especially in public, I would think putting my foot on it would at least mean i'm "claiming" ownership of it, and would give me a second or to for the brain to catch up with the situation, without the monkey side going all banana grab. I wonder if we could have a productive discussion here about the pros and cons of various concepts of "What to do when you've dropped your gun and your brain has gone into OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH SSSSSSSSHHHHHHIIIIITTTTTTT mode."
This. Laconic and better way to say what I was thinking.
And especially, "OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH SSSSSSSSHHHHHHIIIIITTTTTTT I just made a complete fool of myself, and EVERYONE is staring at me knowing I just made a complete fool of myself" mode.
I doubt anyone would panic banana grab at home, or while doing back flips in an empty dance hall. Knowing that he'd gone from super cool to super fool in a nanosecond probably played a not so negligible part of the formula for disaster.
You will more often be attacked for what others think you believe than what you actually believe. Expect misrepresentation, misunderstanding, and projection as the modern normal default setting. ~ Quintus Curtius
When you are outdoors and drop a gun, there is too much crap on the ground to put a foot on it, IMHO. On our ranges, you have rocks, empty casings and uneven ground. I would rather look at it and do a deliberate pick up. Indoors, with a slick floor I could see you slipping on the gun for more hilarious home videos.
I go for deliberate and no footsie.
That word doesn't mean what you think it means.
I think the words you are looking for are collective wisdom.
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