Please do NOT do this at home… or at the range… or ANYWHERE ELSE!
For those of you who are new to shooting or live under some rock…
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- That fellow facing us (PLEASE do NOT tell me he is an “instructor”) should not be downrange.
- The girl with the gun (BB, pellet, or firearm – it does not matter) should NOT be pointing it downrange when someone is in front of her.
- The fellow should ABSOLUTELY NOT walk in front of the muzzle of this weapon.
- The shooter has now eye protection
- Neither party has any visible ear protection
There is probably more wrong with this but I’ll leave it to you sharp-eyed readers to add anything more.
Granted, she may have an airgun in her hands. As such ear protection is not as crucial but I contend it is still a good idea for a couple of reasons.
As one forum posted – once lost, you cannot get your hearing back!
The second reason is the same for all those who might be shaking their heads in disagreement, assuming this is indeed an airgun range – bad habits die hard.
Whatever else, this girl is shooting and safety rules for shooting should always be observed.
If you are in the habit of shooting without ear and eye protection you might “forget” when handling more dangerous weapons.
If you are in the habit of ignoring safe weapon handling practices, you are setting yourself up for potential disaster.
One of the most important aspects of any endeavor is muscle memory or practicing something until your body does something without thinking. Muscle memory works just as effectively with bad practices as with good.
Finally, please keep in mind that most “accidents” with firearms seem to happen with unloaded weapons. At least this is the excuse I see most often:
“I didn’t know it was loaded.”
We don’t know if the girl in the gif had a loaded weapon or not. It shouldn’t matter. EVERY such weapon should be ALWAYS treated as if it were loaded.