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Charlie Dismore emphaized safety above all else and was blunt about its necessity. Bottom line: don't point your gun at something unless you intend to destroy it. Dismore is a native Texas, Marine Veteran, and Military designated Rifle and Pistol Expert. He is certified as an NRA Instructor in pistol, rife and shotguns. Charlie served in the Marines as a Combat Engineer, and his duty assignments took him around the world, some locations including Hawaii, Japan, Mediterranean Europe, as well as combat duty in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. Charlie and his wife have made their home in Austin since 2004. Besides his civilian career, Charlie is the principle operator of Texas FFL LLC-a business serving all levels of firearms shooters. |
 Charlie Dismore |
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Dismore said you should always point a gun in a safe direction. Keep your gun unloaded until you are ready to shoot. Safeties can fail. Keep your finger off the trigger. Keep the trigger finger along the outside of the gun until you are ready to shoot. Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Never point a firearm at anything that you don't intend to destroy. Always know what your target is and what is beyond it. Be certain that your gun is safe to operate. You should know how to field strip (take it apart) a gun for cleaning. Guns should always be clean, lubricated and ready to fire. When Supreme Court Justice Scalia died while on a quail hunt in rural Texas in 2016, he was pronounced dead by a JP who was on the other side of the phone. There was no autopsy. You would think that would be important for someone in such a very high government office. It is possible to use the wrong ammo in a gun. Use proper safety equipment when firing a gun. Ammo What people call a bullet is actually the cartridge. The bullet is the solid metal projectile that comes out of the gun. Cartridges are fired by striking the back of the cartridge. The hammer either hits the primer (a point at the center of the cartridge) or the entire back of the cartridge. When the bullet is fired by the primer, it is a center fire. When it is fired by being hit on the back of the cartridge, it's a rim fire. The caliber (size) of the cartridge is measured in inches in America and in millimeters in Europe. If you want a small hole, use a .22. If you are trying to kill a person, use a 9mm or a .38 or a .45 or even a shotgun. Parts of a cartridge are the primer, the powder, the case, and the bullet. +P on a cartridge means it has more powder and the bullet will go faster and further. +P+ means it the bullet will go even faster and further. If you use a +P or +P+ cartridge, the gun must be rated for that ammo. That designation should be imprinted on the gun. Setting up the shot Rifling is grooves in the barrel giving it a rotational pattern. The idea is to give the bullet spin and the groves twist it to the right as it is fired. The metal between the grooves are called land. The spin adds accuracy and distance to the bullet. The muzzle is the very front of the barrel. When holding the gun before firing, your index finger should be placed alongside the frame of the pistol. When setting up a shot, there are three points to align. The V at the back of the gun near the trigger, the site at the front of the gun and the target itself. Of the three, you can only really focus on one. Focus on the site. Things that effect your focusing is your adrenline flow. You normally hold your breath when you make a shot. In a gun battle, you don't always hear the guns firing. You don't always remember what happened -- you are too focused on firing. You end up using tunnel vision when firing. There is also time and distance disfunction. What you think all happens in five minutes actually takes 30 seconds. When the bullet exits the gun, the bullet's muzzle velocity is the highest it will be. Practical range for guns is 0-50 yards for a pistol, 5-300 yards for a rifle, and 5-9 yards for a shotgun. Problems with the shot There are times the cartridge and the gun don't cooperate. Misfire - slow burn on powder or the striker hits the cartridge too light. Wait 30 seconds before doing anything,. Hangfire - doesn't go off immediately due to slow burning powder. Again, wait. Squibload - the shot isn't as loud as it should be. The bullet may still be in the chamber. Don't pull the trigger a second time. It'll explode the gun. Uses of guns by law enforcement Two-thirds of law enforcement use glocks. Glocks have a light-weight plastic frame and are available in several calibers. Police normally carry 12-gauge shotguns in their cars. Police use a M-4. It's a shorter barrel version of an AR-14. A M-4 has a 300-yard range and an AR-14 has a 600-yard range. Because the M-4 is short, it can be more easily maunvered in and out of doorways. An AR-14 is similiar to the trench gun used in the Vietnam War. It was first used during the Vietnam War as an alternative to the M-14 rifle, which was heavy and difficult to control. SWAT uses M-4. The M1A is a semi-automatic. Snipers use a large caliber rifle. A sniper can shoot a mile and a half (7000 yards). They use a really good scope. |