A .38 Super vasectomy is not recommended.
Kevin Imel
USPSA NROI Range Instructor
June 3, 2017
[Kevin said this just after showing a video of a USPSA shooter almost shooting himself due to the compensator on his open class gun catching on the pocket of his loose fitting short during the draw.
Participating in USPSA matches are extremely safe. As near as USPSA records can determine no one, in 40 years of the sport, has ever died due to being shot while participating in a match. There have been heart attacks and auto accidents while going to and from matches which resulted in death, but not shooting accidents. Skiing, high school football, and a lot of other sports are far more dangerous.
But, the potential is there for serious injury or death and it is the job of the range officers to keep it safe.
I’m taking the USPS Range Officer class again because I let my RO certification expire in 2014. I just wasn’t shooting enough in 2012 and a few of the following years. I’m now shooting a lot more and I am going through the class again to get caught up with all the changes in the rules since the last time I took the class in 2012.—Joe]
Back in the ’80’s, there was an early version of a kydex holster around that didn’t block the trigger guard well. Someone shot themselves in that neighborhood during a practice session, practicing their draw. SWPL banned that model of holster soon thereafter.
But loose clothing or clothing with cords etc are a perennial problem. I was recently at a steel match where a grossly overweight person was wearing a large untucked t-shirt and kept stuffing large folds of it into his holster as he holstered his gun. I was constantly worried of an accident as a result.
“But, the potential is there for serious injury or death and it is the job of the range officers to keep it safe.”
As I remind people in IDPA new shooter orientations: “It’s everyone’s job to keep it safe”. Even though the ‘official’ ROs are the first line, every participant should consider themselves a safety officer, and be constantly vigilant.
It is everyone’s job to keep it safe, and the ones who are “the first line” are the ones actually handling the guns. The RSO can warn when he or she sees unsafe actions, and if that isn’t soon enough, he or she can administer first aid and call the authorities, but seriously, when I’m shooting, and it’s my equipment on the line, I’M the one responsible for MY safety (and that includes keeping an eye on the people around me. A number of years ago a friend of mine was at a range where he got muzzled by a neighboring shooter. He threw himself back off his stool, and then packed up and left. The neighboring shooters were drunk, which the RSO noticed, AFTER my friend did. It’s everyone’s responsibility, but you’re first in line for your own safety.).
Thanks, good point Windy! No matter what, you’re responsible for every bullet that leaves your barrel. c.f Rules 1-4.
Sounds like the way to think of the RSO is like you think of the police. They keep an eye on things, but they don’t actually protect you. If you want to be protected, look to yourself for that.
Obligatory: .38 Super isn’t recommended for _any_ application.