Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Safety on the Firing Line for Instructors

Live firearms training

The usual procedures for live firearms training involve one or several range officers who issue commands on a firing line. If the ratio of range officers (or instructors) to shooters is appropriate and firearm safety rules are stressed, the risk for accidental gunshot wounds should be low. One instructor for up to five shooters is an optimal ratio for static shooting. For dynamic exercises, such as shooting on the move, the ratio should be one instructor for one shooter. A more common problem is backsplash, when metallic debris from the bullet or from a metallic target hits a shooter. Injuries caused by backsplash range from minor skin abrasions to serious lacerations requiring surgical repair. Respecting minimal distances from the target, using training frangible ammunition, and using protective equipment minimize the risk for backsplash injury. Frangible ammunition disintegrates into a fine powder when hitting a hard surface. It allows officers to train with live firearms in close-quarters combat in realistic settings, where the shooting distance is across a room.

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