Downwards or Safest Direction

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Originally Posted by Jexla

Because you're not a MSC instructor, are you?

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What makes you think that presumptuous one?

Last night one of the guys in my team sat his licence test at the Manukau Police Station. The trainer Dave (Mountain Safety Instructor) said that pointing the rifle in the safest direction is the answer required for the exam but he said his preference as an instructor is to point your firearm upwards as this is the safest direction and was teaching this to all the people at the course. He said that at least if the gun was to fire the bullet would go up and then fall and a non lethal rate. This might be the case if it is fired straight up but not if the gun is up but at an angle. :S

I've just done my renewal. The "safest direction" was the only possible sensible answer when I trawled through the little book that is supplied with the application materials. It quotes the exact words, so that to me is obviously the answer that is being sought.

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Originally Posted by rs200nz

Last night one of the guys in my team sat his licence test at the Manukau Police Station. The trainer Dave (Mountain Safety Instructor) said that pointing the rifle in the safest direction is the answer required for the exam but he said his preference as an instructor is to point your firearm upwards as this is the safest direction and was teaching this to all the people at the course....

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Therefore, according to this instructor, even if you're on the ground floor of a multi floor building, pointing your firearm upwards is the safest direction???

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Originally Posted by Tahr

I've just done my renewal. The "safest direction" was the only possible sensible answer when I trawled through the little book that is supplied with the application materials. It quotes the exact words, so that to me is obviously the answer that is being sought.

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Exactly, it's pretty obvious as you say.

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Originally Posted by 10-Ring

Therefore, according to this instructor, even if you're on the ground floor of a multi floor building, pointing your firearm upwards is the safest direction???

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If you're on the ground floor of a multi-floor building with a loaded firearm, you point it in the safest direction there is. The preference for safety is up, yes, for the situation at hand. But you can't stop stupid people doing stupid things.

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Originally Posted by Kscott

But you can't stop stupid people doing stupid things.

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Too true.

Why would a loaded firearm be in any apartment?

At the range, we instruct people to carry a firearm from the rack to the mound, by the barrel.
In the field I keep it on the shoulder, magsafe. When needed its quickly grabbed by the barrel, and round to the shoulder, in an easy move.

Some people chamber check their rounds for reloads, magazine checks, etc. After all, firearm shooting in NZ isn't limited to just hunters, or at a range under RO instruction.

It's perfectly legal to load a firearm at home, it's just that stupid things happen to stupid people, so the idea is to educate people from the very beginning and think safe.

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Originally Posted by Comfortably_Numb

Why would a loaded firearm be in any apartment?

At the range, we instruct people to carry a firearm from the rack to the mound, by the barrel.
In the field I keep it on the shoulder, magsafe. When needed its quickly grabbed by the barrel, and round to the shoulder, in an easy move.

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Firearms are treated as loaded whether they are or aren't, thus even unloaded firearms should be pointed in a safe direction.