Tactical Response student injured in class

[cedartop]

Is there a way to read the article(s) without being a member of Facebook?

This reminds me of another reason why I prefer my AR to my AK. I can reach the selector on my AR so easily that if the it will turn to safe, I find that I put it there without thinking about it anymore when I'm doing things like transitions. With an AK, I can't reach the safety lever without releasing my firing grip. It's going to take me more repetitions than I want to do to make that action as ingrained as using the safety on my AR.

I'm also thinking that lowering the rifle, moving it alongside of your hip, and keeping control of it with your support hand seems a lot more appealing to me than it did before. Of course, you're not always going to have the luxury of being able to do that. Sometimes the rifle is going be pointing at your feet at least briefly.

This is a tough one. We strive to manage the inherent risks to the best of our ability. Safety "on" probably would have averted this injury, but ... mechanical safeties can fail too. Not letting the muzzle point at your body is a the "right" thing, be we know sometimes that is unavoidable as well.

I guess we are on opposite ends on this one. This is but one reason why I much prefer the AK. Being left handed, I can manipulate the safety on my AK much easier than my AR. Actually, for me anyway, I can use the safety right handed without much of a change also. I know you can get ambi safeties for the AR, but most of what you run into will not have them. As a sorta side note, since I am not a SWAT operator, I don't use a single point sling. Chances are I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot, or at all for that matter. Of course to some that brings a whole new set of risks. Anyhoo, as I said before, since we always do REACTIVE transitions with an empty gun, you avoid most of the risk.(You can never avoid it all, even Kirk.)

 

[rhino]

I guess we are on opposite ends on this one. This is but one reason why I much prefer the AK. Being left handed, I can manipulate the safety on my AK much easier than my AR. Actually, for me anyway, I can use the safety right handed without much of a change also. I know you can get ambi safeties for the AR, but most of what you run into will not have them. As a sorta side note, since I am not a SWAT operator, I don't use a single point sling. Chances are I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot, or at all for that matter. Of course to some that brings a whole new set of risks. Anyhoo, as I said before, since we always do REACTIVE transitions with an empty gun, you avoid most of the risk.(You can never avoid it all, even Kirk.)

Yeah, I am primarily righty, but I shoot from my left shoulder when it's necessary. My hand/fingers are too short to reach the safety on an AK without breaking my firing grip. In fact, if I have to start with safety "on," the most efficient way I've found to do it is to just have my firing hand on the safety, press it downward, then achieve my firing grip.

The bolt on the right side is another problem for me. I have trouble reaching underneath, so I roll the rifle over so the ejection port is upward when I rack the bolt.

If an AK was my only or primary weapon, I'd definitely install a left-side bolt, better sights, and a safety that I can reach easier.