I have heard many people tell me one way or the other but ill throw in a hypothetical (yeah I know ) to make the situation more clear. People break into your home and you have multiple people to defend/clear the house (wife, roommate, ect.) You both/all have rifles and stick together do you keep your muzzle up or down and why. I learned to keep my muzzle down but know many keep it up. I would keep pointing straight out unless there is an obstacle I donât want to flag (ex.your partner/family) then ill point down, some point up. Perfer no to get shot at all but would rather accidentally get shot in the foot then in the head plus I know the backdrop is the ground, yeah I know trigger discipline and you should be fine but still. What do you do and why?
Also wow there are a lot of new members sence i was last on welcome everyone!
Personally I think it depends on your environment/location. If the ground is dirt/grass then pointing down is preferable. If f itâs concrete,???, the it depends if anyone is within close proximity to you. You might be better off pointing in the air if you are surrounded by people. Oh, and point down range and away from people. Kind of like when hunting. Donât flag people.
Straight ahead, unless I would flag someone, then away from that individual (and others). If I canât avoid flagging someone, weâve got the situation covered and I will holster my weapon.
Seven minutes and already 2 replys. Absolutely, environment could change everything and rifle manipulation is always in the back of my mind. I can only remember having my muzzle up in hunting partys while practicing safety in groups but I was never in any defense situation with a firearm (thank god) hence the hypothetical. We obviously wouldnât cradle carry while sweeping a house like while hunting but the thing in my mind is always backdrop, is there a room below me or above me do I know for sure if there is anyone in those rooms. I want to make it second nature to be aware of where to keep my muzzle so I practice with a simulation weapon and find myself pointing down when trying not to flag anyone. Same in paintball
To avoid flagging I keep the butt of the gun under my arm with the barrel up. Practicing dropping to the target after rounding the corner is important process to take to do this task efficiently. Clearing the house, I would have the barrel pointed out at the ready but be careful near doors not to flag and also to prevent someone from trying to grab the barrel when you come to the doorway. This is the way we were trained. If someone charges at you and you have it pointed down, it is harder to get it on target than it is with it in the up position.
I live in an upper level house and the people that live under us probably would appreciate that I do point up. There is that condition to think about. Safety rule number two; Keep your weapon pointed in a safe direction.
In the sky or at the ground are old outdated forms of weapons handling. Itâs best to carry your weapon at the high ready position or âSulâ which I would describe as a modified high-ready. Low ready is preferable to avoid flagging but given the possibility for immediate threat, high-ready is my go to.
I also put the but under my arm holding with a c clamp grip holding the muzzle at chest/head height downrange and when needed slam the butt of the rifle to my shoulder while pointing with my grip hand. But like I said I have a habit of always pointing down when manipulating not to flag. I will practice both ways for now on to get a perspective I just have a habit of pointing down always but could see benefits of holding the muzzle to the sky in some situations.
I come from a hunting background which is mostly long guns. The conditions, environment, people, and bird dogs, dictate how I carry. It started when I was very young with the up or down basic rule.
When hunting with others and dogs you have to be aware of everyoneâs location. The next to last thing you want to do is swing your gun through a person or dog and the last thing being shooting one of those two. You have to be ready to deal with a slip and fall. You have to be sure your safety remains on. You make sure no brush or twigs can interact with the trigger, etc.etc⊠When you can âautomaticallyâ do these things without thought you will know where your muzzle should be regardless of weapon type or location/environment. Anyway, thatâs my humble opinion.
I completely agree for when hunting but like I said you wouldnât use something like a cradle carry or other hunting carrys for when you may get shot at as soon as you turn a corner. And definitely wouldnât keep the safety on when you know for sure there is danger nearby. This is why I threw in the hypothetical.
what I got out of this training session is that if you carry the gun right next to the head (de-cocked or on safety) it will be in control while you go get help or coordinate an action plan with others. After the threat is gone the firearm can go back to bed inside the holster.
Playing Devilâs Advocate - why are you clearing the house? Are your children in a different area and you have to get to them?
If someone breaks into my house, Iâm taking up a strategic location (or getting out) and calling the police. If I have to get to my granddaughter, I would keep the firearm at high compressed ready (chest-height aiming forward and angle my body to the side of the house where my granddaughter isnât. Sheâs also shorter than I am so I would be aiming over her head.
Again hypothetical to the question and I have one child who is 10 years old. Likely he will be playing video games and in a different room we have 2 elders on the first floor and my son is Likely on the first floor too meanwhile I would Likely be on the second floor so no matter what going toward the danger is just what is going to happen shure I could hide and leave my son and his grandparents downstairs and hope the bad guy runs from my sons nerf gun. Again in the hypothetical rifles not handguns. And am only using this hypothetical to get answers not related to handguns or hunting. In reality my dogs would bark nonstop as soon as any vehicle comes up the driveway, my son knows to run upstairs if ther is any suspicious activity or danger presents itself where where I would give him my glock 21 in a micro conversion kit that he has proven he can handle and hide in the walk in shower in the master bedroom and be prepared to shoot anyone that does not give the safe word. At that point there are two elders downstairs and for all I know there setting the first floor on fire while we are hiding upstairs. After son is in the âsafe spotâ if wife is home thats the next step, what of she is in the kitchen cooking and im upstairs do I leave her down there, again with two elders. There is a very high chance im going toward danger if someone breaks into my home regardless. No after everyone is safe I would not clear the house but there is a chance im clearing the first floor to find and get people to safety. What happens when your granddaughter is playing in the living room and you happen to be in a bedroom or bathroom on the second floor bad guy between you and her. I personally wouldnât at that point go to a strategic location without knowing the rest of my family is safe. Hate to say it but my family can live without me I canât live without them.
Change the hypothetical im a navy seal and im raiding an ISIS compound for powâs everything else is the same simple how do you hold your RIFLES? Not hunting in the woods not with handguns and not with family around. Sorry for any confusion with the first hypothetical.
IF you are in a tactical situation your firearm is in the high ready or low ready position when you donât have a target or are in a âstackâ depending on your position in that stack. The position is dynamic as is the situation, if you are an the wall side, gun down. If you are on the hall side gun up, if you are in front or entering, gun on point and the muzzle goes where your eyes go.
For general purpose walking around, cross body barrel down.
In formation barrel up and slung.
In a helicopter barrel DOWN at all times. 50/50 on air planes but most go with down as there is generally âstuffâ under you and less âskinâ above. In a wheeled/tracked vehicle muzzle up.
There are many wrong ways to carry and many correct ways but no single way is ever constant.
Just trying to get an answer for the question the hypothetical is based on, Should you hold your muzzle to pointing to the ground or the sky? I used the hypothetical to establish a situation not hunting not handguns and not at the range but in an intense situation where someone would not simply have there weapon on safety basically a tactical self defense type of deal. I change the hypothetical to remove the thought of family from the picture. For example the question was up or down what your answer was âStraight ahead, unless I would flag someone, then awayâ. I explained i would keep Straight ahead and know obviously to point away but how up or down. This seems to be pretty divided on which one is correct or if they are both fine what you would fall to so im curious where everyone stands on this topic.
) to make the situation more clear. People break into your home and you have multiple people to defend/clear the house (wife, roommate, ect.) You both/all have rifles and stick together do you keep your muzzle up or down and why. I learned to keep my muzzle down but know many keep it up. I would keep pointing straight out unless there is an obstacle I donât want to flag (ex.your partner/family) then ill point down, some point up. Perfer no to get shot at all but would rather accidentally get shot in the foot then in the head plus I know the backdrop is the ground, yeah I know trigger discipline and you should be fine but still. What do you do and why?
what I got out of this training session is that if you carry the gun right next to the head (de-cocked or on safety) it will be in control while you go get help or coordinate an action plan with others. After the threat is gone the firearm can go back to bed inside the holster.