Gun muzzling during stagecoach "holdup"

[calif 15-22]

What a whiner! People like you get cool events shut down.

Did any of you guys heard of knotts scary farm "fear vr"? Well, it was about the mental imstitution and apparently some got butthurt cause of family members having metal illess and it got enough complains that it shut down. Was i so pissed!

He wasn't whining at all.
He didn't ask for it to be shut down because it offended the Mentally ill.
He didn't ask for it to be shut down at all.

I swear even a California Public School edumacated old dude like me has a hard time reading the OP Story and going from calling in with "feedback" to calling in wanting to "CLOSE IT ALL DOWN SHUT THE PARK, BAN STAGE COACH RE-ENACTMENTS. BAN EVERY TV AND EVERY MOVIE BEING MADE. IN FACT GO BACK AND EDIT BONANZA AND THE RIFLEMAN AND EDIT OUT ALL THOSE SCENES".

All that was done is a phone call with one Grandfather's concern.

(And yes I'm doing my part to get to SIX pages!

[CandG]

I was called out (not here, surprisingly) for posting a picture of my SP101 with visible cartridges in the gap at the rear of the chamber and my Shield with the LCI fin up

I think the safety check thing on Youtube is out of control, but I understand that if people don't show it on video, it's going to be the main topic of the comments. Personally, I'd rather get on with the video and avoid the wasted time... too many videos drone on too long as it is.

Someone on youtube, I forget who but it's one of the bigger gun channels, finally got fed up and posted a video that went something like, "Look, this is how I clear my guns before I make each video. See? Empty. There, now QUIT COMMENTING ABOUT ME NOT SHOWING IT!!!"

[Cokebottle]

Someone on youtube, I forget who but it's one of the bigger gun channels, finally got fed up and posted a video that went something like, "Look, this is how I clear my guns before I make each video. See? Empty. There, now QUIT COMMENTING ABOUT ME NOT SHOWING IT!!!"

I've seen a few that simply state "This gun was cleared". That should be enough and it's not too much of a waste of time.

Some of the ninnies are getting to the point that they'll call you out on a still photo if you don't have a chamber flag.

[AragornElessar86]

I recall shows where they had a full blown Wild West gun fight with black powder blanks


People got scared- blanks went away

Temecula still does it. Even closes off a big chunk of old town and lets them do a running gunbattle bank robbery. Good times.

[CandG]

I've seen a few that simply state "This gun was cleared". That should be enough and it's not too much of a waste of time.

Some of the ninnies are getting to the point that they'll call you out on a still photo if you don't have a chamber flag.

That's insanity.

In MOST of my gun pictures, the guns are loaded. What difference does it make, I'm supposed to treat them all as if they're always loaded anyways. It's not like I'm playing around with the trigger while I'm snapping still photos. A couple times I have taken photos where my finger is inside the trigger guard, to demonstrate some ergonomics aspect of some weapon or another that you can't show in a picture any other way. Or sometimes using a pen in the trigger guard to help prop the gun up. In those cases, yes the gun is always cleared first. But I've never felt the need to inform everyone on calguns of that fact, thankfully, and I hope I never do because that would just piss me off.

[calif 15-22]

That's insanity.

In MOST of my gun pictures, the guns are loaded. What difference does it make, I'm supposed to treat them all as if they're always loaded anyways. It's not like I'm playing around with the trigger while I'm snapping still photos. A couple times I have taken photos where my finger is inside the trigger guard, to demonstrate some ergonomics aspect of some weapon or another that you can't show in a picture any other way. Or sometimes using a pen in the trigger guard to help prop the gun up. In those cases, yes the gun is always cleared first. But I've never felt the need to inform everyone on calguns of that fact, thankfully, and I hope I never do because that would just piss me off.

I think that's one of the main differences here Glocked. If you shoot yourself it was your deal and you have ultimate control and responsibility.

If someone else is holding a gun in the face of your grankids you might get a little uncomfortable and might even mention it to the operator of said show. I would if I was there with an 8yr old and 11yr old.

[CandG]

I think that's one of the main differences here Glocked. If you shoot yourself it was your deal and you have ultimate control and responsibility.

If someone else is holding a gun in the face of your grankids you might get a little uncomfortable and might even mention it to the operator of said show. I would if I was there with an 8yr old and 11yr old.

Yep. If this was, in fact, the stage coach ride at Columbia, I remember doing that when I was a lad 30 years ago w/ my parents. Nobody ever thought twice about the prop guns or what the actors were doing with them, not even my liberal anti-gun parents.

[Cokebottle]

Yep. If this was, in fact, the stage coach ride at Columbia, I remember doing that when I was a lad 30 years ago w/ my parents. Nobody ever thought twice about the prop guns or what the actors were doing with them, not even my liberal anti-gun parents.

And the Knott's stagecoach and train ride.

It's been so long that I honestly don't recall if anyone was muzzled.

[Lex Talionis]

Hi Lex, I only write this because you asked me a few specific and reasonable questions that have specific and reasonable answers. I did not inspect the pistol as we sat in the coach. I said "obviously it was a REAL GUN", because as I mentioned in an earlier post, the barrel was close enough to our faces that I could see the rifling in it. I do not know if it was ever fired or not, but would a replica gun have rifling in the barrel? That observation was enough for me to tell me that I was looking down the tube of a real gun. (By the way, if someone had done that as part of an act and I did not have a stage coach wall between us, I would have reached out and calmly moved the muzzle away. Since my grandsons were sitting on the side closest the bandit, that was not an option in this situation). The one other distinction I would suggest to you between this event and from being muzzled at a range or gun show, often mentioned in posts here, is distance. I can tell you that there is a big difference between a barrel momentarily and inadvertently passing by you at 10 feet or more, and a gun pointed intentionally at your face at a distance of 3 feet with a finger on the trigger. I can never recall anything like that happening in all of my shooting or gun show experiences in my entire life, even on previous rides of the same coach! (the gun was pointed skyward in previous rides, just as effective to sell the act, and that was all I ever politely suggested be continued). Unless one has experienced a real pistol purposefully pointed at their face close enough that you can see the rifling in the tube, I can understand the difficulty people might have in comparing the feeling that event instinctively generates to other muzzling experiences mentioned at ranges or gun shows. There's my honest answer to your fair questions.

Hi O.D. Curtis,

Since you brought up a good point I called a buddy of mine who does Civil War reenacting and although they don't do "wild west type shows" he sort of filled me on on what he knew about some of the guys he knows who does these shows. What he said (which may not be for all shows) is that there is one "captain" who acts as safety officer for all of the firearms used in the show. Before the show that guy inspects each firearm and all of the blank cartridges which will be used for the show so that there is no chance that any outside "ammo" is mixed in and that includes all gun belts and bandoliers too, just common sense. Afterwards the same safety officer inspects the firearms (back stage) and if they are going to be carried as part of the after-show as characters mingle with the spectators he verifies that all of the handguns and long guns are cleared--- no blanks allowed at that point.

Now I don't know if that is how the show you went was controlled, but maybe your asking questions might make them think about it that way. I believe there was a incident once in Dakota or Colorado a few years back where spectators were struck with "something" during the show. Could have been wadding from a shotgun; I don't recall, but still very dangerous.

I think you raised a good point about the guns used in these shows, and like you I probably would not have enjoyed having one pointed directly at me either. I remember as a kid going to Knotts Berry Farm and being "held up" for a few pieces of popcorn on the train and the actor pointed the gun at all of us. I hope it was a prop gun, but thinking back now, just moments before the "hold up", the actors had fired the guns into the air with blanks to stop the train, so I hope the same guns loaded with blanks aren't being pointed at anyone?

In any event, I think having conversations with your grand kids is a good thing to do. Never hurts to keep everybody thinking all the time. On one hand we teach our kids that guns are not toys to be handled carelessly and then we go to wild west show for entertainment which may or may not be about just teaching history, so I don't hold it against you for bringing this up. I'd just call the show producer and see what exactly the "controls" are they use in light of what I learned from my buddy who is a re enactor. If it turns out they aren't using a 2nd set of eyes to clear guns before the show, that could be a potential problem eventually.

[dieselpower]

I've seen a few that simply state "This gun was cleared". That should be enough and it's not too much of a waste of time.

Some of the ninnies are getting to the point that they'll call you out on a still photo if you don't have a chamber flag.

I like the way James Yeager does it... he loads the gun and points it at the camera and says F-U. Hundreds of guys view this, get upset and make the view count climb into the 10s of thousands making James a very rich man.

[oakdalecurtis]

hi Lex, that was the most intelligent reply I have read to my inquiry, thank you much.

[Lex Talionis]

hi Lex, that was the most intelligent reply I have read to my inquiry, thank you much.

Cheers!

Lex

[SomeGuy75]

[Wordupmybrotha]

I think the safety check thing on Youtube is out of control, but I understand that if people don't show it on video, it's going to be the main topic of the comments. Personally, I'd rather get on with the video and avoid the wasted time... too many videos drone on too long as it is.

Yes, just clear the dang weapon on camera without blabbing on for a minute. Only takes couple seconds to take the mag out, rack the slide a few times and stick their finger in the action hole.

[gundad]

I think you should have told your grand kids they are right and so very smart for noticing. But your adult mind should have been able to tell the difference. You have to teach your kids in those extreme manners because that is how they can understand it. But an adult mind can process and understand nuances like play acting paid for stage coach robberies.