This is one of those things we never think about until it comes time to do it. You’re working at the range with a shotgun or rifle, and you’ve got it casually slung muzzle-down around your neck in between shots, using your tactical sling. Then you drop a shell, an earplug or something else you want to pick up. But it’s not as simple as just bending over to grab it.
Casual, administrative handling situations like this can be dangerous, because we’re doing something else with the gun and with our body at the same time, so it’s easy to lose sight of where the gun is pointing as we move. A couple of things we don’t want to do as we bend or squat down to pick up a dropped item:
- Poke the muzzle of the gun into the dirt, which can scratch or damage the gun or, worse, inadvertently plug the muzzle up with mud or another obstruction that will create a serious safety hazard if not cleared before the gun is fired again
- Muzzle anyone by swinging the gun around our body to get it out of the way
- Muzzle our own feet by shifting the gun to one side to keep the muzzle out of the dirt
The solution to this is simple: First, stand directly over the item you’re picking up. Use your strong-side hand to grab the gun around the grip, behind the action, using your full hand (all fingers). This isn’t the time to put your trigger finger straight out alongside the receiver; just keep all of your fingers behind the action to begin with so there’s no chance of a finger slipping off the receiver and into the trigger guard.
Lift the gun straight up so it remains perpendicular to the ground, muzzle pointed straight down and slightly in front of you. Squat straight down—don’t bend over at the waist, which can cause you to lose sight of the gun and potentially point it in a direction you can’t see. Then you simply pick up the dropped item with your weak-side hand, making sure you point the gun at the dirt slightly in front of the object so you don’t muzzle yourself when you reach down for it. Stand up and you’re done.
You can watch Brad Gilpin of Blue Force Gear demonstrate this in a quick video.
