gas blowback pistols and rifles. You might
say that all you have to do is take the mag
out on a gas blowback and it stops working
– it cannot fire as you have taken away the
power source. But after an hour at lunch
you walk back, get ready to go out, put
your mag back in and away you go. Have
you already loaded the weapon? Is there
a round in the chamber? If you had done a
proper unload drill you would know it was
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empty. If you haven’t and cock the weapon
again you load two BBs into it – not
catastrophic but it’s a pain in the backside
to sort out.
The only real way to make an AEG safe
is to remove the mag, point the weapon in
a safe direction and fire a few rounds off
to clear the hop chamber then disconnect
the battery to make it totally safe. Many
people though will start a game, be it a day
or weekend, and just stick their batteries
on and pull the trigger to test the weapon.
Next thing they know a BB comes flying
out and has people diving for cover!
The reason is that the last time they
played they wanted to get home ASAP
and threw the weapon in its case and
off they went. Then they turn up for their
next game, forget there is a round in the
chamber and – hey presto – an ND.
Here’s another question: how many
times have you been handed a weapon in
the Safe Zone by a mate, or gone to look
at someone else’s kit and checked that the
weapon is safe and unloaded? Judging by
what I have seen time and time again, not
often enough!
What would you do if it went off and
permanently hurt someone? Feeble
excuses and “I’m sorry, I thought it was
unloaded, will only go so far.
”
It may seem like I am trying to teach
people to suck eggs; I am not. What I am
trying to do is get people thinking. All it
takes is two seconds to check if a weapon
is safe and OK to handle, and those two
seconds can mean the difference between
a good game day and a trip to A&E.
So please, remember to handle your
weapon properly and make safety checks
one of your standard operating procedures.
It will keep both you, and those around you,
a hell of a lot safer! ■