MATCH RESULTS – NCCRC, May 2nd, 2004: The first North Central California Regional Championship was a great success (about which, more later). Brad Holt (Kingsburg, CA) finished in 1st place with a comfortable 3 second margin. Justin Nelson (Los Osos, CA), in 2nd place, led Matt Outman (Redwood City, CA), in 3rd place, by less than 0.5 seconds. Outman led Mike Boyd (Prineville, OR), in 4th place, by only 0.2 seconds.
Matt Danielson finished in 5th place, a little more than 1 second behind Boyd. Anthony Riccardi (Belmont, CA) was 6th overall, followed by Joe Polati (Redwood City, CA) in 7th place, and Michael Nelson (Los Osos, CA) in 8th place. John Mercurio (Folsom, CA), in 9th place overall, led Tex Hollis (Marysville, CA), in 10th place, by less than 0.5 seconds.
The top Lady shooter was Souzan Nelson (Los Osos, CA), followed by Deanna Sykes (Sacramento, CA) in 2nd place, and Deborah Frazier (Sunnyvale, CA) in 3rd place.
Michael Nelson (Los Osos) was the top Senior shooter. Wayne Johnson (Sacramento, CA) followed as 2nd Senior shooter, while Howard Holzer (Cameron Park, CA) finished 3rd.
The 1st Law Enforcement shooter was Brad Holt (Kingsburg, CA), followed by Nelson Justin (Los Osos, CA) in 2nd place, and by Mike Boyd (Prineville, OR) in 3nd place.
The top Junior shooter was Brian Schlegel (Placerville, CA). Jessica Ketel finished 2nd.
Wayne Johnson (Sacramento, CA) was the Most Accurate shooter, with only 5 match points down. Chad Case (Arnold, CA) was 6 points down in 2nd place, and Chris Sallee (Santa Maria, CA) was 3rd with 8 points down.
Our shooter From the Most Geographically-Distant Point-of-Origin was Richard Cotter (Finleyville, PA). Cotter finished 3rd in the Custom Defensive Pistol division, Marksman class.
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: As were most of the participants at the NCCRC match, I was very impressed with how smoothly the match progressed. Certainly the organizers did a superb job. However, the success of the match would not have been possible without the dedication of all the volunteers. They made the match a success. Their contributions were especially apparent the day before the match and on the day of the match. Thank you all.
RULE ONE: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED: A NEGLIGENT FIREARM DEATH.
‘Quick-draw' practice ends in man's death
By Mirisada Buric-Adam
The Daily Courier, May 12, 2004
PRESCOTT – A 38-year-old Mesa man accidentally shot and killed his best friend Wednesday night as they were practicing gun-handling techniques in their Prescott hotel room, Prescott police said.
Both men were attending a firearms class at the Gunsite Academy Inc. in Paulden this week.
Greg Prophet, 38, of Mesa, died at the scene and now John Angal may face charges in connection with his death, which police believe to be a tragic accident, PPD Sgt. Pete Hodap said Thursday.
"It truly did appear to be what Mr. Angal said it was," he said. "It is tragic because these guys have been friends for at least 10 to 15 years."
"We let him (Angal) go home last night," Hodap added. "We had a family member come and pick him up and take him home.
It doesn't mean that he will not be charged later on. At this point, we didn't see that it was in anybody's best interest to put this guy in jail."
Hodap said the reason police let Angal go was because they didn't believe that he shot the victim intentionally.
"He was definitely reckless, but it was one of his best friends and he was very distraught," he said.
At around 9 p.m. officers responded to the Spring Hill Suites in the 200 block of East Sheldon Street, according to the PPD report.
When officers arrived, they found Prophet on the floor with an apparent gunshot wound to the lower chest, the report says.
Angal told police that the two of them had been attending a firearm class at the Gunsite Academy since Sunday, the report notes.
The two of them went to dinner with another classmate, and when they returned they began practicing 'quick draw' techniques in their mutual room, the report says. But before starting the exercise, Angal allegedly failed to clear his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, the report says.
At one point, "Angal pointed the weapon at Prophet and the next thing that he knew, the gun went off," the report says. "Prophet then stated, 'John, you shot me, call 911' and fell to the floor."
Police reportedly executed a search warrant for the room and recovered several handguns with ammunition, the report says.
Hodap said the Yavapai County attorney will determine whether to press any charges against Angal.
"We wrote it (the incident) up as a manslaughter report," he added. He said that Angal was trying to resuscitate his friend when they arrived on the scene. "When our officers got there, he was administering CPR to his friend," he said.
The report states that two officers joined Angal in that effort until emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
Hodap said that the Yavapai County medical examiner will perform an autopsy on the victim.
Owen Mills, president of Gunsite Academy Inc., said that he doesn't know much about the shooting because it didn't happen on the ranch.
"They were not supervised by our personnel and we really do not know what happened," he said.
"They were involved in the beginners class, that is mostly concerned with safety."
Mills said 24 people have been participating in the class, which concludes today.
Ironically, Gunsite is credited with popularizing the Four Basic Rules of Firearms Safety.
Mesa man, 38, faces manslaughter charge
By Mirsada Buric-Adam
The Daily Courier, May 18, 2004
PRESCOTT [AZ] — John Angal, a 38-year-old Mesa man, faces a manslaughter charge in connection with a recent shooting during which he allegedly killed his best friend by accident in a Prescott hotel room.
Greg Prophet, 38, of Mesa, died at the scene after suffering a gunshot wound to his lower chest.
Prescott Police Department (PPD) Sgt. Pete Hodap said a grand jury handed down the indictment on Wednesday after PPD Det. Elliot Sneezy presented the case to the jurors.
Initially, police did not charge Angal because they didn’t believe that he shot the victim intentionally and that it was a tragic accident, Hodap said.
“At this point, we didn’t see that it was in anybody’s best interest to put this guy in jail,” Hodap said previously, adding that he may still face charges.
“He was definitely reckless, but it was one of his best friends and he was very distraught.”
According to a PPD report, on March 10, Angal and Prophet were practicing “quick draw” techniques at their SpringHill Suites hotel room in the 200 block of East Sheldon Street.
Both men were attending a firearm class at the Gunsite Academy Inc. in Paulden that week.
But before starting the exercise, Angal failed to clear his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, the report says.
At some point, he pointed the weapon at Prophet and it went off, the report adds.
Hodap said previously that Angal was trying to resuscitate his friend when police arrived on the scene.
The report states that two officers joined Angal in the effort until emergency personnel arrived.
Hodap said Wednesday that a manslaughter charge in this case is appropriate.
“It fits the statute,” he said, adding that the next step will be issuing a summons to Angal.
Contact the reporter at: mburicadam@prescottaz.com
EDITOR’S COMMENT: This death is more tragic in the light of the emphasis placed on firearm safety by Gunsite. The first firearm instructions given by Gunsite are the four Rules of Gun Safety. As part of it’s training, Gunsite stresses the need for ‘dry-firing’. After a day on the range, students are given dry-fire assignments for the evening.
Before dry-firing, each student is instructed to remove all magazines from
their pistols, clear the chamber, place all ammunition in a container, and place
the container in a closet or another room. Students are issued a steel plate,
covered with ballistic nylon, to be used as the only target for ‘dry-firing’.
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
There are no exceptions. Do not pretend that this is true. Some people and organizations take this rule and weaken it;e.g. "Treat all guns as if they were loaded." Unfortunately, the "as if" compromises the directness of the statement by implying that they are unloaded, but we will treat them as though they are loaded. No good! Safety rules must be worded forcefully so that they are never treated lightly or reduced to partial compliance.
All guns are always loaded - period! This must be your mind-set. If someone hands you a firearm and says, "Don't worry, it's not loaded," you do not dare believe him. You need not be impolite, but check it yourself. Remember, there are no accidents, only negligent acts. Check it. Do not let yourself fall prey to a situation where you might feel compelled to squeal, "I didn't know it was loaded!"
Conspicuously and continuously violated, especially with pistols, Rule II applies whether you are involved in range practice, daily carry, or examination. If the weapon is assembled and in someone's hands, it is capable of being discharged. A firearm holstered properly, lying on a table, or placed in a scabbard is of no danger to anyone. Only when handled is there a need for concern. This rule applies to fighting as well as to daily handling. If you are not willing to take a human life, do not cover a person with the muzzle. This rule also applies to your own person. Do not allow the muzzle to cover your extremities, e.g. using both hands to re-holster the pistol. This practice is unsound, both procedurally and tactically. You may need a free hand for something important. Proper holster design should provide for one-handed holstering, so avoid holsters, which collapse after withdrawing the pistol. (Note: It is dangerous to push the muzzle against the inside edge of the holster nearest the body to "open" it since this results in your pointing the pistol at your midsection.) Dry-practice in the home is a worthwhile habit and it will result in more deeply programmed reflexes. Most of the reflexes involved in the Modern Technique do not require that a shot be fired. Particular procedures for dry-firing in the home will be covered later. Let it suffice for now that you do not dry-fire using a "target" that you wish not to see destroyed. (Recall RULE I as well.)
Rule III is violated most anytime the uneducated person handles a firearm. Whether on TV, in the theaters, or at the range, people seem fascinated with having their finger on the trigger. Never stand or walk around with your finger on the trigger. It is unprofessional, dangerous, and, perhaps most damaging to the psyche, it is klutzy looking. Never fire a shot unless the sights are superimposed on the target and you have made a conscious decision to fire. Firing an unaligned pistol in a fight gains nothing. If you believe that the defensive pistol is only an intimidation tool - not something to be used - carry blanks, or better yet, re-evaluate having one around. If you are going to launch a projectile, it had best be directed purposely. Danger abounds if you allow your finger to dawdle inside the trigger guard. As soon as the sights leave the target, the trigger-finger leaves the trigger and straightens alongside the frame. Since the hand normally prefers to work as a unit - as in grasping - separating the function of the trigger-finger from the rest of the hand takes effort. The five-finger grasp is a deeply programmed reflex. Under sufficient stress, and with the finger already placed on the trigger, an unexpected movement, misstep or surprise could result in a negligent discharge. Speed cannot be gained from such a premature placement of the trigger-finger. Bringing the sights to bear on the target, whether from the holster or the Guard Position, takes more time than that required for moving the trigger finger an inch or so to the trigger.
Know what it is, what is in line with it, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything you have not positively identified. Be aware of your surroundings, whether on the range or in a fight. Do not assume anything. Know what you are doing.
SUMMARY: Make these rules a part of your character. Never compromise them. Improper gunhandling results from ignorance and improper role modeling, such as handling your gun like your favorite actor does. Education can cure this. You can make a difference by following these gunhandling rules and insisting that those around you do the same. Set the example. Who knows what tragedies you, or someone you influence, may prevent?
Excerpted from: The Modern Technique of the Pistol, by Greg Morrison, Gunsite Press, Paulden, Arizona, ISBN 0-9621342-3-6, Library of Congress Number 91-72644, $40
Downloaded from: http://www.thefiringline.com/Misc/safetyrules.html
-- 30 --
Stay safe,
Mike McGinn