Vlad said:
Actually the book is pretty clear on the issue. The shooter is ALWAYS responsible, the RO doesn't DQ them, the shooter DQ's himself. That said, you are right in the sense that the RO is supposed to watch out and minimize the risk. However there is always a shooter or another who feels the he needs to rush off the line for some reason. As long the shooter is pointing towards the back stop I'm not grabing his gun and making a stupid situation into a more dangerous one.
I know what the book says, and you're right. But the fact is that the RO is supposed to maintain safety. ROs all over the place have let the "speed-unload" become popular and acceptable. You're not supposed to give the "hammer down" command if you haven't personally verified the gun is empty. All too often, RO's just assume the gun is unloaded. That's wrong.
Hmm .. I doubt the guns where going off. I don't doubt they went bang, but most likely the operator was involved by not actually unloading it. I fully understand why the tab is there, but who actually uses it? I'm actually ok with it, its unobtrusive, out of the way, and not actually required during the take down. I do agree that if the legal departament told them they had to have it, they way they've done is pretty much perfect from my point of view.
If I pull the trigger, the gun goes off. I didn't mean to imply the guns were firing without anyone touching them, and for folks who took it that way I apologize for the confusion. As G56 pointed out, the need to pull the trigger to disassemble a gun is not particularly popular among instructors. I
always use the internal lever to disassemble my M&P, specifically because I know people make mistakes ... and I'm a person.
Lots of people think they're too skilled or too careful ever to make a mistake, but I guess I'm just not that high speed.