| Shooting
your M-11 Safely |
|
When new M-11 owners first get to the range they have a nasty habit of shooting their
new gun unsafely. These dangerous shooting styles are a result of shooters imitating what they see in Hollywood movies.
The M-11 is not a noobie-friendly firearm, and in stock condition can be outright
dangerous in inexperienced hands. The thing that most people don’t anticipate is how fast the muzzle
can climb because in every movie they have seen the gun stays on target when firing away.
I have put together a simple shooting technique guide below to help out. It is geared toward the full-auto
M-11s but some techniques can apply to semi-auto pistols also.
Also, at the bottom of the page you'll find some an additional safety tip that
can make your shooting experience more pleasant and predictable.
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| Safe |
| The
pictured shooting technique is probably one of the safest.
The shooter places the butt stock firmly against the shoulder
and gets into a strong shooting stance to control the
gun with his or hers weight. The non-shooting hand is
inserted into the front strap and then holds onto the
main grip.
This
shooting position allows the shooter to have as much
control as possible over the gun and keeps all hands
and fingers away from the muzzle.
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| Safe |
| The
pictured shooting technique is safe if the shooter controls
the gun by firing in burst. Make sure the non-shooting
hand is inserted into the front strap and then holds on
the main grip or else the gun may climb excessively.
This shooting position
allows the shooter to have control over the gun and
keeps all hands and fingers away from the muzzle.
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|
| UnSafe |
The
pictured shooting technique is very unsafe! The shooter
does have some control by grasping the front of the
gun, but this puts his hand and fingers at risk of being
shot, burned, or broken (by charging knob). Also the
front strap may swing in front of the muzzle and be
shot requiring you to purchase a new one.
|
|
| UnSafe for
Full-Auto |
| The pictured shooting
technique is unsafe for full-auto shooters. The shooter
has no control in full-auto because it will climb excessively
with out support from the non-shooting hand. In semi-auto
this technique is ok because the risk of the gun climbing
uncontrollably is reduced. Also the front strap may swing
in front of the muzzle and be shot requiring you to purchase
a new one. |
 |
| UnSafe |
The
pictured shooting technique is very unsafe. Unlike in
the Hollywood movies, the shooter has no control &
it will climb at an angle. The risk of a shell or powder
residue ejecting into the shooters face is also quite
high. |
 |
| Other Tips |
This is talked about in the trouble-shooting section of this site, but it's worth repeating here. You need to know how to safely clear a jam in your open bolt SMG, which you'll find is different than most of your pistols.
Think "B-B" (Bolt Back)! Do NOT take the magazine out of the gun until you have locked the bolt back (if you can), otherwise it may go forward on a live round when the mag is released and discharge. Lock the bolt back and put the gun on SAFE and THEN remove the magazine. If you can not lock the bolt back, at least control the bolt in the rearward position by holding the bolt knob as you remove the magazine. You can then clear the chamber and also make sure that the bore/barrel is clear. ALWAYS keep your gun pointed in a safe direction downrange!
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