i read somewhere they were doing shooting practice with real guns for after-hours activity. why??

Alec Baldwin's Gun in Rust Shooting Used for Target Practice: Report ,

Certainly not defending Baldwin. Just believe that the person(s) providing ammo and loading the gun with live ammo also share heavily, if not equally, in the responsibility for this tragedy.

Assuming for the same reasons folks go to Shooters World. Still, the guns used in movies should never be used for live rounds, ever.

From press reports it sounds like multiple people are going to be charged. I'm good with that. But Baldwin is the one who is most responsible.

A few years ago I took an advanced pistol class at Sig Sauer academy in New Hampshire taught by a guest instructor who is a former world champion. He now runs his own company and if you are a serious shooter you would recognize his name.

Anyway, in the initial safety briefing before we hit the range he told a story about a class he'd given years prior at the Sig Academy. Near the end of the day a student was having problems with his pistol so this guy lent the student his pistol to finish the day.

At the end of the day everyone cleared their pistols and the student returned the loaner to the instructor who cased it up until the next morning. That next morning the instructor stood in front of the class and before demonstrating a dry fire technique he racked the slide to show that the pistol was clear.

Except a live round ejected from the pistol.

That is a MAJOR safety violation. At first the instructor was furious at the student but it didn't take him long to place the blame where it belonged. On himself. He took possession of the pistol, it was his responsibility to know its status.

He nearly lost his teaching privileges at the academy. Probably should have.

Scary. Any lawyer would have been licking her chops if some harm had occurred.

Major teaching opportunity. Even experts can, and DO, make mistakes. Is it any surprise that average folks sometimes screw up, sometimes with deadly results.

That instructor will never forget that lesson and will probably put special emphasis on clearing your weapon and to NEVER assume it had been done correctly if you didn't do it yourself.

Yes, that was the reason he told the story. To emphasize being sure you know the status of your firearm.

Standard Sig academy policy is to have someone else check that your firearm is clear before your gun is declared safe. You check it, then you present the action open firearm to whoever is next to you so they can check it too. I think that works for lower level classes but in advanced classes it's easy to take for granted that the gun is clear and the other guy will catch it if it isn't.

I took another class from a current national champion not at the Sig facility where his policy was only the person in possession of the firearm would verify that it was clear. Driving home the point that it's always your responsibility no matter what someone else tells you. That makes more sense to me.

BTW, that applies in gun stores too. After a minimum wage clerk checks a firearm and then hands it to you if the first thing you do isn't checking it again yourself you are making the same mistake Baldwin made. And you would be in the same legal jam if something goes wrong.

Take this report with some skepticism. It may just be a slow news day.

Oh for sure. This is an all time classic. A DEA agent giving a school talk on gun safety:

"I'm the only one in this room qualified to handle this gun" You can guess what happens next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ain2by4Fums

This happened a few years ago in Punta Gorda. Some good advice in this piece. Never agree to take part in a police training exercise.

Punta Gorda Police Couldn't Tell Blanks From Wadcutters When He Shot Librarian – Bearing Arms

Never said it did...

Instead of laughing, prove me wrong... I'll wait...

They were all "real" guns...

And yes, they were target shooting after hours. A really stupid decision...