The little box next to the window at the gun permit station at HPD

[numbertwo]

First off, new member here. I don't have any permits or firearms (yet). I have a handgun safety class scheduled this month.



I applied for my long gun permit yesterday and saw someone use the little box to empty out something out of 2 hand guns.


My guess is that it was a shell casing or maybe even a bullet? My question is. Wouldn't it be smarter and safer to just have your guns unloaded and ready to get checked out?

[DuckFat]

Maybe it was a snap cap?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap_cap

If the guns were new it might've been that bullet shaped thing that sticks out of the chamber to show it's clear.

And yes it should be unloaded. Walking into police station with a loaded gun=bad idea.

[GreenStomper]

Yeah, you would think.   The officer behind the glass always checks the breach,slide,cylinder, to make sure it's clear. 

[HiCarry]

First off, new member here. I don't have any permits or firearms (yet). I have a handgun safety class scheduled this month.



I applied for my long gun permit yesterday and saw someone use the little box to empty out something out of 2 hand guns.


My guess is that it was a shell casing or maybe even a bullet? My question is. Wouldn't it be smarter and safer to just have your guns unloaded and ready to get checked out?

You are talking about the tan/brown "box" to the right of the window as you face it, correct? If so, it is known, among other names, as a clearing chamber. The intent is to provide a means to safely capture any round that might go off while clearing your firearms chamber. You place the muzzle of your firearm into the little hole at the top and then clear your chamber and lock the slide back. As a matter of practice you should always use it when presenting your firearms to the officers behind the window. As a matter of fact, I received a request from the HPR firearms folks to include a little primer about how to use these during LIFE classes, which we will do.

As for transporting a loaded firearm anywhere, be aware that unless exempted under HRS 134 (I think it is 134.9, but not certain...) you are commiting a felony........bad, bad idea.

[Mr. Farknocker]

My firearms training instructor strongly recommended that use of one at home. Nice to have a fancy unit like the one at HPD but a 5 gallon bucket filled with gravel and then topped off with several inches of sand should be fine.

[TeamMidori]

What's in the box at hpd ? Water, sand, gravel? Jus curious f anyone knows

[Mr. Farknocker]

Prolly little white ducks and pink pigs with bulls eyes on them moving back and forth on a conveyor. In all seriousness, I think (and this is WAGS), hanging kevlar sheets that resemble thick carpeting.

[DuckFat]

What's in the box at hpd ? Water, sand, gravel? Jus curious f anyone knows

I thought it was a bunch of rubber balls, like in the bullet catcher they use in CSI to get the ballistics match on a gun.

[Kingkeoni]

What's in the box at hpd ? Water, sand, gravel? Jus curious f anyone knows

The souls of the bums who pointed their guns at others while registering them.

[zippz]

Did anyone ever fire a live round into that clearing box?

[HiCarry]

My firearms training instructor strongly recommended that use of one at home. Nice to have a fancy unit like the one at HPD but a 5 gallon bucket filled with gravel and then topped off with several inches of sand should be fine.

Great idea. Other household "items" that could be used in a pinch or while traveling: bookshelf (with books), using the side of the bookcase so any ND would travel thru multiple books; toilet; partially closed safe.

There may be others......

[Pit808]

The officer behind the glass always checks the breach,slide,cylinder, to make sure it's clear.

I've never seen em do that........

[numbertwo]

Thanks for the replies.


I didn't exactly see what the guy was doing but there's a small rectangle hole big enough to fit your gun in there. I tried to look inside from where I was standing it looked like folded pieces of paper or something similar.

It just sounds like the guy was clearing his gun. IMO I'd do my best to clear my guns and have it open(or what ever the term is) but we'll see when I'm actually an owner heh.

[numbertwo]

My firearms training instructor strongly recommended that use of one at home. Nice to have a fancy unit like the one at HPD but a 5 gallon bucket filled with gravel and then topped off with several inches of sand should be fine.

This is just to have around "just in case" or you actually fire off rounds in that at home? I can't imagine that would go well with the neighbors lol

[GreenStomper]

I've never seen em do that........

Ive been in a couple times, and they made sure nothing was loaded. It's easy to tell since everything I own has a trigger guard,cable lock, or mag vault.

[230RN]

Welcome aboard, numbertwo!

This is just to have around "just in case" or you actually fire off rounds in that at home? I can't imagine that would go well with the neighbors lol

I keep an expired "flak jacket" around to hang on the wall on the very rare occasions when I have to manipulate a loaded gun in my apartment.  (The "expiration" is not because of general decay of the materials from just hanging in the closet, it's because of degradation from daily use:  sweat, movement, donning, etc.)

No, I do not wear it around.  Its sole purpose is to prevent too much damage in case of an ND. I'm real paranoid about NDs.  Don't ask how come.

When I had my little machine shop, where I did a lot of firearms experimentation, I had a five gallon bucket of dry sand for clearing. (Bullets are known to penetrate wet sand better.  I guess the water acts like a lubricant between the grains so they can slip out of the way better.  Or maybe the water transmits the shock wave better, so the grains are thrown out of the way. Or something. Just guessin' on that one.)

Terry, 230RN

[numbertwo]

Welcome aboard, numbertwo!
I keep an expired "flak jacket" around to hang on the wall on the very rare occasions when I have to manipulate a loaded gun in my apartment.  (The "expiration" is not because of general decay of the materials from just hanging in the closet, it's because of degradation from daily use:  sweat, movement, donning, etc.)

No, I do not wear it around.  Its sole purpose is to prevent too much damage in case of an ND. I'm real paranoid about NDs.  Don't ask how come.

When I had my little machine shop, where I did a lot of firearms experimentation, I had a five gallon bucket of dry sand for clearing. (Bullets are known to penetrate wet sand better.  I guess the water acts like a lubricant between the grains so they can slip out of the way better.  Or maybe the water transmits the shock wave better, so the grains are thrown out of the way. Or something. Just guessin' on that one.)

Terry, 230RN

Sounds good lol I beginning to think that some of you guys go and create these catch cans/buckets just to fire off a few rounds in house.

I don't even have any permits yet and I'm already dreading ND.  At this point I don't think I'd ever load a full cartridge while at home! Even for my home defense gun. I'd just keep a loaded cartridge next to my gun. I hoped I'd never have to use it though.

[DuckFat]

Sounds good lol I beginning to think that some of you guys go and create these catch cans/buckets just to fire off a few rounds in house.

I don't even have any permits yet and I'm already dreading ND.  At this point I don't think I'd ever load a full cartridge while at home! Even for my home defense gun. I'd just keep a loaded cartridge next to my gun. I hoped I'd never have to use it though.

There's been some discussion about making a range at home
http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=2758
http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=3263

Your opinion about keeping a round in the chamber may change after some light reading
http://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=2754

[230RN]

Oh, you can keep loaded guns around the house, all right, if you don't have to worry about kids (or local laws), etc.  The main thing that causes NDs is manipulation, that is, loading and unloading them.

My personal rule is that if a gun around the house is in a holster, it's loaded and ready to go.  I carry a .38 Airweight in a belt-clip holster, so when I come in, I disarm by unclipping it and placing it in its usual beddie-bye place, holster and all.  That way, there's an extra step involved (taking it out of the holster) if I have the rare need to manipulate it.    Going out, I just clip it back on.  I sometimes use it in an ankle rig if it's warm out, and the same story pertains.  I unbuckle it and place the whole loaded gun and ankle rig in the aforementioned beddie-by place. 

I keep a .357 all up and ready by my bed in a flap-top holster on the same theory.

Nevertheless, I follow the policy of "every effing gun is always effing loaded," even though I just "unloaded" it.  I make it a rule that if I put it down for even a couple of seconds, I check it again when I pick it up.

In wintertime, I usually carry a .45 Auto in 1911 persuasion, but never "cocked and locked."  I usually get crap for saying that, but you aren't going to change my mind, so shut up already.  With that one, I just pull the mag when I get home and visually and manually check the chamber and magazine well.  (I use an off-hand  thumb roll technique to gently lower the hammer to half cock before it goes beddie-by.)

All this, bearing in mind that I don't have kids around to worry about.  That changes things a bit if you do.

FYI, my ankle rig and my belt clip rig, same gun.  Yes, it's loaded both times.

You may notice the button on the grip.  That's a Crimson Trace laser sight "on" button.

You might notice that I use the ankle rig on my strong side leg, butt pointing forward.  This will give many Instructors apoplexy and sometimes results in four-page threads about what an idiot I am.

You also may notice a bit of honorable fraying at the bottom of the belt holster. 

I bought both these Uncle Mike's holsters just to try them out, and found they were eminently suitable for my purposes.





Terry, 230RN

[Cougar8045]

I rescued an old flak jacket from the dumpster on my last submarine, and had it sitting around the garage for a couple of years before I got inspired by the Safe Direction clearing mat.  I cut the ballistic panels out of the vest, doubled the thickness (I think it's like 16 layers of Kevlar; each panel in the vest had , and cut them into about an 8"x12" rectangle.  Then I sewed up an envelope out of blue nylon from Wal-Mart, slipped the Kevlar inside, and the mat sits right next to my quick-access safe so I can point the pistol at it when uploading or downloading. 

I know for a certainty (because I tested a sample, that's how!) that it will stop pretty much any handgun round, and I imagine it would stop a load of 00 buck as well, but I'm thinking that since the mat is a little unwieldy for use with a shotgun and I'm planning on buying a rifle soon, I'm just going to go to Home Depot and buy a five-gallon bucket.  Then I'll just stop off at the beach sometime with my daughter's sand castle building kit and shovel the bucket full of nice, dry, sand.