The Four Rules
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 5:00 am
Okay, I first dashed this off five years ago when I was going to take Miss Carolyn to the range for the first time. I have a couple liberal friends up in Alaska who may be having their first experience with firearms soon, and I KNOW I have a young lady here in TX who wants me to take her to the range soon. So I will be emailing it off to people again soon, so I thought I would run it past everyone here for their critique and perusal. PLEASE offer constructive criticism if you see things I missed, misunderstood, explained poorly, etc.
The Four Rules of Gun Safety (Legman's annotated version).
1. ALWAYS TREAT EVERY GUN AS THOUGH IT WERE LOADED. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Always assume every gun has ammunition in it and can go off, and treat it as such. Even if someone tells you it isn't loaded, verify for yourself. This is called "clearing" and it works differently for every gun. And no, it's not rude to clear a gun even if someone just told you it's unloaded - in fact, it's considered polite, because it shows you're concerned with their safety as well as your own. Now, obviously, as a practical matter, it's impossible to obey this rule 100% of the time, because it would make cleaning and dry-firing practice impossible. That being said, those are the only two circumstances when you don't adhere 100% to this rule. The rest of the time, even if you've cleared a gun and know it's unloaded, you still treat it as though it were, because it's simply good practice, and prevents falling into a potentially deadly bad habit. If you are dealing with a gun that you don't know how to clear, it's best to just leave it alone.
2. NEVER POINT A FIREARM AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO KILL OR DESTROY. This one is also sometimes written as "Always keep firearms pointed in a safe direction," which is what you actually do, but I prefer the phrasing above, because it really impresses on people the consequences of not following this rule. This doesn't just mean intentional pointing. You have to be aware of where the muzzle is and where it's pointing at all times, and keep it pointed in a safe direction, even when clearing or cleaning it. This safe direction is also referred to as 'downrange' sometimes, but that's only if you're at a shooting range. Up at the sky and down at the ground are also usually safe directions to point the weapon if you aren't at a range. If you pay close attention to these first two rules, you'll notice that they're redundant. As long as you never break both at the same time, even if you have an Accidental or Negligent Discharge, no serious harm will be done - which does not mean it's ever acceptable to break them, but it does permit cleaning and dry-firing as described above.
3. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO SHOOT. Don't even put your finger inside the trigger guard until you've taken the safety off and are prepared to shoot at the target. Modern safety systems built into guns are very good at preventing accidental discharges - you can drop them, run them over, bang on them with a hammer, and they won't go off - until the trigger is pulled. Probably 98% of all accidents occur as a result of people breaking this rule. So keep that trigger finger straight, and resting alongside the trigger guard until you're prepared to shoot.
4. ALWAYS BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT. At a shooting range, the targets will be clear, and there is an ample backstop, but, for example, hunters in the woods must make sure that their target is in fact a game animal, not another hunter. Also, it is important to make sure of what is beyond the target, that the bullet will be stopped by the terrain, and that there are no people or other valuable things beyond.
Always remember - the best safety in the world is the one between the shooter's ears.
The Four Rules of Gun Safety (Legman's annotated version).
1. ALWAYS TREAT EVERY GUN AS THOUGH IT WERE LOADED. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Always assume every gun has ammunition in it and can go off, and treat it as such. Even if someone tells you it isn't loaded, verify for yourself. This is called "clearing" and it works differently for every gun. And no, it's not rude to clear a gun even if someone just told you it's unloaded - in fact, it's considered polite, because it shows you're concerned with their safety as well as your own. Now, obviously, as a practical matter, it's impossible to obey this rule 100% of the time, because it would make cleaning and dry-firing practice impossible. That being said, those are the only two circumstances when you don't adhere 100% to this rule. The rest of the time, even if you've cleared a gun and know it's unloaded, you still treat it as though it were, because it's simply good practice, and prevents falling into a potentially deadly bad habit. If you are dealing with a gun that you don't know how to clear, it's best to just leave it alone.
2. NEVER POINT A FIREARM AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO KILL OR DESTROY. This one is also sometimes written as "Always keep firearms pointed in a safe direction," which is what you actually do, but I prefer the phrasing above, because it really impresses on people the consequences of not following this rule. This doesn't just mean intentional pointing. You have to be aware of where the muzzle is and where it's pointing at all times, and keep it pointed in a safe direction, even when clearing or cleaning it. This safe direction is also referred to as 'downrange' sometimes, but that's only if you're at a shooting range. Up at the sky and down at the ground are also usually safe directions to point the weapon if you aren't at a range. If you pay close attention to these first two rules, you'll notice that they're redundant. As long as you never break both at the same time, even if you have an Accidental or Negligent Discharge, no serious harm will be done - which does not mean it's ever acceptable to break them, but it does permit cleaning and dry-firing as described above.
3. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO SHOOT. Don't even put your finger inside the trigger guard until you've taken the safety off and are prepared to shoot at the target. Modern safety systems built into guns are very good at preventing accidental discharges - you can drop them, run them over, bang on them with a hammer, and they won't go off - until the trigger is pulled. Probably 98% of all accidents occur as a result of people breaking this rule. So keep that trigger finger straight, and resting alongside the trigger guard until you're prepared to shoot.
4. ALWAYS BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT. At a shooting range, the targets will be clear, and there is an ample backstop, but, for example, hunters in the woods must make sure that their target is in fact a game animal, not another hunter. Also, it is important to make sure of what is beyond the target, that the bullet will be stopped by the terrain, and that there are no people or other valuable things beyond.
Always remember - the best safety in the world is the one between the shooter's ears.