4 Rules

There are 4 rules to gun safety. If you never violate them you’ll never have an accident except from mechanical failure. And mechanical failure is exceedingly rare and not usually as dangerous as a Negligent Discharge from a 4 – Rules violation. The four rules are:

1. All guns are loaded always



2. Never point or pass the muzzle over anything you do not intend to destroy.



3. Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target.



4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it. Don't fire at shadows and remember your bullet can go through your target and hit things behind it
   

Memorize them. Practice them. If you are lax, as I am sometimes, work at making yourself LESS lax. When I say 'lax', I mean 'not perfect'. You have to me tight and disciplined always. I made a little memory device of my own to help retention. I go over it before every gun session. It’s the 4 “B’s”: Bullet, Barrel, Bang-Switch, Bad-Guy. Easy enough.

I try to pay careful attention to adhering to rules 1 and 3 lately. Rule 3 is just a bad habit, from childhood cap-gun days. Keep that trigger finger straight out, always always. Rule 1 is a problem for me, or was, in that I ignored it with new gun purchases because I KNEW there was no ammo anywhere around so I never checked on guns because I never bought them ammo. And that lead to issues with pointing the barrel at stuff I shouldn’t, but inadvertently. I never aimed an unloaded weapon at anyone, even when I was careless with #3. Regardless, I hope I never fall into THAT habit again or I will have to kick my own ass or something. To not follow the rules is stupid.

When inspecting a gun or giving the gun to someone else to inspect you point in a safe direction, open the action and leave it open, insuring there are no cartridges in the weapon. Safety on is a bonus if there is one and you can engage it with and open action, but never rely on the mechanical safety, ever. The most important 'safety' on any gun is the one located between your ears. Keep that one engaged all the time. If you put a gun down after inspecting in and want to pick up again, even if it was down for a couple seconds, go through the whole process again. Point in a safe direction (not the sky), open the action, and be sure there is no round in the chamber or the cylinder/magazine.

You see evidence of violations of rule 3 all the time at gun ranges. Look at the ceiling. See those bullet holes? Someone had a finger on the trigger. Ever heard of a cop shooting himself in the leg? The newspaper says the gun “went off.” They call it an accidental discharge. Right. Someone went to draw his weapon and put his finger on the trigger and pulled up. When you hear someone say accidental discharge, 99% of the time he means negligent discharge.
Another thing. Alcohol and firearm don’t mix. I try to never even touch one after even one beer. And that’s hard at MBtGE’s house as he has lots of beer there for after work and after shooting relaxation. I don’t touch them at home after even one beer, ever, though. To shoot or load any firearm while drinking is unthinkable, at least.

Guns shouldn't go off when you drop them. Not modern ones at least. Those that COULD have mechanical failures from a worn sear or trigger release, or they have a poor design where the hammer is in contact with the primer. A gunsmith can help you out inspecting a gun for wear that could lead to an unsafe condition and he can tell you if the design is sound, too. But a gun sitting on a table will not go off. It is not a wild animal with a will of its own. It is very remote that it will go off if you drop it. Here's a tip, though: Don't DROP it. Even if it would never go off it is still bad for the gun.

Baseball bats don't kill people. People that take a baseball bat hit other people in the head kill people. Same with guns. You'd never swing a bat around wildly in a room full of people, it's just not safe! Don't violate the four rules either as that is like swinging a baseball bat around in a room full of people, even if there is no one else around. (well YOU are around, you don't want to hurt yourself.)

Finally: Firearms ownership is a massive responsibility. Everyone knows that, but people need to remind themselves more. Be Responsible. If you are not prepared for that heavy a burden you are not mentally prepared to have of handle a firearm. I read on Ten Ring blog about a public range where someone shot holes in the Porta Potty. And everyone has seen peppered road signs. That’s childish and irresponsible and it casts other gun owners in an ill light. Peppering a road sign is like donating $100 to the Brady Campaign. And the part of the Brady Campaign that will go after hunting iron as well as so-called Evil Black Guns (wooooooooooo, evil. EVIL!).