Some people seem to think that safe gun handling rules don't always apply to them, and this baffles me. The basic rules of gun safety are easy to follow as long as you are aware of your movements, and able to control your body. It is also worth noting that the basic gun safety rules don't just apply to new or less experienced shooters, they apply to everyone. In my experience often times newer shooters are much more safety conscious, because they haven't been around guns so long to get a laid back attitude towards gun safety, so it is something they are very aware of.
One of the last things that outgoing convoys saw leaving our base in Iraq was "Complacency Kills," spray painted in big letters on a concrete blast barricade. And I think that simple phrase is an important reminder to someone who routinely does an activity that has an element to danger. It doesn't just apply to firearms, shooting, or the military. It applies to sky or scuba diving, working with power tools, or even just our daily commute. If your attitude towards firearms safety is that you know it all, and you don't need to keep reading this blog on firearms safety, then you are exactly the kind of person who needs a refresher on gun safety. In fact, as I write this I will be evaluating my own gun safety habits, and re-affirming good habits. So, without further ado, the rules in my own language.
1. Never point a firearm at anything you do not wish to destroy. This is also sometimes stated as "Treat every gun as if it were loaded." A pet peeve of mine is when someone does something blatantly unsafe with a firearm, like point it at me, and then offers as a weak excuse "But it's unloaded!" Never is a pretty cut and dry word in my book, it is an absolute. Muzzle awareness seems to be one of the first things to start slipping when complacency sets in. As long as this rule is followed, the worst thing that can happen is some property damage. It is always the first rule listed for a reason, because it is the most imperative to firearms safety. But a few times a year you can open up your newspaper and read about someone being shot with an "unloaded" gun. Which is of course preposterous, unloaded guns can't shoot. Whenever you come upon a firearm that you are unsure of the condition of, you should point the firearm in a safe direction and conduct a visual and physical check of the chamber, in order to make sure the weapon is unloaded. If you don't know how to check the condition, find someone who does know how. But don't leave the firearm unattended where a child can find it.
2. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. This is one area where new shooters seem to struggle sometimes. Humans seem to have a natural inclination to put their finger on the trigger when they pick up a gun, it must be instinctive. But you as a shooter need to train yourself to keep your finger straight along the frame and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Especially with a gun that you are unfamiliar with. Triggers come in a wide range of weights, and some of them are very light, if you pick up a target rifle with a very light trigger and put your finger on the trigger, you could fire it unintentionally. So, keeping your finger off the trigger is important. Many modern sidearms have safety devices that means that the pistol can not fire unless the trigger is pulled correctly, and are also drop safe. So there is no way for them to just "magically go off by themselves" a human must interact with them in some way in order for them to fire a round.
3. Keep the firearm unloaded until you are ready to use it. This coincides with people who get shot by "unloaded" firearms. If you are not actively using the firearm, it should be unloaded. With ammunition separate. If this rule is followed, even if an unauthorized user gains access to the gun, they will not be able to fire it. I will add as a note here, a firearm that is kept for a defensive purpose is in use, and as such, should be kept loaded.
The fourth semi-official rule is that you should know your target, what lies beyond it, and in between it. There are some objects that should not be shot at, because of the high risk of ricochets, things like hardened steel straight on, bodies of water, and rocks. A ricochet can be just as deadly as a round straight out of the barrel, so you need to shoot at a target that will not send the whole bullet, of pieces of it, back towards you. Likewise, you need a safe backstop to shoot into. Once you pull the trigger, that bullet belongs to you, and you are responsible for what it does. So you must take the time and effort to make sure you have a safe backstop to shoot into. What is a safe backstop? The base of a hill, or a large pile of packed dirt, or some other material that will contain bullets in a safe manner. The final part is to know what lies in between. If you are shooting at a distance, you need to make sure no one, or thing is between you and the target that you don't want to shoot. With a rifle like an AR-15 with raised sights, you need to make sure that you are firing high enough over any obstructions to avoid ricochets. This also applies to scoped rifles, and rifles on bipods. To not be aware of your surroundings and shooting lane while shooting is extremely irresponsible, and can have dire consequences.
If these basic safety rules are followed, then you should never have a negligent discharge that causes property damage, or hurts someone that you don't want to. Hopefully this post has you contemplating your own firearms safety habit. If you own or use firearms, then safety is your responsibility. Letting complacency set in or ignoring safety rules can negatively impact your life forever, and following these simple rules really isn't that hard as long as you pay attention. Shooting is one of the safest sports that there is, and a sport that everyone can enjoy, and as long as we all do our part obeying the safety rules, it will stay that way.
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