Prepper's Armory: Gun Safety

I hope all our readers are familiar with the four basic rules of safe gun handling. There are, of course, other guidelines and rules for safely handling firearms, but these four are the ones that every new shooter should start with.

In my classes, after stating the basic rule I expand on them to clarify, and I will do so here as well. 

1) Treat every gun as if it's loaded.

Until you personally confirm a gun is unloaded yourself, always act as if it is loaded. Any time you’re not in control of that firearm, assume it became loaded and check again. Remember, ammo gremlins are everywhere.

2) Keep your finger off the trigger.

Until your sights are on target, your finger should be above the trigger on the frame or slide. Not alongside the trigger, as it's too easy for it to slip onto the trigger unintentionally.

I learned to shoot in summer camp when I was around eight years old. Our instructor was a crusty old ex-military guy. (Well, I say "old" because I was a child; he was probably in his thirties, which is a good twenty years younger than I am now.) One of his favorite phrases was “Keep your booger hook off the bang switch.” If it had been a particularly trying day, he'd add the favorite word of Red Foreman from That '70s Show.

3) Be aware of your target and what’s beyond that target.

If you’re shooting at an indoor range, beyond your target should be a properly constructed backstop. While the same should be true at an outdoor range, it's often easier to shoot over the backstop in that environment.

If you’re shooting at an informal range or sport shooting on someone’s property, this rule is even more important than usual. Remember: even the lowly .22 Rimfire can travel over a mile.

4) Always keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

Sometimes stated as "Never point a gun at something you don't intend to destroy", this is the most challenging of the four rules, and I rephrase it as "Keep the muzzle pointed in the least unsafe direction." For example, in my classroom one wall faces the store, another faces the bathrooms, the third wall another classroom, and the fourth the parking lot. Up is the ceiling and some expensive HVAC equipment.  Plus, whatever goes up comes down, and we’re below "up". In that room, down is a concrete slab with stick-on carpeting tiles. A bullet hitting that would ricochet at best, fragment and ricochet at worst.

So what’s the least unsafe direction there? Generally speaking, down and angled away from people. In that classroom, there is no truly safe direction. That’s why I call this one the most challenging rule.

One of the great things about these rules is that you generally have to break more than one of them for something to go horribly wrong. Unfortunately, many people either don’t seem to know these rules, or they know them but don’t follow them consistently. Between time spent at shooting ranges and working in gun shops, I’ve seen some of the poorest gun handling from people who should know better.

The two most common causes of negligent discharges and unintentional injuries with firearms are ignorance and carelessness. A negligent discharge is one that was caused by the negligence of a person, whereas an accidental discharge is one that’s caused by a malfunction of the firearm.

Ignorance, or lack of knowledge, is correctable by training. As long as the person is interested in and capable of learning, they can be educated in the rules of proper and safe gun handling, but carelessness, also called complacency or negligence, is harder to fix. These people do know better, but they don’t bother following the rules for various reasons.

If I had a dollar for every time I’d been flagged by a muzzle on the range or at the gun counter, by customers and coworkers alike, I could probably afford at least one more reasonably priced gun. The statement "Don't worry, it’s not loaded" has never comforted me since in all too many cases it simply isn’t true. 

As gun owners, it's our responsibility to set a good example, and this is especially true when it comes to gun safety. One of the best ways to pass this on is by teaching these rules to new shooters and rigorously practicing them ourselves. Whenever we pick up a firearm at a gun show, at a store, in our homes, or at the range, we need to follow these four rules as best we can. Don’t be ostentatious about it, just do it naturally and consistently.

In conjunction with this, don’t hesitate to kindly — and I emphasize kindly —correct others who are not behaving in a safe manner. A calm and gentle correction can go a long way; "Please watch your muzzle direction, it was pointed at me" goes down much better than "If you sweep me with that gun one more time, I’m going to make you eat it." If you’re at a range, and the situation persists, get the attention of the range safety officer, and let them handle it.

Be aware, be safe, and have fun on the range.