4 Firearms Safety Rules
- Treat every weapon as if it were loaded
- Never point the weapon at anything you don’t intend to destroy
- Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire
- Be sure of your target and what lies beyond
Whether you are picking up your first gun ever or are a professional that lives and works with guns every day, you should know, use, and live these four safety rules. This week we are going to review all four in depth.
Here is a video of the stupidest and luckiest person alive, and the best reason for firearms safety rule number two. Please, don’t try this at home.
I try to help people like this, but if they don’t want to listen, I leave. It’s not worth me being part of their accident.
Never point the weapon at anything you don’t intend to destroy. For some reason this is the rule most professionals violate continuously. Their number 1 excuse, “it’s not loaded” (See rule number 1 and yesterday’s post).
I worked for an armored car company in California for years. When the giant rollup door was opened to let a truck in or out of the building the policy was to have a guard there with a shotgun. Near the shotgun mount was four or five holes and one in the door it self from someone accidently shooting the gun.
Every night one of the supervisors would guard the door to take a smoke break. He would light his cigarette as the door was opening and then take the shotgun off the rack and throw it over his shoulder so he could use the other hand to smoke. When he put the shotgun over his shoulder, he pointed it at everyone inside. One of the former Marines that worked there asked him time and time again not to point the shotgun at him. He finally got tired of it and in true Marine fashion walked over, took the shotgun, and hit him with it. I thought it was funny, my supervisor wasn’t laughing.
I found that people are either like my supervisor and doesn’t care about the safety rules, or are fanatical about them.
A true professional and every good shooter I know are fanatical about safety.
Never point the gun at anything you don’t want to shoot, especially any part of you.
Stay Safe,
Ben