Firearms Safety and Range Etiquette Podcast 313

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Let’s talk Range Etiquette and Firearms Safety

I went to the range on Black Friday with a friend just to shoot the bull and some steel. We went to Lonestar Handgun here in San Antonio where they have lots of steel out on the pistol line that we can just shoot at while talking.

I was worried that on Black Friday it would be a mess. Too many people in too small a place. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But there is always one…

Unfortunately, I think it was a member of the range staff and I could see his mistake coming even if he didn’t. As range staff, instructors, and “firearms experts” we should be setting the example of how we want people to act on the range and how new shooters should act with a firearm.

For some reason he kept going back behind the counter and then walking to the line with a handgun pointed down, slide locked back, and filled magazine in his other hand. The first time he almost waited until he got into the booth before inserting the magazine and letting the slide go home to chamber a round. If I did that they would call it a safety violation and I’d expect to be at least talked to.

After the third or fourth time, he kept loading the magazine sooner and sooner while walking around the counter towards the firing line, he lifted the gun up in his workspace pointing the gun down the line of shooters, including me and my friend.

I tried to say something nice, but the sound of gunfire overwhelmed the words. And the fact that he was now looking back at the other range staff saying something.

A loud “hey, watch where you point that thing” came out before I could think of something more kind to say. He pointed the gun down range and that was the end of that. I’m always afraid I’ll get blowback when I say something, but I guess I’m big enough looking that no one really wants to mess with me.

If you have been around guns at all in your life, try to be the example of how guns should be handled any time you have one. There is always someone watching.

Just a recap of some of the safety stuff to follow. We could all use a refresher from time to time.

1. Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
2. Always point the gun in the safest direction possible.
3. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
4. Know your target and what lies beyond.

Some of you will notice that I have been changing number 2. The original from Jeff Cooper, the father of modern pistol fighting, was “never point the gun at anything you don’t intend to destroy.” I don’t like never’s, but like always when I’m trying to teach my brain to do something. No, I’m not implying that I’m smarter than Cooper, just that on the shoulders of giants we can see further. I’ve studied his work for almost 20 years.

Those four safety rules apply everywhere, always. They don’t change at the range, because you are an “expert” or an “advanced shooter” or any other BS reason I’ve heard. They always apply to everyone… always.

I use those safety rules at the range with friends, at high-speed low-drag spec ops schools I’ve been to, and in combat. They work.

Everything else is range etiquette. Some ranges will call them “range rules” or “safety rules” but they are just a way to respect other shooters.

Some of the simple basics should be:

• • Only unbag or unholster your firearm when you are on the firing line and there is no one downrange.
• • Never touch your firearm when there is someone downrange. You wait until everyone is back.
• • Load firearms on the firing line only.
• • Leave actions open when the gun is sitting on the table so everyone knows the condition of the firearm.
• • Don’t rush in or out.
• • Make sure the muzzle of the firearm is always pointed down range even when bagging and unbagging the firearm.
• • Stay in your lane. Unless someone is doing something incredibly stupid, leave them alone.
• • Don’t move guns from bay to bay unbagged.
• • The only proper way to move a gun off the firing line is in a bag, box, or holster.
• • If it is loaded it should be in your hand to shoot, or in a holster that protects the trigger from being accessed until removed. Long guns should have the safety on when not firing and should not be bagged with a round in the chamber.

I’m sure I forgot a couple, but if you stick to the safety rules and the above etiquette, people will appreciate going to the range with you a lot more.

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Stay Safe,

Ben