Gun Safety Rules

If you are new to guns and shooting you want to learn the four standard safety rules.  If you are an old pro you want to teach these rules to the newbies.

 

    1. Always treat every gun as loaded. 

    When you pick up a gun, even your own, check to make sure it is unloaded.  Open the bolt, or eject the magazine, or swing open the cylinder, and finally check the chamber for the presence of a live round.  Do this religiously and eliminate the old excuse “I didn’t know the gun was loaded”, used after a gun accident.  If you are going to clean the gun, work on the gun, dry fire the gun, do anything short of firing the gun, you want it unloaded, you don’t want an accidental discharge.  You heard of that fatal gun accident involving Alex Baldwin on the set of the movie “Rust”?  If Baldwin had followed this rule that accident would not have happened and his camera woman would be alive today.

2. Never point a gun at anything you don’t intend to kill. 

    Just in case you have failed on rule 1, this rule will keep you from killing someone or something by accident. 

3.  Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.  

       If you don’t press the trigger the gun will not fire.

4. Don’t fire until the gun is pointed at the target and behind the target is clear.

      Stuff (houses, people, pets, cars whatever) must not be behind the target.  The humble .22 Long Rifle rim fire slug will travel a mile.  More powerful rounds go even farther.