Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled "Four Rules of Gun Safety" and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/four-rules-of-gun-safety/.
Four Rules of Gun Safety
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
TidalWave
Professional
I appreciate these simpler lists…
Most of the safety topics list a half-dozen to as many as 20 on a list i once saw ( it went into Always wear hearing protection , etc).
its the very foundational basics that are my life guide…. Everything else is situational and I’ll adjust accordingly. My zen, anyway.
Most of the safety topics list a half-dozen to as many as 20 on a list i once saw ( it went into Always wear hearing protection , etc).
its the very foundational basics that are my life guide…. Everything else is situational and I’ll adjust accordingly. My zen, anyway.
Keystone19250
Ronin
Pure and basic items to focus on and live by. As responsible gun owners we need to set the example.
The rules are great; however two of the photos compromise the article's points. The first one with the press check shown presents the shooters little finger quite near where some shooters have shot their little finger off. The last one with the shooter presenting to a steel target with a building visible off to the left, a dog tied up downrange and a tree to the right. For ANY shot in practice you would really need to be " in my opinion" 100% negligent to even set up your target like this PRIOR to loading your pistol. The article is great; the photos posed need adjustment.
Jimbo
Elite
The four rules are excellent guidelines to follow. And there are some important benefits to these rules:
1. The fact that there are only four keeps it simple enough for people to remember them.
2. They overlap each other in some ways. If you follow all four all the time, you are often doubly or triply safe; if you forget to follow one of them, the other ones will generally take up the slack. For example, if you first make sure the gun is empty, and then inadvertently point it at someone, the second rule takes up the slack created by your forgetting to follow the first rule. However, following both rules keeps you and those around you doubly safe.
3. You can tell immediately whether or not someone is safe or unsafe, trained or untrained, with a gun by observing whether or not they are following these rules. My heart was cheered recently when I saw a young lady on the news with her first gun. She held the gun in her hand, and her finger was away from the trigger, resting on the trigger frame. I knew immediately that not only was she properly trained, but she followed her training.
By the way, if you just have to look down the barrel of your gun, point it at your camera and then look at the video feed.
1. The fact that there are only four keeps it simple enough for people to remember them.
2. They overlap each other in some ways. If you follow all four all the time, you are often doubly or triply safe; if you forget to follow one of them, the other ones will generally take up the slack. For example, if you first make sure the gun is empty, and then inadvertently point it at someone, the second rule takes up the slack created by your forgetting to follow the first rule. However, following both rules keeps you and those around you doubly safe.
3. You can tell immediately whether or not someone is safe or unsafe, trained or untrained, with a gun by observing whether or not they are following these rules. My heart was cheered recently when I saw a young lady on the news with her first gun. She held the gun in her hand, and her finger was away from the trigger, resting on the trigger frame. I knew immediately that not only was she properly trained, but she followed her training.
By the way, if you just have to look down the barrel of your gun, point it at your camera and then look at the video feed.
I think that The Four Rules, canonical, are an excellent place to start.
I believe it so deeply that when my daughter first started becoming interested I firearms that I ingrained those rules into her, right then and there.
By the time we'd moved on to shooting my airsoft replicas when she was a toddler, she could already apply those rules.
By the time we started going to the range together to shoot firearms, she could recite them, verbatim, cold and on-demand: and I made sure that we recited them each and every time we went to the range, as we were "suiting up" with our PPE.
It was both interesting - as well as a bit unsettling - to hear adult shooters not only commend "such a little girl' on being able to recite the rules, but to then hear the jokes of "Damn, even I couldn't recite them like that." I found the latter a bit disheartening.
To me, every shooter should, but perhaps that's why we so often see or read of range-incidents and other such tales of negligence.
For as great as The Four Rules are, though, I just as deeply believe that as shooters progress, we need to understand that the canonical rules are simply "lowest common denominator." That we need to approach especially Rules 1 (treat every firearm as though it is loaded) and 4 (always know your target's foreground and background) with additional nuance, and realize the real-world implications of Rules 2 (muzzle awareness) and 3 (trigger discipline). Understand that isn't just about treating every gun as though it is loaded: because in the real-world, there will be times when the gun is absolutely loaded and absolutely unloaded - and that it is instead our duty to "know the condition of our weapon." Understand that it isn't just about what's between you and the target or what's behind the target - or even what's to the side of that straight-line path - but also the entire 360-degree, 3-dimensional world that surrounds it. Understand that, as Ken Hackathorn noted, sometimes in the real world rules 2 and 3 are individually violated: but that grave consequences will come about should both be abridged at the same time.
The Four Rules, always.
I believe it so deeply that when my daughter first started becoming interested I firearms that I ingrained those rules into her, right then and there.
By the time we'd moved on to shooting my airsoft replicas when she was a toddler, she could already apply those rules.
By the time we started going to the range together to shoot firearms, she could recite them, verbatim, cold and on-demand: and I made sure that we recited them each and every time we went to the range, as we were "suiting up" with our PPE.
It was both interesting - as well as a bit unsettling - to hear adult shooters not only commend "such a little girl' on being able to recite the rules, but to then hear the jokes of "Damn, even I couldn't recite them like that." I found the latter a bit disheartening.
To me, every shooter should, but perhaps that's why we so often see or read of range-incidents and other such tales of negligence.
For as great as The Four Rules are, though, I just as deeply believe that as shooters progress, we need to understand that the canonical rules are simply "lowest common denominator." That we need to approach especially Rules 1 (treat every firearm as though it is loaded) and 4 (always know your target's foreground and background) with additional nuance, and realize the real-world implications of Rules 2 (muzzle awareness) and 3 (trigger discipline). Understand that isn't just about treating every gun as though it is loaded: because in the real-world, there will be times when the gun is absolutely loaded and absolutely unloaded - and that it is instead our duty to "know the condition of our weapon." Understand that it isn't just about what's between you and the target or what's behind the target - or even what's to the side of that straight-line path - but also the entire 360-degree, 3-dimensional world that surrounds it. Understand that, as Ken Hackathorn noted, sometimes in the real world rules 2 and 3 are individually violated: but that grave consequences will come about should both be abridged at the same time.
The Four Rules, always.
javbike
Professional
Sounds like you did good with training your daughter she’s smart too good common sense
Noticed that too.
Article is sometimes showing from a different perspective between what and what not to do from what seen.
If article was possibly showing both or all methods it could be better?
Depending what author was attempting to accomplish and show on pics between and of proper and improper safety methods, the pics differences could have been more clarified and stated this is what not to do especially for newbies. To me, better off only showing proper safety methods if article space is limited. Clear and concise instruction is usually best. Abbreviated, confusing safety instructions can be dangerous.
On the other hand, most if not all of us here, know correct safety methods and the article did get our attention to safety faults so we could discuss the articles intentions? *Am thinking some article pics were meant as attention grabbers to induce comments.
Susquash
Master Class
Just the way I taught my own kids. Even at a young age if someone handed them any firearm they would open the action to made sure it was clear. They still do it today and so do the grandkids.
I went back and read the caption under the.photos, and took both to be visual examples of what not to do.
Bear007
Custom
Agree.
cico7
Custom
Yes. Me too.
fordag
Elite
Why was it felt the order of the rules needed to be changed? One & two are reversed in the article.
They have always been:
1. All guns are always loaded!
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy!
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target!
4. Always be sure of your target!
– Jeff Cooper
They have always been:
1. All guns are always loaded!
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy!
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target!
4. Always be sure of your target!
– Jeff Cooper
HayesGreener
Professional
I add #5. Always know the condition of your firearm.
fordag
Elite
“We hoped by this time that the standard rules of safe gunhandling would have become universal throughout the world. They have been arrived at by careful consideration over the years, and they do not need modification or addition..."
-Jeff Cooper
HayesGreener
Professional
There are other ways to phrase the rules
cico7
Custom
The NRA has 3 primary rules:
1) ALWAYS Keep your gun pointed in a safe direction
2) ALWAYS Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Ready To Shoot
3) ALWAYS Keep The Gun Unloaded Until Ready To Use
As long as you are following them, I don't think it matters how word it.
When using or storing a gun, always follow these additional NRA rules:
gunsafetyrules.nra.org
1) ALWAYS Keep your gun pointed in a safe direction
2) ALWAYS Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Ready To Shoot
3) ALWAYS Keep The Gun Unloaded Until Ready To Use
As long as you are following them, I don't think it matters how word it.
When using or storing a gun, always follow these additional NRA rules:
NRA Gun Safety Rules
At the NRA, firearm education and safety is paramount—that’s why we offer a variety of programs and services to promote the safe handling, use and storage of firearms.