1. Every weapon is
always loaded.
There is no such thing
as a safe weapon. Whenever you hand someone a weapon, even one you KNOW
is
unloaded, clear it in front of them. Drop the magazine, rack the slide,
do a visual and physical inspection
of the chamber, (with your eyes then your finger) then hand it over with
the muzzle facing skyward.
Fully expect the person to whom you handed the weapon to clear it again,
because you never can be too
sure. You can apologize for hurt feelings or a misunderstanding, but there
is no apology for a 230-grain
jacketed hollow point. It can’t be taken back.
2. Keep your trigger
finger straight and out of the trigger guard until you’re ready
to fire.
This seems pretty
simple, but how often do you see someone who is still setting their feet
or getting their
grip right on the butt of the weapon, but they’ve got their finger
on the trigger the whole time? On the
trap range, I see it quite a bit. Someone on the squad will shoulder a
shotgun with his or her finger on
the trigger prior to calling for the bird. I’m not that great of
a trap shot, and even I know there’s plenty
of time to get your finger in there once the bird appears. Why risk, at
the very least, the embarrassment
of firing a shot into the air in front of friends and strangers before
you ever see the bird?
3. Never point a weapon
at anything you don’t intend to destroy.
There is nothing funny
about mock-threatening, poking or pointing at someone with a weapon, even
one
you know is unloaded (see rule number one). The District Attorney’s
office calls it assault, and they don’t
joke around a little bit. Even unconsciously letting your muzzle drift
across another shooter can bring, at
best, a stern warning and a few pointed comments regarding your common
sense and your care for your
shooting partners or teammates. The property lacking in the person guilty
of such an offense is called
muzzle awareness. If you’re always aware of just where your weapon
is pointing, no matter what you’re
doing, you’ll be in good shape. It takes practice and concentration
to attain muzzle awareness, but your
fellow shooters will thank you for it.
4. Be sure of your
target and the background.
There was a case in
the early 80’s of a licensed hunter on a large eastern military
base who shot a
jogging serviceman full in the chest with a load of #6 shot because he
mistook the man’s gray T-shirt for
a squirrel.
A snap shot at a moving
object the right color, but surely not the right size, cost a man his
life. When
hunting or on an exercise, you should take even more care, because those
around you are very likely to
be dressed to blend into their surroundings. It’s far better to
miss a target or give up a 10 point buck
than to have to explain what happened to the police and a grieving spouse.
Consider the location of
roads, buildings, trails and other points of interest that could conceivably
draw someone into your area of
operations.
5. Never accept disregard
for shooting safety by anyone.
Don’t hold back
a reasonable request for someone to follow one of these rules because
they’re older or
more experienced or unknown to you. If they’re shooting in your
area of operations, they’re responsible
for your safety, and you have to be responsible for theirs. Calling someone’s
attention to the fact that,
every time they experience a stoppage of fire, they point their weapon
down along the range is
everyone’s duty who witnesses the act. Don’t stand idly by
and watch yourself or another get hurt out of
embarrassment or shyness.
I hope these rules
are helpful. They’ve been drummed into me by my grandfather, father
and uncles and
later, marksmanship instructors in the military. These few short lessons,
if incorporated into your actions
whenever you’re armed or around others who are, will see you safely
through your next training session,
hunt or pop can shooting session.