Four Fundamental Rules of Gun Safety

When you handle a firearm, you may envision having a blast at the range, hunting for food and sport, or protecting your family, yourself, and your property or business from dangerous criminals. You need to take a moment and envision something else: the tragic consequences a gun accident. Gun safety mistakes can have consequences that last forever. According to the U.S. Centers For Disease Control, in 2001, accidental gunshots caused 802 deaths in the United States. As a gun owner, you have a huge personal responsibility to handle and store your weapons properly so that you and your family and friends never contribute to those statistics.

On Internet firearms forums and gun magazines, an accidental gunshot is referred to as a negligent discharge (ND). They are called negligent because they happen when someone is careless in handling a firearm. Responsible gun owners learn about negligent discharges so that they can avoid making similar mistakes with a firearm. Nearly every negligent discharge begins with a violation of the basic gun safety rules set forth by the National Rifle Association. If you are meticulous about following gun safety rules and treat every gun as if it were loaded, you almost completely eliminate the chance of a negligent discharge and you minimize the consequences should a negligent discharge occur.

Even if you have owned a firearm for a long time, it can never hurt to review the basic rules of gun safety. When it comes to gun safety, complacency can be a killer. This article will go over the four most basic NRA rules of gun safety. There are additional gun safety rules that you should know and they will be covered in future articles. These rules are the most essential rules for keeping you alive around guns.

1. ALWAYS keep your gun pointed in a safe direction. You simply don't point your firearm at people, pets, or property. Many people reinforce this rule saying "Don't point your gun at anything you aren't willing to destroy." Fatal negligent discharges are frequently the result of horseplay with firearms. Pointing a gun at someone is not a joke and it is never funny.

2. ALWAYS keep your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot. The amount of force required to pull a trigger can vary by firearm. Some firearms require only a light touch to discharge while others may require a more vigorous pull. If you get in the habit of immediately placing your finger on the trigger when handling a pistol, you increase the chance that you will shoot yourself when holstering or unholstering your firearm. If you bump into something while your finger rests on the trigger, you may accidentally discharge your firearm. When negligent discharges are discussed on Internet forums, a finger carelessly on the trigger when holstering or unholstering a pistol is frequently a cause.

3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to fire. A lot of people have been negligently shot and killed with guns that were thought to be unloaded. Obviously, this rule conflicts with being ready to instantly use a firearm for self-defense. Most people interpret this rule as keeping a firearm unloaded until you are ready to carry it for self-defense or until you are ready to actually shoot at the range or in a hunting situation. If you keep your firearm unloaded when it is being stored, you greatly reduce the chance the a child or unauthorized user will be able to fire your firearm accidentally. For home defense firearms, if you secure your house in such a way that you get some warning of an intrusion, you should have time to access and load your firearm very quickly by using a box magazine (or clip) or speed-loader.

4. Know your target and what lies beyond. When Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a friend while hunting, he was so totally focused on his target that he lost track of what was behind his target. If you go hunting, you need to positively identify that your target is a legal game animal and you need to know what is behind your target. You don't want a stray bullet or shotgun pellets flying into a residential area, other hunters, or a road. Similarly, target shooters need to make sure that they are firing into a safe backdrop. Even a common .22 long rifle cartridge can travel a mile and a half.

Although there are more gun safety rules, these four basic rules of gun safety are absolutely crucial for every shooter to live by. These safety rules are designed to overlap so that if you have a lapse in one area, you might be protected by adherence to another safety rule. If your finger isn't on the trigger, your gun is not going to go off. If your gun is pointed in a safe direction, it probably won't harm anyone if it does go off. If you gun really is unloaded, it won't shoot if you pull the trigger. If you know what you are shooting at and what lies behind your target, you won't hit anything you don't intend to shoot. Ultimately, if you treat every gun as if it were loaded, you won't do anything stupid with it. There is no excuse for negligence in handling a gun. Think about these rules, memorize them, live by them, share them with others, and make sure you read the rest of the NRA's gun safety rules.

Sources:
NRA Gun Safety Rules. National Rifle Association, (http://www.nrahq.org/education/guide.asp )
Statistics, Gun Control Issues, and Safety. WebPath: The Internet Pathology Laboratory for Medical Education. http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNSTAT.html