Gun Safety

The true meaning of gun control

Rich Raspy Shawver A very important subject the newest user and to the crustiest of the old guard. Initial training should be more than reading writings such as this. It really requires hands on instruction from a certified instructor. You cant ask an essay, questions. It can also not show you what it is talking about. To the old coots out there you to can benefit from periodic review of the procedures. Now dont take offence at the coot reference Im one too. How many bad habits have you picked up through familiarity or shear sloppiness? I am not a certified safety instructor. Just a person that has dealt with firearms for many years. You may take these ramblings for what they are worth. So dont take them as gospel. Get a second or even a third opinion. You think it cant happen? How many feel comfortable using a knife? Thats about the time you end up going, Ah (What a bear does in the woods.) Can somebody get me the bandages or maybe this will need stitches. I refer to gun safety rather than firearms because this can range from the most insipid BB gun to an 18inch navel cannon. They dont all use fire. Safety concerns and practices should be initiated upon approaching the weapon you are about to use not when you have actually gotten a hold of it. Dont ever treat a lesser weapon as something lesser as they can have just as grave consequences as their bigger brethren can. Oh its just a BB gun. Have you ever been shot by one? Hurts dont it? And as the old saying goes Youll shoot your eye out kid. Fact my mom actually shot out my uncles eye with a bb gun when they were kids. There have been documented cases where even the mighty grizzly bear has been killed with a 22. Besides when you take short cuts with the lower powered ones the practice will eventually creep into the use of the higher-powered ones. This can eventually lead to a lethal combination. Now the rules: 1. Treat every gun as if it were loaded. 2. Know the weapon. 3. Never point a gun at anything you do not intend to destroy or kill. 4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you intend to shoot. 5. Maintain a minimum state of readiness. 6. Know your target. Why this order? Most consider number 3 to be the primary rule of safety. This is very true. But the first two are before you approach it, number 3 starts when you get to it. What do these rules mean? 1. Treat every gun as if it were loaded.

With the exception of combat during a war more people have probably been killed or injured by an empty gun than any other reason. The excuse of I didnt know it was loaded just wont fly. If you are handling a gun it is your responsibility to know. Even then you could be wrong. Dont take the chance. Even if you have just finished unloading it act as if it is loaded. NEVER, repeat NEVER take another persons word that a gun is unloaded. Check it yourself. Even if you saw the other person check it anyway. Make it a habit. The gun is now your responsibility. An experienced shooter will respect your responsible attitude. If the other person starts squawking about trusting them it is a sure sign they do not deserve that trust.

Treating an unloaded weapon differently can lead to bad habits. An instant of inattention or forgetfulness could lead to a tragedy. If you develop bad habits with that unloaded gun eventually you will do the same thing with a loaded one. I know of a person who was practicing with his gun in his living room. Dry firing at various targets around the room. While taking a break he decided to cycle some rounds to check the action. This happened to be a semi-auto. Later he was sure that the gun was empty. He went back to dry firing. Surprise, surprise a loud bang ensued. Fortunately the only casualty was the TV set. It could have been worse. He had been earlier targeting the family pet for a moving target. Others around you have no way of knowing if it is loaded or not. To say the least they will be justly upset if you do something in their eyes that is unsafe or down right stupid. If they know gun safety they will assume it is loaded and may act accordingly. You may not be overly pleased with that reaction. How could you be wrong? You missed one. You forgot. Someone else loaded it. Its a different gun. There are many different ways it could be loaded. 2. Know the weapon.

How can you use a gun safely if you dont know how it works? This is where hands on with an instructor really comes to the fore. You see it demonstrated and can ask questions. Even if you are an old pro at gunhandling odds are you havent handled them all. Different makes and models have different quirks. Even different years of the same gun may have different features. A safety added, removed or how it operates may have changed. Dont be embarrassed to ask about something you are not sure about. It wont show that you are foolish or any the less knowledgeable. It could be a senior moment. It shows you are conscientious about safety. Only a fool would scorn you. Those that are know what they are doing will respect you all the more for your intelligence. Here is a classic example that I heard about many years ago of ego overriding good sense. While setting up a raid a FBI agent made a foolish error in judgement. Remember this is a professional trained in the use of a wide variety of firearms. He was issued a submachine gun. Now some subs operate from a closed bolt but others operate from an open bolt condition. Well the model he was issued was of the open bolt style. Never having been exposed to a weapon of this type he made his mistake. Thinking to ready the weapon he proceeded to close the bolt. Grasping the lever on the side of the bolt he squeezed the trigger to ease the bolt forward to the closed position. You guessed it. It slipped. Several uncontrolled rounds being fired were the results. Fortunately the only casualties were the raid being compromised and the reputation of the agent involved. It could have been much worse. But a few simple questions would have been a lot less embarrassing. Overweening pride is no excuse. If you have a doubt or question ask. 3. Never point a gun at anything you do not intend to destroy or kill.

Always control the muzzle. Be aware of where and what it will hit at all times. When a gun goes bang the bullet goes where it is pointed. It has no brain you need to supply that. The projectile will make a hole in anything it encounters along its path until it runs out of energy. Thats its purpose in life. Those resultant holes will at least damage if not outright destroy what they are in. If it is a living creature man or beast this can be injury or death as a final outcome. Unless you have a very good reason never point it at people. The exception would be a self-defense situation. Outside of it being downright rude. It can lead to an outcome that you will not enjoy. That other person will be justifiably upset with you for pointing it at them. They may react badly. If they are armed they could shoot you in self-defense. The police may even get involved. It is called brandishing and terroristic threats. You had better have a good reason for your actions or it could cost you dearly in both

time and money. The excuse of it was just a joke does not work. Even if you are in the right it could cost you. Additionally along this line of thinking, have the sights properly adjusted. It doesnt do a whole lot of good if you aim at one thing and hit something else. The sights need to be adjusted to a range that is appropriate for the intended use. You dont sight a high-powered long-range rifle for 20 feet. Conversely you dont sight a pistol or shotgun in for 200 yards. There is some practicality in the equation. Sure, sure except on the range you will not be shooting exact ranges. You will have to adjust the point of aim from experience to compensate for ballistics. When shooting at a range you should practice at varying distances to keep this skill sharp. 4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you intend to shoot.

The time difference between finger on the trigger or outside the guard is insignificant. If you are on the verge of using the gun in most cases you are keyed up. If something startles you the slightest twitch could cause you to pull the trigger even though you dont intend to. The tension you are under could easily cause you to clench your hand meaning your trigger finger without even being aware of it. That is until you receive the further shock of a very loud noise. You may hit something or someone you dont want or intend to. 5. Maintain a minimum state of readiness.

The situation you find yourself in will be the determining factor. Most of the time this means unloaded. It should be obvious that an in house defensive weapon or one being carried for near term use should be loaded and near ready. As firing time approaches the state of readiness increases to the firing point. At the range keep it unloaded and the action open until ready to fire. Most ranges have rules to this effect. In hunting this means keep it unloaded until you reach the hunting area. Depending upon the type of hunting that is intended the level would vary. If you are grouse or other bird hunting it needs to be fully loaded and ready to go except for the safety being on. Ready to disengage the safety as the gun is brought to the shoulder for the shot. Additionally when hunting in a situation where there is a high probability of loosing control of the weapon it should be unloaded or at the very least the action needs to be open. Actions such as climbing into a tree stand, crossing a fence, climbing up or down a steep embankment and fording a stream. All of the kinds of things, that can easily lead to slips and falls. Then who knows where the gun would be pointed if it happened to fire from being dropped? If you do have such a fall be sure that you also check that the barrel has not become obstructed with dirt or debris. 6. Know your target.

If you are not sure what you are shooting at dont pull the trigger. Additionally you need to be aware of what is behind your target. You just may miss. It happens even to the best. The bullet may pass through the target. It would then hit something else. Maybe something very important. You also need to be aware of the possibilities of ricochets. Bullets have been known to bounce in funny ways. In hunting never shoot at that rustling in the bushes. Make sure you actually have a real target in your sights before firing. The imagination can play tricks on you. Be sure, it is better to miss an opportunity than be in the middle of a calamity. The way the world works even if that rustle is a world record trophy youre going to miss. But if that noise is hunter Joe Schmoo from down the road. You probably hit him. Not a good situation to be faced with. Even if you miss he may very well be upset enough to return fire. The same basic concepts apply to self-defense. Positively identify your target. You DO NOT shoot through things, at sounds or shadows. That is a good way to shoot at an innocent victim. You hear of too many cases where a teen or spouse is shoot for slipping in at a late hour. You sure dont want this to be you.

These rules are the core for good gun safety. But by no means the complete story. Being long winded by nature I figure I will cover a few more situations of concern. But by no stretch of the imagination everything. ITS FOR THE CHILDREN. At least thats the phrase used to try taking guns away. It and some of the other methods of dealing with kids and guns is wrong. The most effective method is education not fear. It doesnt matter. How tight or what devices you use to lock up a weapon. They will eventually fine a way around it or you will forget now and then. Regardless of how well you hide it. They will find it. Notwithstanding attempts to place it beyond their reach. They will reach it. When curiosity drives they will somehow find a way. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but with time the seeking mind and nimble fingers can and will defeat or circumvent any obstacle you put in their path. Even if you maintain perfect vigilance [and you wont]. They can be exposed to firearms in so many ways outside your home. Your only hope is to remove the mystery. Allow your children handle, even fire your weapons under your close supervision of course. Let them know that when they are mature [not age but responsible] enough They will be able to do so on their own. Never set an age on any activity for children. Set standards that when they have shown that they can take responsibility for their actions. They will receive said responsibility. This not only gives them incentives in handling firearms but in everything in life Even at an early age take them along shooting. Not only teach but also demonstrate proper gun safety. Dont be to surprised if you make a goof that the might correct you. Saying I thought you told me? Thank them and praise them for being on the ball. When teaching children never scream, rant or rave and most of all do not belittle them. Making mistakes is not dumb or stupid it is the way children are. You correct mistakes and definitely praise good work. In fact there should be more praise than correction. It should go something like this. You did good here, here and here. You forgot this. Next time you will do better. Positive reinforcement works much better than a negative approach. Instead of prying around they will be trying to earn your trust to show they can do it the right way. The NRA sponsors the Eddie Eagle Program geared specifically towards youngsters. This is an outstanding resource to use. Maintain in proper working order. Regular cleaning and general maintenance is essential to proper operation. If something doesnt work right or there is a question about the condition get it to someone that knows for sure. The early M-16s suffered from carbon buildup from the ammunition compromising the gas system. Leading to short cycling and failure to feed problems. They even produced a comic book on cleaning to overcome the problem. If you see signs of problems such as damaged brass get it to a gunsmith. Although with training and experience you can learn some portion of gunsmithing to do it yourself. Ammunition: Use proper storage to keep from damaging it. If you do not keep it in the original box make sure it is well labeled. Not only for safety concerns but remember some firearms work better with specific loads. Use the correct ammunition for the gun in question. Even though it fits it may not work correctly. If you have an older weapon that is not rated for it. You then stuff it full of modern rounds such a +P and +P+.

You could end up with some doctor picking pieces of the action out of your face. Not a real pleasant way to spend the rest of your day. Be careful if using reloaded ammunition. Reloading is a great way to extend your budget. Either do it yourself or be very confident in the skills of whomever you get it from. An error in reloading can result in anything from a failure to fire to pieces flying in every direction. Although reloading precautions and the attendant dangers is a matter for a different discussion. Dont mix and match what ammunition you carry. No not bullet type but caliber. Only carry the ammo for what you are carrying. If because you are carrying several weapons. Keep the different rounds in different locations. Keep them separated. This is to avoid putting the wrong one in the wrong place. This example was shown to me when I was in scouting. The local game warden conclusively showed what a danger this could be. He took an old junker 12-gauge shotgun. He took a 20-gauge shell and allowed it to slide down the barrel. This could easily happen if you had a mix of 20s and 12s in your pocket. He then loaded a 12. After fixing the shotgun he fired it with a string from cover. The end result was what he showed us at the safety lecture. Very impressive to say the least. About half way down the barrel a hole with a large curl of metal and obviously some missing pieces. It shows how easily a smaller caliber round could slide into and become an obstruction of the barrel with devastating results. It doesnt go bang. This condition can be caused by a number of reasons. Its not loaded. Why? You forgot. It failed to chamber the next round from the magazine. Could be operator error. A magazine malfunction. A bad mag. Or an improperly seated one. A gas system problem. ETC. If you know the reason. Fix it. If you dont know it would be best to discover the reason. A misfire could be a bad round or a light strike from the firing pin. A hang fire. This is where a round does a slow burn. Unless there is a very pressing reason such as a combat or defensive situation wait about 30 seconds with the weapon pointed at the target. This delay is to allow the round to finish the burn still confined in the chamber. If you eject immediately and it finishes in the open air, while it may not kill you it could ruin your day depending where it is at the time. A squib round is a weak or no powder charge shot. The indication of this would be by a weak sounding report or odd feeling recoil. The danger of this is the bullet could be lodged in the barrel. If the next round is fired this could lead to rapid and uncontrollable disassembly of the weapon. Not a real good practice to become involved in. The actions that need to be taken are to immediately unload and check the chamber and barrel. This may or may not require a trip to the local smith for removal. The Safety(s) A Safety is a mechanical device built into the weapon by the manufacturer. Its function is to minimize the chance of an accidental discharge. Note I said minimize not prevent. A SAFETY IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SAFE HANDLING PRACTICE. Use it but do not rely upon it. The use of a safety is part of keeping a weapon at the minimum readiness level. Being a mechanical device it can fail. Depending on the type it will only block the pull of the trigger it can still fire if dropped.

Never defeat a safety device. Yes I know some of them are a royal pain in the neck. Although on some others and I have a lower opinion, about 3 feet lower in fact. Especially on a firearm intended for defensive use. If happenstance requires you to use it in self defense expect to face time in a court room one way or the other be it criminal or civil. If you have defeated a safety device expect to be painted as a bloodthirsty maniac. Whose sole purpose is to kill. You are not a victim defending yourself. But a beast stalking your prey. Looking and hoping to find someone that you could murder under the guise of protecting you and yours. Look he/she intentionally defeated a safety device to make it even deadlier. Yes I know it is a bunch of bull. Just hope someone like me is on the jury. Wear eye and ear protection whenever possible. Sure in a defensive situation or when hunting they might get in the way. But the vast majority of round that you fire over your lifetime will be at a range. Whether a formal range, backyard shooting or and impromptu session on an outing. At a range there will be smoke and flames. Add in brass flying from autos, pieces of bullets shaved by the forcing cone of revolvers and back splash from rounds hitting solid objects there are a lot of things flying in the air at a range. As the eyes are so vulnerable wrap-a-round shooting glasses is the only sensible way to go. Besides an eye patch is not quite my style. The loss of depth perception can really affect your accuracy in the future. Hearing loss is cumulative. Muffs or plugs are your choices to minimize the damage. Whereas if your shooting is done at an indoor range you might want to use both due to the increased levels from reflection. Spending your senior years running around going, Eh, Wud you say is not fun to contemplate. You may end up doing it anyway but why rush it. Drink and drugs Anything that impairs your thinking processes is a huge mistake. This should include some over the counter medicines. Is there more to safety than this. Sure. But this should get you on the right track.