Firearms safety is important. VERY Important. It’s easy to be safe with your gun if you know the rules and follow them. Generally there are only 4 of them that you need to remember, and some additional best practices that are not hard and fast rules but rather good ideas to keep in mind to keep yourself and the people around you safe.
First, lets talk about the safety rules in the context of Self Defese. Context is key.
In traditional firearm safety classes typically are taught with a lot of absolutes…”always do this”, “never do that”…. but really in the context of self defense, there are not very many “Absolutes”. Everyday firearms handling is a bit different so in this article we are going to approach the rules in a slightly modified way. There are differences between simply going to the range where it’s a really controlled situation and everything is always a very specific way. You’re always taking your firearm in unloaded in a case. You walk up to a bench and put everything down in front of you. Then you fire in a specific direction every. single. time. You know exactly what to expect. When you start to enter the realm of being a “citizen defender” and walking around in public with a loaded firearm, those absolutes tend to be a little different. The context of the situation that you may be required to operate in is going to be unique. I want to address the safety rules in a way that makes sense and is contextually responsible.
One: In my opinion, the most important (and maybe the most absolute) rule of all: Always keep your trigger finger straight, off of the trigger and out of the trigger guard until you are on target and have made the decision to shoot. Preferably in the “high register” position. There is a difference between being “on target” and being “on target and have made the decision to shoot”. If you’re on target but you have your finger on the trigger and you haven’t yet made the decision to shoot and you get startled, what’s going to happen? BANG! Get the idea? If we follow this rule at all times there is very little chance of having an accident. This is why I say this is probably the most important rule of them all. So Important, in fact, that it bears repeating: Always keep your trigger finger straight, off of the trigger and out of the trigger guard until you are on target and have made the decision to shoot. Barring some sort of freak accident while re-holstering or a severe mechanical malfunction, your pistol will not discharge if your finger is not on the trigger.
Two: Treat every gun as though it’s loaded-even if you know for sure that it’s not. This applies all the time….when you are alone in your house, when you’re looking at someone else’s firearm, when you’re at the store receiving a firearm from a salesperson or from someone else…treat it as though it is loaded. Now, if you carry every day, there are many times when your pistol will be loaded so this rule is especially important! Treat every gun as though it’s loaded-even if you know for sure that it’s not. I think rules one and two are the only “absolutes” as in: follow these to the letter all the time.
Next, we’ll take a look at some of the more contextual rules.
Three: Keep the gun pointed in the safest possible direction. A lot of people say “Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.” or “Never point your gun at anything that you are not willing to destroy“. “Safe direction” is a relative term. If I’m in an indoor range and am facing the target that I’m getting ready to shoot…downrange in the general direction of the target backstop would be the safe direction. If I’m outdoors on grass or dirt, for instance, slightly downward in front of myself could also be a safe direction. Many times with rifles and shotguns people want to sling them over their shoulder…in certain instances with the action open or with the manual safety on, that can also be a safe direction. What I’m really getting at here is that sometimes it’s really hard to reconcile “safe direction” with concealed or open carry. For example, I carry in the appendix position (roughly 12 o’clock) inside the waistband and my pistol is almost always pointing at something that is very important to me! Most sane people would not consider that a safe direction!! So now we encounter a conflict if we’re following the letter of the absolute rule, “Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction” In this context, I would consider appendix carry using a well fitting kydex holster with trigger protection to be “the safest possible direction”. I’m not even able to touch the trigger while my gun is pointing at my “vital organs”. Honestly, it took some adjustment before I was totally comfortable with this idea but after a few weeks the fear of shooting myself in the junk gave way to a very healthy respect for the gravity of the situation. That being said, extra special care should be taken when re-holstering, for obvious reasons. At this point we can see see how all of the rules begin to work together. Though sometimes we will technically have our firearm pointed in a not-so-safe direction, there are other rules that are in play which are still keeping us safe. We will have to make some modifications to the traditional safety rules should we decide to carry a firearm, whether concealed or openly.
In the context of carrying a loaded weapon, maybe an even more accurate and practical way to articulate this rule would be to say “Do not point your firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy, when it is out of the holster and the trigger is unprotected.”
Four: Be sure of your target and beyond! This is also extremely important. You are responsible for every single bullet that is fired from your gun. Let that sink in a moment. Every time your gun is discharged, whether intentionally or not, that projectile must be accounted for. Bullets pass right through the paper targets at the range, yes, but they can also travel great distances after penetrating other things too, like sheetrock(your house, your neighbors house), watermelons, plywood, windows, doors, even skin, muscle and bone. Where am I going with this?
Let’s break it down:
“Be sure of your target…..” This means we should have a positive I.D. of our target, or in the context of self-defense, the threat who has shown lethal intent. In other words, know what you’re shooting at. If it’s dark, illuminate the suspected threat with a flashlight for identification rather than firing blindly at a dark figure. Also, be sure you are legally authorized to shoot.
“….and what’s beyond[it]” Be sure that you can actually hit the intended target. If you miss, could there be collateral damage? If you hit, is there likely to be over-penetration? If you are not using the proper ammunition(some type of hollow point) the answer is likely yes. In 1998 the NYPD found that 46% of innocent bystanders that were struck by police bullets were hit by rounds that passed through an attacker’s body, or through another object. Equally troubling, 39% of police officers struck by “friendly fire” were hit by bullets that over-penetrated the bodies of attackers the police were battling. The NYPD switched entirely to hollow point ammunition after this discovery. In some life-threatening situations, you may not be able to be sure of your target or what is beyond it. (such as in a crowded room or at a large event) In these instances, you must not shoot.
Additional things to consider:
“Make a gun to take a gun” If you want to easily remember the first and most important rule, you can hold your hand like a finger gun before picking up an un-holstered firearm. You know, just like when you were a kid with your thumb and forefinger. This ensures that your hand is already in a good position to keep your finger off of the trigger.
“Learn your firearm” Read the instruction manual. Before you ever put any ammunition in your gun you should understand exactly how it works. Take it apart, see how it works and give it a good cleaning and lubrication. Make sure that you understand all the major parts and how they work together. Become familiar with your pistol before you ever take it to the range, before you ever put a round of ammunition in it. The last thing you want is to have a negligent discharge because you were trying to figure out how your gun works with ammunition in it!
“Use the proper ammunition” The caliber of your pistol can typically be found stamped somewhere on the barrel. Check and make sure that you are purchasing and loading the correct ammunition for the caliber that your firearm is chambered in. It can be it’s pretty easy to mistake a round of .380 ACP for a round of 9mm or .357 Magnum for .38 Special. The stamp on the bottom of the shell casing should match the stamp on your barrel.
“Make sure that your barrel is clear of obstructions before loading and shooting” For example, you dropped your pistol last time you were at the outdoor range and maybe a little rock got lodged inside the barrel that you didn’t notice. This is why it’s really important to consistently inspect, clean and perform function checks on your firearm. If there’s something lodged in the barrel and a bullet goes traveling down it beyond the speed of sound what do you think is going to happen? It definitely wouldn’t be pretty.
“Do not rely on your gun’s mechanical safety” If you have an external safety you shouldn’t rely on that to keep you safe. A mechanical safety is just an extra measure of protection and it should never be used as a replacement for any of the four universal firearm safety rules that we talked about already. Mechanical safeties can fail, but if you always keep your trigger finger straight and off the trigger…..that does not fail. You can control your finger but you can’t control a mechanical failure so don’t rely on a mechanical safety to keep you and your loved ones safe.
“Be aware of your surroundings when you’re handling guns” This is important for multiple reasons, especially for those of us who are carrying. We’re going to want to be aware of our surroundings at all times. Imagine you’re at the range and you’re doing exercises where you need to move and you are hyper-focused on the targets, maybe you trip and fall and….whoops you accidentally shot your friend in the leg. Or maybe you’re waiting in line at a convenience store and you’re on your phone and don’t notice the guy in line behind you. He is planning on robbing the store when he notices your gun printing a bit(“printing” is where the outline of your gun can be seen underneath your cover garment) ….and takes it…and uses it on you. Be aware of your surroundings.
“Do not shoot into water” People sometimes think it’s a fun idea to go down to a lake and just just take shots at the surface of the water. This might work out fine for you but consider this: Think about skipping a rock on a lake or stream. What happens to that rock in order to get it to skip? It’s rotating really fast and then it hits the surface of the water and skips across…..what happens to a bullet when it comes out of your firearm? It’s also spinning really fast and if it hits that water at a certain angle it can skip just like a rock! Even though you intended to shoot at the surface of the water maybe 20 feet in front of you there is a chance that the bullet might ship off of the surface of the water and end up far away and hit something that you really don’t want it to. This is not really a like a safety rule per se but as general practice it’s not a good idea to shoot at the surface of water or hard surfaces like a concrete wall. Both of these situations could have unintended consequences.
“Make certain your firearm(s) are not accessible to unauthorized persons” In other words, don’t just leave your guns laying around where they can be picked up by curious children, seen from outside your home/vehicle, or stolen by criminals. This should go without saying, but it is important to strike a balance between securely storing your guns and having them accessible should you need them in a hurry. There are a number of options to help you achieve this, which we will discuss in-depth in a separate article. For now, here are a few ideas: Biometric quick access safes, “tactical traps”, multiple fast opening safes staged throughout your home/vehicle.
We’ve covered a lot in this article but this should not be considered a definitive list of firearms safety rules, rather a guide to some sensible concepts to help keep you safe when carrying, practicing with, and handling your firearms. Remember, context of any particular situation should dictate your gun safety strategy. Rules that you have to follow at your local pistol range may not always translate to real-life, and vice-versa. Stay safe, and train ugly.
