Gun Safety Rules

[jbenat]

"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it."

RHZIG; Love that quote!

[dukalmighty]

I had just cleaned a S&W snub nose .357 magnum revolver,my concealed off duty carry in 1984,loaded it with 158 jhp forgot i loaded it and was watching TV,I always thought i was pretty safe with firearms,but i picked up the weapon got a sight picture on the 19" color television and squeezed the trigger practicing breath control and sight alignment,the tv immediately quit working and i heard a muffled expletive coming from my wife in the kitchen through my ringing ears.I treat every weapon i now have as being loaded even when i know it's unloaded i will check again.I was so fortunate the worst thing that happened that day was a TV got killed,I posted this as a reminder AD & ND can be avoided by some common sense and following safety rules

[hi-power]

I had just cleaned a S&W snub nose .357 magnum revolver,my concealed off duty carry in 1984,loaded it with 158 jhp forgot i loaded it and was watching TV,I always thought i was pretty safe with firearms,but i picked up the weapon got a sight picture on the 19" color television and squeezed the trigger practicing breath control and sight alignment,the tv immediately quit working and i heard a muffled expletive coming from my wife in the kitchen through my ringing ears.I treat every weapon i now have as being loaded even when i know it's unloaded i will check again.I was so fortunate the worst thing that happened that day was a TV got killed,I posted this as a reminder AD & ND can be avoided by some common sense and following safety rules

Welcome to the forum, dukalmighty. Thanks for posting the story. Glad to hear the gun was pointed in a relatively safe direction when you pulled the trigger.

[davefrmmrfy]

So, I took the daughter to Garland to shoot last weekend. I had her read the four rules. Her comment was "Do I have to read the whole thing?" She did... and she had a great time learning about gun safety, accuracy, gun mechanics, and just having a good time with Dad.

She even snickered about the "yahoo" doing Gansga style single handed shooting in a lane down the way. (His buddy was snickering also...)

Now she wants a gun for Christmas! (Help!!)

[flintknapper]

So, I took the daughter to Garland to shoot last weekend. I had her read the four rules. Her comment was "Do I have to read the whole thing?" She did... and she had a great time learning about gun safety, accuracy, gun mechanics, and just having a good time with Dad.

She even snickered about the "yahoo" doing Gansga style single handed shooting in a lane down the way. (His buddy was snickering also...)

Now she wants a gun for Christmas! (Help!!)

Sounds like a safe and fun time!

I love to hear stories of youngsters spending time with their parents.

Seems to be less and less of that these days.

Good on ya DAD!

[frreed]

I have read posts on this site and others that speak of "Accidental Discharges". There is no such animal. Dropped gun=negligence, failing to clear before dry firing=negligence and so on. I did a tour in Iraq with a Marine MP batallion. With our augments we had over 1500 Marines and Sailors. In seven months of combat we had not 1 ND. These safety rules were hammered day after day.

As I handle my weapons I am constantly reminded of these rules that kept us alive. The unit that followed us had a Marine killed when an M16, that had been cleared, was pointed at the head of a Marine and the trigger was pulled. Don't let it happen to you.

I have also read the declaration that there are two kinds of shooters, those that have had a ND and those that will. What a load of excrement.

Muzzle awareness, knowing the conditioning of your weapon, visual and physical confirmation of that condition and keeping your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot at a definite target will go a long way to limiting the ND.

I am not saying that I am perfect in this at all times, but when I screw it up it gives me a chill that I would rather not have.

[Sport Coach]

I enjoyed this original post with all rules stating that humans make mistakes. One thing I enjoy is the challenge of teaching my kids life lessons. I made a BB gun range in the back yard to physically drive home gun handling lessons. It's fun to shoot with them both BBs and a .22 rifle (not in the back yard). They're ages 6 and 8 and if I can teach them that all guns are always loaded, through plenty of repetition, I'll give myself a momentary pat on the back. My in-laws are not as aware of these potential mistakes. I happened to walk past my nephew's (age 15) room right at the time he was pointing a shotgun at my son's head. I, as calmly as possible, ripped his head off verbally and gave him a quick lesson in safe gun handling. That image still shakes me a bit when I think about it.

[Sport Coach]

Just remembered there are two videos at the Harris County Public Library that I've had kids watch many times. They teach the basic rules of gun safety and are appropriate to all ages. The premise is that even if there are no guns in one house, the child at some time will be in a house that does have guns and therefore he/she needs to understand safe handling (preaching to the choir here). I've recommended these videos to many other parents.

Gun Safety with Dan West, Accident Prevention
Handgun Safety: A Basic Guide with Jeff Cooper

“Accidental gun deaths among children are fortunately much rarer than most people believe.� “Bicycles are also much more likely to result in accidental deaths than guns.� p.83 The Bias Against Guns, Why Almost Everything You’re Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong, by John R. Lott, Jr.

[jpierce30]

I am sending a copy of the original post to everyone I know. This is the most basic explanaition of safety I seen in a long time. We all need to remember that complacentcy kills.

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

Take every opportunity you can to share this with others!!! On a recent range trip, my brother brought along a new gun. A friend of ours was there with us, and he laughed at my brother and I because as we passed it back and forth before ever shooting, we checked it each time, even so far as to put a finger in the ejection port with the slide locked back. Take no chances!! We both informed him nicely, but he took it very poorly as if we were reprimanding him. So he no longer shoots with us, ever. Neither one of us has ever had an ND or AD in 20+ years of shooting, and don't plan on it.

Edited: Great original post, by the way!

[dukesean]

I have read posts on this site and others that speak of "Accidental Discharges". There is no such animal. Dropped gun=negligence, failing to clear before dry firing=negligence and so on. I did a tour in Iraq with a Marine MP batallion. With our augments we had over 1500 Marines and Sailors. In seven months of combat we had not 1 ND. These safety rules were hammered day after day.

As I handle my weapons I am constantly reminded of these rules that kept us alive. The unit that followed us had a Marine killed when an M16, that had been cleared, was pointed at the head of a Marine and the trigger was pulled. Don't let it happen to you.

I have also read the declaration that there are two kinds of shooters, those that have had a ND and those that will. What a load of excrement.

Muzzle awareness, knowing the conditioning of your weapon, visual and physical confirmation of that condition and keeping your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot at a definite target will go a long way to limiting the ND.

I am not saying that I am perfect in this at all times, but when I screw it up it gives me a chill that I would rather not have.

+1 NEGLIGENT is the better word.

[asleepatthereel]

I just read this at http://www.bersatalk.com Posted by "Plink" (Mike) on 03/07/2006 and thought it is worth passing on.

Sorry for the long rant and I know I'm preaching to the choir, but it's something that many of us take too lightly. It has nothing to do with experience, as shown by my own mistake and the gun shop's, and those that we've all seen from others. Please always keep this at the very front of your thoughts when you shoot and especially when you teach others to shoot.

If any of you ever shoot with me, just know that I'm watching you! lol. I hope you're watching me just as closely, because humans make mistakes.


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Mike
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Even the choir needs some preaching to now and then. They should do away with all the tacky warnings engraved into the weapons, and include this in the owners manual instead. You wouldnt believe how many times my dad drilled a condensed version of this into the young brains of my brother and I. "All guns are always loaded son", "If you shoot it, you eat it." etc. ( Sparrows dont taste like chicken! )
Thanks, Dad!

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

( Sparrows dont taste like chicken! )

OK, somebody has to do it, so I will. What DOES it taste like?

[jbenat]

( Sparrows dont taste like chicken! )

OK, somebody has to do it, so I will. What DOES it taste like?

I don't think black birds taste like chicken. When I was a kid, my cousin and I were the terror of the local bird population with our BB guns. We thought we were great outdoorsmen so one day we decided to eat what we shot. So we cleaned and cooked a couple of black birds on a campfire. We actually ate those poor birds!! It's been so long ago that I don't remember what they tasted like but I guess they weren't too bad or I would remember that.


Now days I keep a bird feeder stocked to feed the birds as a way of atonement.

[vscott]

( Sparrows dont taste like chicken! )

OK, somebody has to do it, so I will. What DOES it taste like?

Well actually I have found that if you season them just right they taste like chicken. I use a half and half mixture of chicken broth and chicken bouillon paste. Marinate the breasts in this mixture for 14 days. After the 14 day period, inject the sparrow breasts with the marinate mixture and grill for 30 minutes. Put the meat on a plate and smother with chicken gravy. Mmmm good, tastes just like chicken