Safe practices. Avoiding unintentional discharges.

[HighVelocity]

Handling firearms, especially those that we carry every day, can become "comfortable" over time. That comfortable feeling can get one in trouble. We all know or should know the four rules of gun safety but all the threads about AD/ND/UD's lately have inspired me to share some safety practices that I employ.

The main, and most obvious cure for the UD is not to put a finger on the trigger unless you plan to fire the gun. As human beings, mistakes are going to be made. As responsible human beings with firearms, we cannot allow mistakes to happen.

When cleaning a firearm, remove all ammunition from the area. Say out loud, "I am cleaning this gun now and there is no ammunition in the area."

If you are going to dry fire the gun, whether it's practice or for a functional test, remove all ammunition from the area and say out loud, "I am going to do some dry fire practice now and there is no ammunition in the area."
Secondly, if you're going to dry fire the gun, it's also a good idea to remove any magazines or other feeding device from your body (mag holders, pockets, etc). They have the uncanny ability to find there way into the gun.

When the cleaning is done, dry fire is done, functional testing is done, say out loud, "I am finished cleaning, practicing, testing now."

When you load the gun, say out loud "I am loading the gun now" or "this weapon is hot now". LOOK at the gun when you say it.
Say out loud "I will not pull the trigger on this weapon because it is loaded". LOOK at the gun when you say it.

I got the above tips from a friend a long time ago and while it may sound extreme to some of you, distractions happen. Don't let them interfere with YOUR safe practices.

[JasonH]

In all seriousness those are excellent suggestions.

Lacking any seriousness I'm not sure I want the woman seeing me sitting in my room, cleaning my guns and talking to myself. She thinks I'm nuts as it is.

[Fosforos]

Excellent advise and excellent techniques to minimize the likelihood of a mistake.

Like you said, talking to oneself might seem extreme, but the consequences of a mistake can be extreme too.
I do believe saying things out loud work better than just "thinking" them.

Hmmm... maybe I should start my days from now on with telling myself:
"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it - people like me."?

[Lumberjack98]

Great advice HV!

My wife already thinks I'm nuts, so mumbling something by myself in the other room is no big deal in my house.

I never load my firearms in the area where I clean them. I keep the ammo two rooms away when I clean my firearms. I've always been very methodical about this.

[jbirds1210]

I agree 100% with making statements out loud. I am a huge fan of this method with cleaning and dry firing.

I would much rather feel a little odd about announcing things for safety than announcing to the police that I have injured someone I love.

Great post HV....safety should never become routine to the point that it is boring and ignored. Thanks for the reminder.

Jason

[lrb111]

With all the talk in our society now about multi-tasking, this is one area where we need to use the extra effort to stay on task.

good stuff!

[propellerhead]

Good thread.

When clearing a semi-auto, I check for a clear magazine well, then pull the slide back. Then I check the chamber. Then I rack the slide 2-3 times to make sure I do not have a loaded magazine in the mag well. I know it's overkill but the extra cycles should eject any rounds I might have missed on the visual check.

[Keith B]

In all seriousness those are excellent suggestions.

Lacking any seriousness I'm not sure I want the woman seeing me sitting in my room, cleaning my guns and talking to myself. She thinks I'm nuts as it is.

OK, you are not crazy if you make those statements as written. However, if you start making those statements in third person (Keith is now loading....) then you may have an issue.

If you ANSWER yourself, THEN you are nuts!!

Right Keith?

Yes, that's right Keith! :

[Drifter]

Excellent advice. I started doing this awhile back.

It does bring your focus to bear if you consciously say aloud what you are doing.

I think it should be standard practice for gun safety training.

[Dougmyers5]

Yea good Idea, but the gun always tells me Load me Shoot me... ..too many voices in my head...make them stop talking to me please!

Just Kidding
===========================

That is all good advice and the spoken verbal commands do support your clear thinking in handling any weapon.

[Paladin]

When clearing a semi-auto, I check for a clear magazine well, then pull the slide back. Then I check the chamber. Then I rack the slide 2-3 times to make sure I do not have a loaded magazine in the mag well. I know it's overkill but the extra cycles should eject any rounds I might have missed on the visual check.

That's what I do too. Excellent technique!

[RPBrown]

Excellent post HV, with great ideas.

In response to Keith, you can talk to yourself even answer yourself and there is no need to worry. It's only time to worry when you answer yourself with HUH.

[Tote 9]

When clearing a semi-auto, I check for a clear magazine well, then pull the slide back. Then I check the chamber. Then I rack the slide 2-3 times to make sure I do not have a loaded magazine in the mag well. I know it's overkill but the extra cycles should eject any rounds I might have missed on the visual check.

That's what I do too. Excellent technique!

+1

[nra-life-member]

Excellent Posting. Thanks for the time to write it!

[Target1911]

Very good advise HV......BUT....

I would like to add on more thing.....

Distractions do happen in ALL stages of Practice,Cleaning, and Drills.
They cant all be avoided.
I have noticed that alot of the NDs happen after the gun was put down and picked back up....usually forgetting that they had loaded the gun.

The rule that gets broken everytime a ND happens is...
EVERY GUN IS LOADED....

If for some reason I am distracted from what I am doing or must walk away from my gun.... I ALWAYS take the time to go back through the process of clearing the gun.

Another cause of many NDs is the process that is used to clear the gun..
.....many time they first eject the round in the chamber before dropping the mag inadvertantly loading another round<<<<<that is the WRONG way.
ALWAYS.......ALWAYS..... Piont in SAFE direction with finger OFF the trigger.....drop the mag first, clear the magwell visually then eject the chambered round, lock slide OPEN, visually check the chamber and magwell again, rack the slide a few more times to make sure you didnt over look anything......and remember....the gun is still LOADED !!!!!

and to stay on topic.....as go through each step, (out loud) tell yourself, the wall, or the dog what you are doing as you do it.....

Finger is off the trigger
I am pointing in safe direction
I am dropping the mag
etc....etc....

If you make each movement in the process a natural movement by repetition, then if you miss one, it doesnt go unnoticed.