Simple Rules: Small Bullets and Big Cars
When handling firearms, there are four simple rules. If you follow them, you will never hurt anyone or yourself, barring acts of God...
Always assume a firearm is loaded.
Do not point a firearm at anything that you are not willing to destroy.
Know your target and what is behind it.
Keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you are ready to fire.
I like to add a few more, like wear eye and ear protection, perform all operations positively with determined follow through, and don't be a dumbass.
Why am I writing about this now? A while back, I used to regularly shoot a range just outside Colorado Springs/Manitou. I stopped because people there were not following proper safety rules. People waved guns around, carried guns to and from the firing line with fingers on triggers, and few regarded firing line protocol and would simply open fire without telling anyone. Also, the place was trashed. People did not follow pack it in/pack it out and I always felt obligated to haul away what trash I could, but I got really sick of cleaning up after other people.
I stopped going, and a while later, a man was killed. His "friend", and I use the term loosely, had his finger on the trigger of a loaded pistol. He swept the victim with the muzzle (as in pointed a gun, albeit in passing, at a person) and the gun either discharged accidentally or the man who was holding put enough force on the trigger to fire. One man lies dead because of some dumbass.
Moving on, a friend of mine also had a recent firearms accident. He, however, is not a dumbass, so nobody was hurt, but his experience is another illustration of why you must follow the rules without exception when you are dealing with anything that can concentrate or deliver energy. He was function checking some new ammunition is his Kahr CW45. What he didn't know was that his firing pin had caught on another part of the gun and was stuck forward. When the slide closed on the round, the gun fired. Fortunately, this guy is religious about safety. The gun was pointed in a safe direction, so the bullet plowed through the wall and buried itself in the gravel drip course outside. A bit of spackle, some sealant, and some fresh paint and all was well.
You see the difference in these two cases? Anything that concentrates or delivers energy is potentially lethal, whether it's a gun, a car, or a hammer. Think first always. We are surrounded by people these days and we all have responsibilities when handling powerful things. When you have a gun, follow the rules because your life and the lives of others do depend on your actions. Same for cars. You may think that you don't have a gun, so how can you endanger others? A car can deliver way more energy to a human body than any gun. Treat your car as such and maybe there will be fewer collisions. The way I see folks slinging their cars around, especially when it's icy, leads me to believe that people really don't think that they are piloting a three-ton bullet and that they have no regard for the lived of others. If pressed, these people will not admit to any desire to endanger their fellow man, it's just that they have not thought about it and don't realize the power that they have to destroy.
Think and be safe.
Always assume a firearm is loaded.
Do not point a firearm at anything that you are not willing to destroy.
Know your target and what is behind it.
Keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you are ready to fire.
I like to add a few more, like wear eye and ear protection, perform all operations positively with determined follow through, and don't be a dumbass.
Why am I writing about this now? A while back, I used to regularly shoot a range just outside Colorado Springs/Manitou. I stopped because people there were not following proper safety rules. People waved guns around, carried guns to and from the firing line with fingers on triggers, and few regarded firing line protocol and would simply open fire without telling anyone. Also, the place was trashed. People did not follow pack it in/pack it out and I always felt obligated to haul away what trash I could, but I got really sick of cleaning up after other people.
I stopped going, and a while later, a man was killed. His "friend", and I use the term loosely, had his finger on the trigger of a loaded pistol. He swept the victim with the muzzle (as in pointed a gun, albeit in passing, at a person) and the gun either discharged accidentally or the man who was holding put enough force on the trigger to fire. One man lies dead because of some dumbass.
Moving on, a friend of mine also had a recent firearms accident. He, however, is not a dumbass, so nobody was hurt, but his experience is another illustration of why you must follow the rules without exception when you are dealing with anything that can concentrate or deliver energy. He was function checking some new ammunition is his Kahr CW45. What he didn't know was that his firing pin had caught on another part of the gun and was stuck forward. When the slide closed on the round, the gun fired. Fortunately, this guy is religious about safety. The gun was pointed in a safe direction, so the bullet plowed through the wall and buried itself in the gravel drip course outside. A bit of spackle, some sealant, and some fresh paint and all was well.
You see the difference in these two cases? Anything that concentrates or delivers energy is potentially lethal, whether it's a gun, a car, or a hammer. Think first always. We are surrounded by people these days and we all have responsibilities when handling powerful things. When you have a gun, follow the rules because your life and the lives of others do depend on your actions. Same for cars. You may think that you don't have a gun, so how can you endanger others? A car can deliver way more energy to a human body than any gun. Treat your car as such and maybe there will be fewer collisions. The way I see folks slinging their cars around, especially when it's icy, leads me to believe that people really don't think that they are piloting a three-ton bullet and that they have no regard for the lived of others. If pressed, these people will not admit to any desire to endanger their fellow man, it's just that they have not thought about it and don't realize the power that they have to destroy.
Think and be safe.
posted by Charlie Foxtrot at 18:57
Noone and Nothing Forgotten...
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