NRA THREE Rules of Gun Safety...WTF...?

[Bulletdog]

Be aware of your target and beyond? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

The new rule is fine. I'm ALWAYS ready to use mine. I can't think of a time when I wouldn't be ready to use one or more.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

I guess many people shot themselves looking for the safety on the Glock?

Teaching my son to shoot, he had to repeat and explain on the car ride out:
Always treat a gun as if it is loaded.
Never pointed gun at something you don’t want to destroy/ in the safest direction
Keep your safety on and your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
Know your target and what is beyond it

Is this the NRA’s response to all the new safe storage requirements? Pretty soon there a rule of firearm safety will be not to shoot a gun. Or just hand them over to someone. I think stag arms has this version of three also on their website.

[titsonritz]

"Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!"

[Todd.K]

Some say it’s easier to learn what to do, rather than what not to do. Especially children.

But outrage at change is fun too.

[okie]

I would be happy reducing that to just the first two.

Realistically, always treat it as if it were loaded and always point it in a safe direction are pretty much synonymous with each other, kind of restating the same rule in two different ways. So I'm happy with just "don't point that shit at me bro."

Combined with keep your finger off the effing trigger, that's a good system as far as I'm concerned.

If people could follow either of those two rules 100% of the time, there wouldn't be accidents. If they could follow both 75% of the time there wouldn't be accidents. When accidents happen it's because they ignored both rules simultaneously.

[SteyrAUG]

Be aware of your target and beyond? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

The new rule is fine. I'm ALWAYS ready to use mine. I can't think of a time when I wouldn't be ready to use one or more.

I guess that was just too hard to explain to people. But honestly, I think "treat all guns as if they were loaded, always" was an important one. How many people have said the famous "don't worry it's not loaded" as if it's some excuse to be completely irresponsible with guns?

I swear if I wasn't already a life member, I would end my membership over this crap. Gun safety was literally the ONLY thing they were still doing in a way that I felt was acceptable.

[TomMcC]

I'll bet a lot of accidental "shot my buddy by mistake" started with ignoring that one.

[SteyrAUG]

"Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!"

Pretty much. I think I'm going to design conceal carry holsters that will accommodate a "trigger safety lock" and get ahead of the trend.

1. Draw your handgun, remove the trigger locking device, get your sight picture..."

I would be happy reducing that to just the first two.

Realistically, always treat it as if it were loaded and always point it in a safe direction are pretty much synonymous with each other, kind of restating the same rule in two different ways. So I'm happy with just "don't point that shit at me bro."

Combined with keep your finger off the effing trigger, that's a good system as far as I'm concerned.

If people could follow either of those two rules 100% of the time, there wouldn't be accidents. If they could follow both 75% of the time there wouldn't be accidents. When accidents happen it's because they ignored both rules simultaneously.

I have always said we could go down to muzzle discipline and trigger discipline and it would be impossible to accidentally shoot anything. But that would require a level of personal responsibility that not everyone is capable of understanding.

So there is a percentage of shooters (who we mostly call "hunters") who have to be told to THINK ABOUT what is beyond the thing they want to shoot. Because I swear to god I've seen with my own eyes people shoot shit with actual houses in the background that are definitely inside the effective range of the round they are firing. Wish I could say I've only seen that once, but I've actually seen it 3 or 4 times. Also seen people take a shot with a hunting buddy downrange and things like that. And when I say something to them they are ALWAYS offended and like "What?!? It's not like I was gonna shoot him...the whatever was twice as far away."

Then there are the other complete idiots (usually the people who have guns but don't shoot them a lot) who think unloaded means you can play dry fire laser tag with your buddies in the house. There are too many incredibly stupid people who NEED that first rule of gun safety and need to be constantly reminded "ALL guns are ALWAYS loaded."

And god help us, we really don't need a "keep them unloaded" rule. For transport, sure under some circumstances it can be a practice" but you still treat them as IF they were loaded so no muzzle sweeping your buddy as you put your unloaded rifle in the back seat. Any "keep them unloaded" rule is just going to reinforce "unloaded means I'm safe" when it is the person and not the firearm who needs to be safe.

Shit drives me crazy.

[lowprone]

Overtaken by their unwillingness to be retro active, dead to me !

[okie]

Be aware of your target and beyond? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

The new rule is fine. I'm ALWAYS ready to use mine. I can't think of a time when I wouldn't be ready to use one or more.

This one has always been optional. Near as I can tell, Jeff Cooper added it. It's a big feature of hunter safety courses.

It's worth mentioning that the rules have many versions. They used to be more numerous, and or written on a post graduate level. They've been either reduced in number and or dumbed down across the board, along with society in general.

I'm for keeping them as short and to the point as possible. People nowadays have the attention span of a methed out squirrel.