Why YSK: Even if you don’t own a gun, there is a chance you can encounter one at the home of a friend or family member. These are the four core rules of gun safety, but the same can be used with airsoft/paintball guns, nerf or even chemical spray bottles!
First, treat every firearm as if it were loaded. Even if it was clear the last time you saw it. If looking at a gun with someone else and they assure you it’s not loaded, you can respectfully ask them to clear it in front of you before you handle it yourself.
Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy. Pretend there is a lazer beam coming from the barrel. Don’t let that “beam” point at anyone. That is known as “flagging”. In nearly all cases keeping the barrel pointing down between your feet is a good move.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. This includes the whole trigger guard area. Most people keep their finger on the frame well above the trigger guard, pointing their finger in the same direction as the barrel. This is known as “trigger discipline”.
Finally be sure of your target and what’s behind it. Bullets can still travel a long way even after they pass through a target. If you are target shooting make sure there is a solid backstop. If in a real life situation you must positively ID the threat, no shooting at shadows or noises.
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Before I ever got a firearm, or before that paintball gun, I had this driven into me regarding power tools. I hold a drill the same way I hold a gun which I’ve been made fun of for, but I’ve never caught my clothes in a drill bit, or cut myself with a hole cutter like others I know. I also always put the safety on.
Maintenance should probably be in there too: A poorly maintained firearm is potentially dangerous to the user.
Doing proper maintenance is more applicable to someone who owns or is responsible for firearms. I think the rule for the casual finder would be adding something like “assume moving any part of the gun may cause something inside to explode”.
The rule for a casual finder would be to not touch it at all: If you find a random firearm, leave it the hell alone and report it to the authorities. It could be a weapon used in a crime and it’s probably not a great idea to get your fingerprints on it.
Does every gun store have a jar for rounds they found in guns that have been handed to them?
I’ve never so much as touched a gun and I know all of this. I suppose I’ve just absorbed it through constant contact in my peripheral. Recent movies are getting trigger discipline better, but TV shows still get it wrong.
Lastly, secure your firearms you uncultured swines that don’t.
Not only for your safety, but the safety of your children if you have some. I hate that people don’t follow this rule.
Saw an article recently about this 10 year old who shot his dad in the head while the dad slept next to the mother. Kid found the key to the gun storage when searching for the Nintendo Switch his dad took away from him, and he was angry at the dad, found the gun… Now he has no dad. Mom woke up to a loud bang and the sound of liquid pouring on the floor.
Devastating read. Really tragic.
That’s horrible! That’s why I went for a safe with a fingerprint reader. Easier access for me and harder access for the kids.
This is the way. Store your ammo separately too.
Does that come with a backup generator in case they cut off electricity?
It doesn’t need backup power. It’s just a small gun safe for a pistol.
Thieves love those. Just by looking at it, you know there’s a gun in there. They’re light and small enough you can pick up and steal the whole thing, no problem. Then, you can smash it open when you get somewhere else with no tools required. If you spike it like a football with both hands onto concrete and concentrate the force onto one of the lid’s corners, it’ll pop right open after a few tries. Most of the hinges can also be easily attacked if you have some basic tools and need to be quiet.
Does it have its own battery then? What does the fingerprint reader use to draw power?
It has disposable batteries and a charging port. It’s similar to this model.
Boy he’ll really regret using an electronic safe when the world runs entirely out of batteries for six straight months
I’m thinking if that happens, there will be enough reason since a while back to already have taken the gun out 😅
They come with keys too, lol.
also the safety of the children and general community what live around you (if they enter into your calculations). when i was growing up, the neighbor was a professor at the prestigious university down the way. they thought it was enough to teach their kid gun safety and store the gun in a safe place in their room and for their house it was. problem was some dipshit who wanted to roll with the norteños across the way. broke into the professor’s place, took their gun, shot at some other dipshits and was fortunately a terrible shot. ditched the gun, the police recovered it and brought it back. fortunately we were already paying our bribes so when they came around asking and i told them i didn’t know, they believed me (they knew my tells already when i lied: we played poker for halloween candy thursdays after
karatebribe practice and i suuuucked at poker😘)
…… And don’t go out in the woods during deer season because there’s always someone treating a deadly weapon all too casually and don’t think those rules apply to them
Even if you don’t like guns or even want to be around firearms, this is incredibly important information to understand. We live in a world of violence and weapons. Understanding how they work is important or at the very least how to not kill someone accidentally because you were ignorant.
If you see someone ignoring these rules, you know to look out, say something, or act. Whichever is the appropriate action. And, God forbid (or whateveryou might believe), you have to use a firearm, you understand the important rules of gun safety. Remember, you have to screw up multiple of the rules to cause a real deadly incident, if the gun goes off because your a dummy and put your finger on the trigger, but you had it pointed to the ground then likely everyone is okay and you are just an idiot. Safety first, always
I’d offer this as well: if you don’t have to pick up a gun, don’t pick one up.
So just leave it there for some kid to find?
What if the kid needs it?
good point
That’s an example of when the gun needs to be picked up and secured. Also the kid may have the proper firearms training.
Then it’s the kids problem
Another rule - If you’re actually firing a gun and never have, only load one bullet. I’ve seen plenty of videos where someone fires a second accidental shot because they weren’t ready for the recoil. More of an issue with bigger caliber guns but firearm negligence can be fatal so don’t fuck about.
That’s why clay pigeon shooters only load one cartridge at the time and only once it’s their turn.
These are good practices for anything that shoots projectiles, not just weapons. I replaced some baseboard trim in the house a few months ago, and was extremely careful regarding where I pointed the air nailer, particularly when it was under pressure.
Paintball guns can easily remove an eyeball, yet the way people handle them at open games should make us all terrified for how unaware and and careless people are around dangerous devices. We need far more training and preparation on a nationalized, standardized level for preparing people for the real world.
Treat the barrel of a gun like it has an infinite length death laser pointing out of it at all times.
No, it doesn’t matter if you just unloaded it, or saw someone else unload it. The barrel stays pointing down range and away from people.
Yeah, if it’s never ok to do you’ll never do it willingly and will treat any errors as grave. If it’s ok sometimes you’ll occasionally make mistakes about which time it is
Modification to the first one, at least for me — I don’t care if I literally just watched you check it in front me of me before handing it over, I’m still checking. Always. I would expect others to do the same. First, it is just a reassurance, and second, it shows I actually know how to check it myself.
Finally, I didn’t see it listed, but keep the safety on until you’re ready. This kinda goes with the “keep finger off trigger” rule, in that it offers an extra degree of protection.
I agree and I do the same! Like others have said this is for someone who might have just learned the 4 safety rules for the first time and I didn’t want to dive into that just yet
If looking at a gun with someone else and they assure you it’s not loaded, you can respectfully ask themn to clear it in front of you before you handle it yourself.
Would you have a good video of what that looks like? I don’t think someone should be handling a gun if they’re that unsure, but it still might be helpful to someone
I don’t have a specific video recommendation handy, but I’m sure if you punch “how to safely clear a [pistol/revolver/rifle/shotgun]” into YouTube you’ll get 10,000 good results.
As a general overview though (and bear in mind that there’s countless models of firearms out there, so there’s bound to be some outliers that don’t quite fit into this.)
Step 0. Make sure you are keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and your finger off the trigger at all times.
Step 1. If there’s a removable magazine, remove it.
Step 2. Pull back the slide/cocking handle/bolt/pump/lever, if there’s a round in the chamber, this should eject it. There’s an important reason to do this after removing the magazine, because releasing that mechanism will load the next round from the magazine there is one in there.
Step 3. Repeat that at least 1 more time to make extra sure that another round didn’t get loaded. Keep going until no round ejects. For some guns where the magazine isn’t removable, like some pump action shotguns, it can sometimes be quicker or more convenient to do that repeatedly than to remove the rounds manually.
Step 4. Lock open the action of the firearm and visually confirm that there is no round in the chamber and nothing in the magazine well.
Step 1R. (if you are clearing a Revolver.) Release the cylinder
Step 2R. Press the ejector rod to eject the rounds.
Step 3R. Visually confirm that all of the rounds have ejected.
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Remove the magazine (or cartridges)
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Open the action and confirm no cartridge is present
The exact steps will depend on the action (pump, bolt, break, semi-auto, etc.) and the particular model of firearm, but it’s essentially the loading process performed in reverse
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You would “clear it” by “opening” the action. A firearm cannot be fired with the action open. What that looks like depends on the type of action.
Edit: It’s a good firearm safety protocol to open the action before handing a weapon to someone. Always, always, always assume that it’s loaded.
Let me summarise it in just one: never touch the gun
That’s actually not a good one. For example if you are at a playground and you see someone left their gun you definatley want to move it somewhere where kids aren’t going to get it. Its up to you if you call the cops.
I found a tazer at a bus stop once and I callled the police. It wasn’t until they got there that I learned it was a tazer (I didn’t want to open the holster it was in for fear of getting my fingerprints on a murder weapon). If I knew it was a tazer I would have just put it in my backpack and owned a tazer.
And if you must touch the gun, please consider: instead maybe don’t
The most important rule of firearms safety is to keep away from the US.
Yeah, I love these posts by Americans. I once tried to explain to them, that I don’t need to know how to handle a gun as I never saw one in my life and probably never will. They couldn’t comprehend.
