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The PRIME Rules of Gun Safety and Why they should be followed

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  • SC-Texas

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    I was reading a thread about some MOE-RON getting shot with his on Glock when his friend was finger banging the trigger with his booger hooks and it got me to thinking abut the PRIME rules of Gun safety and whey they are important.

    It also reminded me of another guy who shot himself at a Gabe Suarez class while he was being an inDUHvidual and getting ahead of the class becasue he was an ex SF operator and Gabe wasn't high speed enough for him (he decided to practice transitions and caught his pistol on his chest rig and luanched one through his thigh).

    1. The Gun Is Always Loaded.

    2. Never point A Gun At Something You're Not Prepared To Destroy.

    3. Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Your Sights Are On The Target.

    4. Always Be Sure Of Your Target - And What Is Behind It.

    So what personal experiences have reinforced these rules and why are they important?

    1. The Gun Is Always Loaded.
    Yes it is. I have never shot a hole in a wall with a gun that was loaded.

    2. Never point A Gun At Something You're Not Prepared To Destroy.
    I have been a firm beleiver that a gun won't go off if you keep your booger hooks off the trigger. That is true 99.9% of the time. I even, personally, put this rule lower than the no fingerbangin the trigger rule. However, I encountered that .01% one day and had my M16 run away when I chambered a round.

    3. Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Your Sights Are On The Target.
    I have to say that to me, this is the most important rule because if you ain't fingerbangin' the trigger with your booger hooks, it ain't gonna go off 99.9% of the time.


    4. Always Be Sure Of Your Target - And What Is Behind It.
    I have never had a personal expereince with this rule other than in IDPA matches where I have shot through a bad guy and hit the No-Shoot target behind it.

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    Dcav

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    Well said, and the term booger hooks, kept me laughing for quite a while, i may have to borrow that term.
     

    Fisherman777

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    A couple of months ago on this forum I read, "Keep your booger hooks off the bang switch!" LOL I might use that one if the opportunity arises.
     

    DirtyD

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    Yup, I use the "booger picker off the bang switch" in my classes.... makes em think about the same thing they have heard over and over and over again differently...
     

    Wolfwood

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    Yup, I use the "booger picker off the bang switch" in my classes.... makes em think about the same thing they have heard over and over and over again differently...

    sounds liek a fun class.

    and i like "keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target"
    much better than "until you are ready to shoot"

    becasue there are times where you dont have a target but you BETTER be ready to shoot.
    like when there is an intruder coming down your hallway and you are along the back wall of your bedroom.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    I feel your pain Sean. I sell guns and I think about 98-99% of my day is filled with one safety problem after another. My favorite was the A-hole that lectured me on not muzzle sweeping myself when handing someone a display gun (I chamber check first, lock slide to the rear, grab gun by the muzzle in a solid manner and around and protecting trigger guard while handing the gun grip first). Yes, the barrel may have momentarily pointed at my leg, but it was chamber checked and slide locked to the rear and barrel NOT pointing at him so not really a safer way to hand it to someone. Long story short, he never checked the chamber, dropped the slide, proceeded to look the gun over side to side, then point it at his FACE so he could look down the barrel (because he thought that big .45acp hole looked cool lol), then unintentionally pointed the gun at his kids face that was 1ft away (he was looking at the side of the gun, man I feel sorry for his kid)........I wish I could slap every single person that does this stupid sh*t.
     

    TrailDust

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    Whenever I've instructed a youngster in using firearms I always like to emphasize the seriousness of handling a gun by saying, "When you're handling a gun, there's absolutely no room for 'oops!' Oops when you're handling guns means someone may very well be dead. There is no oops with guns!"
     

    M. Sage

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    My favorite thing about those four rules is that they're redundant. They're a work of pure genius because of that and their simplicity!

    To really get in trouble, you usually have to break at least two rules (finger on the trigger but gun pointed in safe direction = ringing ears and a shrunken ego but shouldn't mean a casualty). The only reason for #1 is to make you think about the other 3.
     

    android

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    I don't like your version of rule number one. Basically it is a lie. Our minds (and our kids) know when we are telling lies and then try and get even by allowing you to act as if it is a lie.

    Rule Number one not in the form of a lie is:

    You must always treat the gun as if it is loaded.

    This is a true statement and I think it makes a much better rule.
     

    thorkyl

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    Posted this on a different site...

    Here are my simple easy to remember rules that I teach and how i teach them.

    1 - it is loaded even if its in pieces
    ---> take a 1911 apart with a snap cap in it - scares the crud out of them when the cap falls on the table

    2 - do not point it at anything you do not want to kill
    ---> I then shoot a watermelon with the 1911 hallow point at 10 foot

    3 - there is no such thing as a firearm accident
    ---> If you discharge it when you didn't mean to then YOU screwed up plain and simple

    4 - be aware of all things behind your target
    ---> Looking down range through sights what color is the pie plate behind and to the right of the target?
    ---> Hint - its cammo

    5 - Your safety is broken, don't trust it.
    ---> I give a left handed safety shotgun to a right handed shooter
    ---> 50% turn the safety off thinking they are turning it on

    5 - Finger off trigger
    ---> they hate this one, I have a thumb tack glued to the trigger on the dummy gun
    ---> many a student asks for a band-aid or says ouch the bad ones do it multiple times
     

    TrailDust

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    You must always treat the gun as if it is loaded.

    It never ceases to amaze me how many people can't get that through their thick skulls.


    3 - there is no such thing as a firearm accident
    ---> If you discharge it when you didn't mean to then YOU screwed up plain and simple

    The single, fastest way out of Delta. I have never had sympathy for someone with military training who accidentally discharges a firearm.
     
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