Gun safety

(For discussions on politics concerning firearms and gun safety, see Gun politics. This page deals only with non-political aspects of gun safety. For the mechanical part of a gun that is called a "safety", see Safety (device).)

DO NOT be this guy
Don't be this clown, either

Gun safety is a collection of rules and recommendations that can be applied when handling firearms. The purpose of gun safety is to eliminate or minimize the risks of unintentional death, injury or damage caused by improper handling of firearms.

Gun safety rules and mindset

Example of safe firearm handling. The weapon is pointed at the ground and the handler's finger is off the trigger.

Gun safety training seeks to instill a certain mindset and appropriate habits, or rules. The mindset is that firearms are potentially dangerous and must always be handled with care. Handlers are taught to treat firearms with respect for their destructive capabilities, and strongly discouraged from playing or toying with firearms, a common cause of accidents.

The rules of gun safety follow from this mindset. While there are many variations, the rules introduced by Colonel Jeff Cooper are those most commonly taught during gun safety training:

1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Always be sure of your target.
--Jeff Cooper

The NRA provides a similar set of rules:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
--The National Rifle Association, The fundamental NRA rules for safe gun handling

The Canadian Firearms Centre uses the concept of The Four Firearm ACTS (see also: ACTS & PROVE):

1. Assume every firearm is loaded.
2. Control the muzzle direction at all times.
3. Trigger finger off trigger and out of trigger guard.
4. See that the firearm is unloaded. PROVE it safe.
--Canadian Firearms Centre|The Four ACTS of Firearm Safety

Other Canadian organizations, such as the Saskatchewan Association of Firearm Safety (S.A.F.E.) also recommend this mnemonic.

Treat firearms as if they are loaded

This rule is a matter of keeping a certain mindset. The purpose is to create safe habits, and to discourage reasoning of the "I know my gun is safe so (some) unsafe practices are OK" sort. The mnemonic "the gun is always loaded" is often used for simplicity.

Many firearm accidents result from the handler believing a firearm is emptied, safetied, or otherwise disabled when in fact it is ready to be discharged. Such misunderstandings can arise from a number of sources.

• Faulty handling of the firearm. A handler may execute the steps of procedures such as loading, firing and emptying in the wrong order or omit steps of the procedures.
• Misunderstandings about a firearm's status. For instance: A handler may think the safety is on when it is not. A round of ammunition may be in the chamber or in the magazine while the handler thinks it is empty. A handler may receive a firearm and assume it is in a certain state without checking whether that assumption is true.
• Mechanical failures. Wear, faulty assembly, damage or faulty design of the firearm can cause it not to function as intended. For instance: A safety may have been worn down to a point where it is no longer functioning. Broken parts may have given the firearm a "hair trigger" (a very sensitive trigger). A dented or bent body of the firearm may cause jams or premature discharge of ammunition. Sensitivity to impact may cause a firearm to discharge if dropped or struck against another object.

If a handler always treats firearms as capable of being discharged at any time, the handler is more likely to take precautions to prevent an unintentional discharge and to avoid damage or injury if one does occur.

Point the muzzle away from non-targets

This rule is intended to minimize the damage caused by an unintended discharge. The first rule teaches that a firearm must be assumed to be ready to be discharged. This rule goes beyond that and says "Since the firearm might fire, assume that it will and make sure no harm occurs when it does".

A consequence of this rule is that any kind of playing or "toying" with firearms is prohibited. Playfully pointing firearms at people or other non-targets violates this rule. To discourage this kind of behavior, the rule is sometimes alternately stated, "Never point a firearm at anything unless you intend to destroy it."

Two natural "safe" directions to point the muzzle are upwards (at the sky) and downwards (at the ground). Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Firing at the ground may result in a ricochet or cause hazardous fragments to be flung at people or material. Aiming upwards eliminates this risk but replaces it with the risk that the bullet may cause damage when it comes down to the ground again. Indeed, several accidents have been caused by discharging firearms into the air. It is also possible that the muzzle will inadvertently be pointed at a non-target such as someone's head or an aircraft.

Keep fingers off the trigger

This rule is intended to prevent an undesired discharge. Normally a firearm is discharged by pressing its trigger. A handler's finger may involuntary move for any of several reasons: being startled; not keeping full attention on body movements: physiological reasons beyond conscious control such as a spasm; stumbling or falling. Handlers are therefore taught to minimize the harmful effects of such a motion, by keeping their finger off the trigger until the muzzle is pointing at the target and the handler wishes to discharge the firearm.

The trigger guard and area above the trigger of a firearm presents a natural point for a handler to keep their finger out straight alongside the weapon, so as not to violate this rule (see picture above). A properly indexed trigger finger also helps remind the person holding the firearm of the direction of the muzzle.

Media reports often contain statements such as "The gun accidentally went off" or "The gun discharged", when a more accurate statement would be "The gun was accidentally discharged" or "He/She fired the gun without meaning to". It is virtually impossible for a modern firearm to discharge without having its trigger pulled (that is, guns don't just "go off").

In popular culture, such as movies and TV shows, this rule is often violated, even by characters who should be trained in gun safety such as military personnel or law enforcement officers.

Be sure of your target—and of what is beyond it

This rule is intended to eliminate or minimize damage to non-targets when a firearm is intentionally discharged. Unintended damage may occur if a non-target is misidentified as a target, if the target is missed, or if the bullet hits something or someone other than the intended target.

Handlers are taught that they must positively identify and verify their target. Additionally, they learn that even when firing at a valid target, unintended targets may still be hit, for three reasons:

• The bullet may miss the intended target and hit a non-target around or beyond the target.
• A non-target may pass in front of the target and be hit with a bullet aimed at the target.
• The bullet may pass through the intended target and hit a non-target beyond it, so called "overpenetration".

Therefore, this rule requires a handler to be sure of both the target itself and anything along the avenue of travel to and beyond the target.

This may create situations that present dilemmas for a handler. Such situations are for instance a police officer in a riot, a civilian facing a possible intruder at night, or a soldier in a situation where civilians are near the enemy. Indecision or misjudgment of the handler's abilities in such a situation may cause undesired outcomes, such as injury to the handler due to hesitation, or the handler violating rules of engagement and causing unintended damage.

Training is used to mimimize the risk of such outcomes. Target practice increases the precision with which the handler can discharge the firearm and thus increase the chances that the intended target is hit. Education about terminal ballistics gives the handler knowledge about the characteristics of a bullet after a target is hit. This knowledge coupled with insight into the handler's own capabilities makes it easier for the handler to make appropriate decisions about whether to discharge or not, even if given little time and/or put under severe stress.

Ammunition can be chosen to reduce the risk of overpenetration; see Terminal ballistics, Stopping power, and Hollow point bullet.

Gun safety for firearms not in use

Trigger lock fitted to the trigger of a revolver

Gun safety for situations where firearms are not in use are intended to prevent access to and subsequent discharge of a firearm. Preventing access to firearms serves a double purpose in that it also protects the firearm from theft.

Gun Safes

A Gun safe or gun cabinet is commonly used to physically prevent access to a firearm.

Disassembly

Access to a functioning firearm can be prevented by keeping the firearm disassembled and the parts stored at separate locations. Ammunition may also be stored away from the firearm. Sometimes this rule is codified in law. For example, Swedish law requires owners of firearms to store the firearms either with the "vital piece" locked up in a safe place or put the entire firearm in a safe or lockable gun rack.

Locks

There are several types of locks that serve to make it difficult to discharge a firearm. Such locks are commonly designed so that they cannot be forcibly removed without permanently disabling the firearm. Locks are considered less effective than keeping firearms stored in a lockable safe since locks are more easily defeated than approved safes.

• Trigger locks prevents motion of the trigger. Also a trigger lock does not guarantee that the firearm cannot be discharged (see above).

• Chamber locks aim to block ammunition from being chambered, since most firearms typically cannot be discharged unless the ammunition is in the correct position.

Gun safety from secondary dangers

While a firearm's primary danger lies in the discharge of ammunition, there are other ways a firearm may be detrimental to the health of the handler and bystanders.

Noise

When a firearm is discharged it emits a very loud noise, typically close to the handler's ears. This can cause temporary or permanent hearing damage such as tinnitus. Hearing protection is recommended to prevent this.

Hot gases and debris

A firearm emits hot gases, powder, and other debris when discharged. Some weapons, such as semi-automatic and fully automatic firearms, typically eject spent cartridge casings at high speed. Casings are also dangerously hot when ejected. Any of these may hurt the handler or bystanders through burning or impact damage. Eyes are particularly vulnerable to this type of damage. Eye protection is recommended to prevent this.

Toxins and pollutants

In recent years the toxic effects of ammunition and firearm cleaning agents have been highlighted.

• Lead bullets can release lead vapour when discharged.
• Lead ammunition left in nature may become mobilized by acid rain.
• Older ammunition may have mercury-based primers.
• Lead accumulates in shooting range backstops, often as fine powder which is easily inhaled.

Indoor ranges require good ventilation to remove pollutants. Indoor and outdoor ranges typically require extensive decontamination when they are decommissioned.

Lead, copper and other metals will also be released when a firearm is cleaned. Highly aggressive solvents and other agents used to remove lead and powder fouling may also present a hazard to health. Good ventilation, washing oneself and cleaning the space where the firearm was handled lessens the risk of unnecessary exposure.

Misfires

Though firearms and their ammunition are made to exacting specifications and tolerances and designed to function reliably, malfunctions of firearms and ammunition do happen. Ammunition-related malfunctions are colloquially known as "misfires", and include failures to discharge (duds), delayed discharge (hang-fires), and incomplete or insufficient discharge (squibs). Mechanical malfunctions are generally referred to as jams, and include failures to feed, extract, or eject a cartridge, to fully cycle after firing, and to lock back when empty (largely a procedural hazard, as "slide lock" is a visual cue that the gun is empty).

When a misfire or jam occurs, gun safety dictates that the handler should exercise extreme caution, as a cartridge whose primer has been struck in a misfire or which has been deformed in a jam can discharge unexpectedly. The handler should wait one minute with the firearm pointed in a safe direction, then carefully remove the magazine, extract any misfed or misfired cartridge, and then with the breech open, carefully check to ensure there is not a bullet or other obstruction lodged in the barrel. If there is, and a subsequent round is fired, the gun can fail explosively resulting in serious injury.

Impairment

Since handling a firearm is a complex task, with possible fatal outcomes if done wrong, gun safety dictates that a firearm should never be handled while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, even legal prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Since such substances may affect a person's judgement already after consuming relatively small amounts, zero tolerance is advocated by gun safety teachers. This is codified in many states' penal codes as a crime of "carrying under the influence", with penalties similar to DWI/DUI.

Exhaustion can also constitute a form of impairment, as reaction time, cognitive processing and sensory perception are all impaired by sleep deprivation and/or physical exhaustion. Gun safety therefore discourages using firearms when exhausted.

Gun safety for children

Children who are generally considered too young to be allowed to handle firearms at all have a different set of rules which can be taught to them:

• Stop.
• Don't touch.
• Leave the area.
• Tell an adult.

The purpose of these rules is to prevent children from inadvertently handling firearms. These rules are part of the Eddie Eagle program developed by the National Rifle Association for preschoolers through 6th graders.

Older youth (age may vary per program) may take part in a program for safe rifle handling, such as the ones promoted by these organizations:

• Boy Scouts of America
• Americans for Gun Safety Foundation
• National Rifle Association
• Civilian Marksmanship Program

History and teachers of gun safety

While gun safety in different forms has existed since the creation of firearms, modern gun safety is often credited to Jeff Cooper (1920-2006). Being influential in the modern handling of firearms, he formalised the above mentioned rules of gun safety.

In 1902, the English politician and game shooting enthusiast Mark Hanbury Beaufoy wrote some much-quoted verses on gun safety which include many salient points and begin:

"If a sportsman true you'd be
Listen carefully to me:
Never, never, let your gun
Pointed be at anyone..."

Other teachers of gun safety include Massad Ayoob, Clint Smith, Chuck Taylor, Jim Crews and Ignatius Piazza.

External links

• Unsafe Arms and Ammunition Combinations, SAAMI data sheet.
• LOK-IT-UP A public awareness program encouraging the safe storage of firearms.
• Controversy over exact choice of rules for gun safety (specifically whether or not "the gun is always loaded" is an intelligent rule).
• NRA Gun Safety Rules. Also deals with issues such as eye and ear protection.
• Project ChildSafe
• Canadian page about firearms safety
• Page about storing firearms in Canada
• gun cabinets

Movie clips of firearm accidents

• Finger on trigger and a negligent attitude results in two accidental discharges
• Accidental discharge while showing off a gun