Greetings Patriots, I’m Justin with Caliber Armory. Let’s take a moment to go over the universal rules of gun safety. Obviously we want to be safe anytime we handle firearms, but beyond that, we’re required to, we have a duty to be safe with firearms. This demonstrates that we can handle the freedom of being a gun owner. Being proficient with any weapon requires a lot of discipline, a lot of conditioning, and the best place to start with that is to practice handling firearms safely at all times, which will then develop the habits that we need in our routine.
Rule #1: Treat All Guns as If They’re Loaded
First rule of gun safety is we treat all guns as if they’re loaded, by assuming all guns are loaded. We respect them equally. And no matter what anyone tells us, we make the determination for ourselves that a gun is unloaded. I will make another video going into further detail on the mechanics of different firearm types and how to clear them. I will quickly clear a few firearms right now. So let’s start with a revolver. It is the Ruger SP101. What we do is we simply start by pressing the cylinder release, which unlocks the cylinder, and I can see that it is clear. There’s no rounds in the cylinder. So we know this is clear. Next, a pump action shotgun. This is a Winchester model 12. We start by making sure the magazine tube is clear. And I can clearly see my bolt face and an empty chamber. So that’s my magazine tube. I can see the follower. So I know there’s no rounds in the magazine and I can look down into my chamber there and see that it’s empty, so this weapon is clear.
Next is a semi-automatic pistol. This is a Glock 34. The very first thing we do is eject the magazine and I can see that it’s clear. Next we want to lock the slide back and I can see an empty chamber right there. Hopefully you can see that there’s no rounds in the chamber. This gun is clear.
Rule #2: Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger
The next rule of gun safety is very simple. We keep our finger off the trigger until it’s time to shoot. We keep our finger off the trigger the moment we’re done shooting.
Rule #3: Muzzle Control
Rule three, muzzle control. Every time there’s a gun in our hands we need to know exactly which direction it’s being pointed. The condition the gun is in makes no difference. Keep it pointed in a safe direction at all times.
Rule #4: Identify Your Target
Now, when it’s time to shoot, we need to be able to identify our target and maintain situational awareness. A weapon mounted light is highly recommended, especially for a home defense weapon so that you can identify what it is you may be shooting at.
Another example could be what kind of target am I shooting at? Is this a metal target? Am I standing too close? Am I shooting a flat surface at an angle that may cause a ricochet? If I miss my target, what does the trajectory look like? If the bullet passes through my target, what does the trajectory look like? We need to think about all these things because we’re responsible for everything that bullet touches.
Conclusion
Now, if you’re at the gun range and you see someone breaking these rules, call a “cease fire”, or at the very least point out their negligence to somebody at the range or to them. The thing is we just can’t afford these mistakes. We can’t have good people getting hurt and furthermore, we cannot create situations that give powerful people the leverage to trample on our natural rights.