Col. Coopers gun safety rules:
1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
you can tell someone who is trained on a gun, their finger is straight OFF the trigger
I remember watching a video of a woman who accidentally shoots a gun- no one told her NOT to touch the trigger, to her a trigger was where your finger goes
That is nearly verbatim of what my father taught me since I was a little boy, and since then I have taught my four children the same.
Pretty damn hard to hurt someone when the rules are followed.
In addition to the rules.....
As with many practices that require specific attention to safety and details, behavior should become habitual. For habits to form, training, practice and repetition is necessary.
Think about all the little things we do when we simply change lanes on the highway. Check the mirror, turn on the blinker, check the mirror again to be sure, then merge into another lane. Think of all the things we do habitually when you get out of a vehicle or leave the house/office. Keys, wallet, phone, ballistic producing self protection machinery, etc. (I call this my patdown). Do you check for toilet paper before you sit on the toilet?
If you have ever been on a gun range, you’ll notice that most people have a routine when handling a firearm. This is not by chance. IT’S HABIT for most. It’s a good habit and it is from knowledge, experience, practice and repetition. I expect most FReepers that handle weapons know this. But it can’t be stated enough.
Col. Coopers gun safety rules:
1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.