Posted on 03/02/2011 9:21:03 AM PST by ArrogantBustard
Guns are dangerous tools. They can save lives and they can destroy them. When you take on the responsibility to handle a firearm, you must take it seriously and you must educate yourself, on all that it takes to be a safe and responsible gun owner. You may be surprised to learn that there are only four basic golden rules to gun safety. If you follow these rules—at all times—you will be safe and so will the people around you. Please realize that any gun owner who's foolish enough to disobey these golden rules, by negligence or stupidity, makes us all look bad. If you know someone who's new to firearm ownership, or if you know an "expert" who thinks he or she no longer needs to follow these rules, please send them this link. I hate to sound melodramatic, but it will probably save lives.
The four golden rules were given to us by the late Col. Jeff Cooper. To many, as to me, Mr. Cooper is the father of the modern pistol craft. If you take the time to read his books (e.g. To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth) , you'll find that he is much more than that but, in this context, we'll look at the knowledge he condensed and packaged for us.
The four golden rules to firearm safety:
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 till your sights are on the target.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at shadows and/or noises.
(Excerpt) Read more at associatedcontent.com ...
We are in violent agreement that all guns should be treated as loaded until proven otherwise (dry fire, disassembly, repair, storage, cleaning etc.) but if you don't acknowledge that guns can in fact be unloaded, the aforementioned activities become difficult.
I don't have an issue with the Gunsite rules, but for most people the NRA rules require less clarification.
My attorney gave me a copy of his business card; the front of it is conventional, with his name, office number, e-mail address, etc. His home phone and cell number have been added. Officer:
If I have given you this card, it is because in fear for my life it has been necessary to take actions to defend myself. I am willing to sign a criminal complaint against the attacker. I will also point out witnesses and evidence. This is a stressful and traumatic experience for me. Therefore I wish to make no further statements until I have spoken with my attorney. Also, on his advice, I do not consent to any searches. I will cooperate fully once I have consulted with my attorney and he is present. As a lawfully armed citizen, I ask you for the same courtesy that you would show a fellow officer who was involved in a similiar situation.
Thank you for your understanding.
In the event that card doesn't work, there's a second one available. It's on the back of the personal card of the United States Attorney for this district, and reminds state and local law enforcement officials that any deprivation of any civil right of a U.S. citizen is a federal felony, and also constitutes a state felony of Official Misconduct that can cost them their job, even without a conviction.
Better to have and not need than to need and not have.
I have a niece who has a Masters in English and I wouldn't trust her to write a bank robbery note.
No matter who or what you are, "just because I say so" doesn't cut it.
If you are stating a "fact" and have no proof then it isn't a fact it is an opinion.
Sure ... I think the idea is that when you go to dry fire, clean, etc. your weapon, you're stepping into dangerous ground. Dry-fire is especially dangerous, and extra care must be taken to ensure that the chamber and magazine really are empty and that the ammo is truly separated from the firearm. For me, it's a mentality more than a rule.
For my part, I don't really have an issue with the 3 NRA rules, I just find that the 4 Gunsite rules seem to me to be more amenable to the mentality/way of life approach.
Reference Ping
I don't even have any proof of that. I've seen lots of overeducated people think that a piece of paper with a certification on it gives them license to pontificate about the widest array of stuff. Barak Obama, for instance, has a paper from Harvard and once lectured on Con Law, and he believes that now gives him the right to rewrite both the constitution and the definition of marriage.
Since: (1) you're dead wrong about the law,
(2) spouting theories about the history of the NRA rules of gun safety that contradict what I've consistently heard from NRA folks for a number of years,
(3) what you are saying makes absolutely zero sense (common or otherwise),
(4) you have consistently failed to provide any proof to any of your assertions other than your dogged claim to be a certified instructor of NRA instructors, and
(5) you write everything in a really annoying font,
I'm going to place you in the category of the slightly-trollish-gun-counter-opinion-holder who has extrapolated his theories out well past the boundaries of reason or experience.
No offense intended but the factual positions you take are simply not supportable. If the NRA had actually done a study to show that their version of the rules of gun safety produced markedly safer shooters than the well-known and widely-accepted Cooper rules, don't you think that the gun boards would be discussing the merits of that study in the same frequency as the Marshall-Sarnow stopping power data, John Lott's more guns less crime data, or the relative merits of the .45ACP v. the 9mm?
The only way such data could exist and not be discussed is if it is held in a super-secret, bomb-proof vault underneath Waples-Mill Rd and the NRA is sitting on it because they know that to reveal something that groundbreaking would save lives in the short term but ultimately cause the downfall of western civilization by showing that Jeff Cooper was wrong about something. Occam's razor -- you're asking me to believe that someone did this study (I doubt it -- putting together the control group would be a logistical nightmare, and probably only the military could get human subject approval for something like this, and doing the regressions to control for external factors would likely be impossible), and that somehow not only I, but also the entire community of internet gun board discussants, missed this study. I simply cannot imagine an alternate reality in which (a) this study exists, and (b) it is not discussed widely throughout the gun board-o-sphere.
I, and AB, both have expressed a willingness to be proved wrong if you provide any proof of your assertion. That, too, is an indicator that you are dealing with reasonable folks on the other end of this conversation. And yet, you consistently refuse to provide that proof.
Another indication that you are probably a 18-year-old kid posing as a knowledgable writer on firearms issues is that you insist on using weird html to format your posts. Your font is hard on the eyes and not very cool. Alternatively, I'm also looking at the word count comparing my posts and AB's posts to your responses. I'm fairly certain that neither of us truly believe we can sway your opinion, but at least in my case I really hate to see anti-knowledge spread recklessly throughout the internet. So far, your opinions in your font are anti-knowledge, and I'm writing both for the exercise in logic and to balance your anti-knowledge with well-thought-out responses. But the balance of payments resembles that between the US and China, and therefore I don't see any reason to deal further with your puffery.
You gotta unload it sometime. And when you do, you still treat it as a loaded gun. No, you are wrong. There is no rule stating that it is mandatory to load all guns at all times.
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There are only three rules: Shoot, Shovel, Shut Up.
Well said.
"Whenever you pick up a gun, immediately engage the safety device if possible, and, if the gun has a magazine, remove it before opening the action and looking into the chamber(s) which should be clear of ammunition. If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber(s), leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does."
Can't agree with this one. My guns are loaded all the time, unless I am dismantling them for cleaning. An empty gun does exactly no good if you REALLY REALLY need it.
“NRA training dept spent years developing safer rules”
What a silly concept: Simple safety rules turned into years of development as though what took years to develop will ever turn into simple rules people will remember and follow. “None of us are not as dumb as all of us.”
yeah great, and since i conceded the ‘language’ aspect, the rest of the original post still stands, which you chose to avoid...
1) That gun probably isn't loaded. I mean, you looked once, right?
2) Guns are fun, so play around with them any way you like. Doing "Quick Draw McGraw" drills with your buddy is a lot of fun!
3) In order to be properly relaxed, it is advised you drink at least a case of beer before handling firearms.
4) Bullets stop where you can see, so don't worry about what's behind your target. Out of sight, out of mind!
You're welcome. Hope you don't need 'em. Hope you have them with you if you do.
That’s a good point.
Splashing a little water on the front of your pants and pointing it out to the police also helps bolster your claim that you were in fear of your life.
5. NEVER play Russian Roulette with an automatic.
Post of the (new) month. Great job Fate.
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