I woke up this morning thinking, “I should start a great big fight!”
And having done the 9mm vs. .45 ACP debate recently, I decided to talk about firearms safety and the rules that keep us safe. (Do the rules keep us safe, or do the rules guide actions that allow us to remain safe? See? It’s starting already.)
Let’s recap those rules:
- Treat every gun as if it is loaded.
- Don’t point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Know your target and what is beyond it.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until you have made a conscious decision to shoot.
There they are, the four cardinal rules of gun safety. Everyone knows them or should know them. When there is an “accident,” it is typically because someone failed to follow one of the rules. That, of course, means the shooting was not accidental, but rather unintentional. In other words, the shooting was negligent. I rarely say a shooting was accidental. You have to do too many things in just the right order to make a gun get loud for any discharge to be an accident. But I digress.
We were talking about the rules. Are these the right rules? Could they be stated more clearly and simply? I think so. I think these rules do not adequately address all the topics facing the safe and effective use of firearms. Let’s review some of the shortcomings in these rules.
Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Hmm. What specifically do you do differently with a gun that is loaded? What if you want to field strip the gun for cleaning or maintenance? Could you conduct dry-fire drills?
The point is, at some point, you are going to be forced to treat your firearm differently depending on what you are doing with it at any given moment.
Don’t point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy. Sounds good. Even though I am not planning to destroy a block wall, I’m willing to. I’m also willing to destroy a bad guy if I have to. This makes sense, but could be better explained.
Know your target and what is beyond it. What about what is between you and your target? In a deadly force situation, you might be faced with innocents moving in all directions. There is a better way to describe this.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you have made a conscious decision to shoot. Another good rule, but it doesn’t address anything to do with successful shooting. Remember, the goal of shooting is hitting your intended target. If you do that, you will be inherently safe, because the bullets will be going where you want them to go and nowhere else. Make sense?
So, if these rules aren’t perfect, what is the next step in making them better? Notice I did not say what I’m about to share is perfect. I’m just saying what you are about to read is better.
Credit Where Credit is Due
I first heard these rules from noted firearms trainer and all-around good guy, George Harris. If you don’t know who he is, conduct a Google search for “George Harris International Firearms Consultants.” Then ask some of the best firearms trainers you know if they know George.
Here are the three rules George works with:
- Know the status of your weapon at all times.
- Maintain good muzzle management at all times.
- Maintain trigger finger discipline at all times.
These rules are interlocking and overlapping, just like all good safety rules. One leads into the next and we have a great big circle of safety and success.
Let’s look deeper:
Know the status of your weapon at all times. You had damn well better. If you are going to be carrying and training with a firearm, it is your responsibility to know the status of that gun. Is it loaded? Is it unloaded? Is there a round in the firing chamber? Is the safety engaged? This knowledge does not give you permission to be unsafe. But it does ensure that you are keenly aware of the status of that firearm and you will treat it in a safe manner in accordance with your actions as they relate to that status.
Maintain good muzzle management at all times. This very simply means that your firearm is pointed in a “safe” direction. The projectile comes out of the muzzle. If the muzzle is pointed at the target when the gun is fired, the bullet will hit the target. A safe direction is any direction that will result in minimal property damage and no unintended physical harm when the gun is fired. This covers two of the four rules listed above — and more. Good muzzle management requires you to see all the elements in front of, behind and to the sides of your target. It also requires you to keep your muzzle pointed at the target so that when you fire, you hit the target. Good muzzle management helps to ensure safety and success.
Maintain trigger finger discipline at all times. This discipline not only ensures that you only pull the trigger when you intend to do so, but also that you operate the trigger in such a manner that ensures success. Trigger finger discipline means that you place your finger on the trigger only when ready to fire. It also means that you operate the trigger without adding any extra movement to the muzzle. That goes back to muzzle management. If the muzzle stays on target, because of your great trigger finger discipline, you will only hit what you are shooting at.
These three rules help with safety and success. But they are only as good as the person who implements them. I think they are better than the four rules listed above them. What do you think?
