Gun Safety Rules

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There was a news story recently where a person was shot and killed by another person accidentally. Both were adults, and should have been more careful. Such a tragedy.

Most of us who were raised around guns were taught certain rules of safety. My father taught me four rules which, when applied, practically rule out any accidental shootings. I offer these as guidelines to the new shooters out there who might need some advice for gun safety. I make no claim on being an expert or trainer; only trying to help keep people safe.

Rule 1. ASSUME ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED. So many people violate this rule it is unreal. 99% of the people who accidentally fire a shot always say "I didn't know the gun was loaded". Then why didn't they check the condition of the gun in the first place? Or if they didn't know how to check, then leave the gun alone!

Rule 2. NEVER POINT THE MUZZLE OF THE GUN AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT SHOT. Always be aware of where the muzzle points to. After the bullet leaves the barrel, there is absolutely nothing you can do to change the course of it until it stops. And there are no 'take backs' either.

Rule 3. NEVER PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT. A sudden sound or movement can cause an involuntary spasm; better safe then sorry.

Rule 4. NEVER SHOOT UNTIL YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET. Self explanatory, never shoot at a sound, shadow or what you think is your target. Always take into consideration of your targets background also; if you miss, the bullet continues.

Safe shooting everybody. And have a good weekend.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), November 09, 2001

Answers

JR~ Very timely message for me. My nine year old son is wanting a 22 for Christmas. We could use one around our place and have been thinking about getting it. Neither I nor my husband were raised around guns, but my son is very outdoorsy and loves to "hunt". (He hasn't really been hunting, but just shoots squirrel and stuff around here.) As a seasoned gun owner, do you think he is old enough? We will have him take a gun safety class and will only let him take it out when an adult is with him. He has been very careful with his BB gun, but I know this is a much more powerful weapon. Also, he has an older and younger brother, so I have to think of all three. Thanks!

-- Ivy in NW AR (balch84@cox-internet.com), November 09, 2001.

All great points, j.r. I'd only like to add to Rule 4 that even if you hit your target with many types of ordinance there's a chance the bullet will continue THROUGH the struck target and into something or someone behind that target. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), November 09, 2001.

Ivy, nine years is too young, the attention span is too short, maybe up grade to a pellet rifle at about 10 to 14. Yes, send him to gun safety classes then have him teach the brothers, permote compitison shooting. We would not give a 9 year old a car to drive, or the responsibility to disperce rat poison......

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 09, 2001.

Thanks j.r. for an interesting post. If everyone had to memorize these rules a lot of tragedies could be averted.

On the gun for a nine year old, I probably would wait a few years. My son is 8 and I would not let him have one. He does have a bow with arrows that he shoots only when my husband is with him. We have made the decision not to let him have a gun until he is about 13-14 at least. He does go bow-hunting when Cale goes, but he isn't going gun hunting until he is at least 14. If you do decide to get him one I would reccommend he only use it when you or your husband is present. Many people, that we know, keep their kids guns under lock and key.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), November 09, 2001.


I have to agree that a 22 is not for a nine-year-old. He is too young yet. Ivy, I wondered if he killed the squirrels he shot at or he just wounded them. It's a terrible thought that an animal would have to die a long painful death. A gun safety course is a wonderful step to take though. Kind of like a beginning. I have a great deal of respect for guns. There is a 9 millimeter always handy, just in case. When my grandchildren are around, I put it where they can't see it. Although I realize that my 4-year-old grandson couldn't get the safety off, I feel better that it isn't handy for him.

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), November 09, 2001.


Gun lover here...9 is too young for a 22......a child needs to have the maturity to think things through all the way to the end before he/she is old enough to handle a weapon that could be deadly. My boys begged for a 22 at that age, and at 10,11 and 12 and 13.....Each got a 22 when they were a freshman in high school..old enough to have learned consequences, old enough to have made several mistakes because of rash judgement or "fooling around"; ImHO, there is nothing so dangerous as a gun in the hands of someone who is ill prepared to handle one. Also, at 9, kiddos are out to impress their buddies more than anything..this continues as they get older, but does lessen as each year goes by into adulthood.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), November 09, 2001.

Good topic to bring up. My parents never owned guns, but I used to go hunting with my best friend and her family all the time starting when I was 12 or 13. Before we were ever allowed to even touch a gun, my friends dad made us complete a gun safety course. After the course, every time he took us out to target practice, we always reviewed the basics, and he made a big deal out of picking the correct place to shoot (a hill or rise behind where we were shooting, good visibility, etc.). To this day, I automatically think of those things whenever I handle a gun. I get indescribably angry when I see how kids (and many adults) handle guns now. Most accidents should never happen.

I agree that 9, nowdays, is way too young for a gun. So many "kids", even into their late teens and early adulthood, do not have the maturity to handle weapons of any sort. On the other hand, my dh at the age of 9, could outshoot any man in the county. This was back in the '40s, and he and his mom were alone on a ranch. He could also run a tractor, milk cows, raise hogs, butcher chickens, cook meals, and he would drive the pickup to town - sittin on a bunch of pillows so he could reach the pedals and see out the windshield. At the age of 14, he was farmed out to a neighbor up the valley to run a ranch singlehanded one summer. As you can see, a very different level of maturity than most kids today. Actually, this was undoubtedly a lot more mature than most kids back in the '40s, altho I know of a few of dh's friends who were raised about the same. They had a great disdain for "city kids", who did nothing but play. (Probably a certain amount of envy, too!)

It seems most parents nowdays just buy their kids a gun and turn them loose with it. We have a 14 or 15 yr old living up the road from us who shoots at anything, and we have had bullets whistling by us while we were out doing chores. I called the parents to complain and they laughed it off. I have since seen the father and grandfather out back "target practicing", beers in hand, on another neighbors property, and shooting across an open field with high powered rifles.....with homes in the background. Please make sure your son is old enough, mature enough, and that you are willing to provide the training and supervision before you get him a rifle!

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), November 10, 2001.


For those of you with childern, I have a very sad lesson learned and thought I would pass it on. My son is a hunter and my husband a retired Marine, so yes we do have guns in the house. We keep them locked in a gun cabnet, safe thing to do right? NO it's not. My daughter use to get mad at her brother for hunting (killing) she did not like guns in the house thought they were dumb. She was a straight A student and a chuch goer 3 times a week (I'm not) Anyway when she was 17 years old (3 years ago) her and her boyfriend broke up, she lost alot of weight and got a couple of B's in school and then a 27 on her A-C-T's in school. I had her to a doctor for depression but from the time she broke up till the time she died was 3 weeks. Since we kept the gun cabnet locked when we were all at work she just poped the back off with a butter knife!! I did not know the back even came off. When we got home she had been dead for about a hour and a half. Only a gun Safe is safe not a cabnet. I miss her everyday and will alway feel like it is my falt for not knowing.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), November 10, 2001.

Oh Teresa, I can't even begin to imagine the pain you must feel in your heart. Losing a child like this just makes any troubles I think I have pale in comparison. The 3 years to you probably seem like yesterday... I am just numb to even think of such a tragedy for a young girl and for her family. My thoughts are with you...Melissa

-- Melissa (me@home.net), November 10, 2001.

Teresa . I am so sorry for your lose .It sounds like you did everything right .There is no explanation for something like this and no right thing to say .

As for the 9 year old I wouldd get him the 22 .My son was 7 or 8 when he got his {he also has a bow} The gun is never touched or shot without are permission and one of us being there .My daughter has been shooting since she was 4 { she can blow anyone away ,she's one good shot}.Gun saftey is always stressed as well as cleaning your gun safely.When not in use they are locked and bullets are put in a different place.It scares me more for the child who is always told don't touch .When someone tells me that it makes me want to touch it all the more !There is no need to go behind are backs and play with the guns , all they have to do is ask .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 11, 2001.



Guess I forgot to mention my son is very responsible almost to a fault and a high honor student .I could trust the kid with my life.He is very level headed.When the house caught fire he was calm and helped me get his 2 little sisters to safety as his older sister ran out screaming.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 11, 2001.

I don't think age is as important as maturity. It varies with everybody. I was raised with guns, don't even remember when I learned to shoot. I think there is a fasination with thing you ain't supposed to do. My sisters kids stayed at my house ,she won't allow the to shoot, and I actually caught 1 of them petting a rifle when I was holding it. I aked the 12 year old how to tell if it was loaded and he said you pull the trigger. She never would let me teach him. when he turned 18 he bought a 22, no training and just started shooting. I saw where he was shooting and it was down hill toward 3 houses and a highway. I cautioned him and he said a 22 wouldn't go that far. You could see the houses. If he had been trained he would have known.

-- Tom (Calfarm@msn.com), November 11, 2001.

As mentioned above before, when to trust youngsters with a potentially lethal firearm is up to the parents opinion on the child's level of machurity. I've known 14 year olds more responsible then 40 year olds.

My nine year old nephew went deer hunting with us this weekend. He has been coming along with his dad (my brother) for the past three seasons. To us, he still hasn't shown that he is responsible enough yet. Like mitch mentioned, he is okay for a little while, gets distracted and can do something foolish. Just use your own judgement; you know him best. Better to error on the side of caution; accidents happen even to the seasoned gun owners; they just get careless sometimes.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), November 12, 2001.


machurity? How about maturity. Man, does my brain make some interesting spelling errors.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), November 12, 2001.

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