Yes, safety is the first priority in anything! Years ago, in 1977 I was working a afternoon shift at a gas station and got off at 8 P.M. A good friend of mine was the next one on duty and another friend of ours came in to visit and show us a revolver he had bought that day, it was a 38 special snub nose. Well he emptied the cylinder....so he thought and handed the gun to my late friend, yes he died that night. The new owner nor my other friend made a fateful mistake and did not count the rounds nor look at it visually and one way or another the trigger was pulled. My friend died on the way to the hospital, he was a good friend, more than 12 years as I was only 18 at the time. His last words to me was "I am dieing" and I told him that he was not. Had both of the two that handled the weapon did what should be common practice, checked the gun to their satisfaction this would not have happened. Of course some will say it was that the gun should not have been there, but a empty gun of any type is as dangerous as its own weight. I think of that night every time I get through shooting my revolver, I always count how many bullets I put in and how many I take out. Every time. If I am just checking out a function or a new round I dont load every cylinder or load the mag fully. If I want to check a new setting or ammo choice, I usually load 3 rounds and that is just part of my safety routine. I live in a area where you can shoot safely off your back porch in my case and I have made a very good back stop and it is covered and has log sides that are 3 foot tall. It look's like a large horse shoe pit but with a padded roof. I have other than the 3/4 inch plywood top, I have collected love seat cushions here and there and they are on the underside of the roof for any 22 action. It also helps with the bb guns used for practice. Out of well over 750 rounds fired into that set up, every bullet has been contained. I write long post but feel strongly about the safety aspect when I think of my friend that passed.
