1. Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
I keep hearing that as RULE#1. OK, now tell me how do you do that? The statement is a gross oversimplification that the "anti" people might think they understand but when you tell someone to to follow rule#1, where do they begin? Why not provide a list of specific things to be done (the NRA does)?
Yes, I to have an NRA Instructors Certification, and that's probably why I rant, but how does it look to newbies and non gun people when so many "gun" people can not state what they mean. :banghead:
KEEP THE GUN POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION (where people, etc. are not).
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER until you are ready to shoot.
KEEP THE GUN UNLOADED UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT
KNOW YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND
Are those four statements not "Treat every firearm as if it were laded"? If so, how can anyone be so complacent as to use the "short form" of those statements?
Like two other threads I had an incident at one of the local emporiums of legal gun distribution where a customer pointed a 12Ga side-by-side at my face. I immediately (and gently) deflected the end of the barrel away from me and toward the wall. The reply was "well it's not loaded" and I said "I don't care. It's impolite to point a gun at anyone you are not about to shoot." Fortunately the gun salesman smiled broadly and nodded his head and the customer was not terribly offended. His reply was "Oh, I hadn't thought about it that way. Sorry."
My point is simply that how can we, as pro gun people, make headway in educating others, if our basic message of safety is so garbled?!
I keep hearing that as RULE#1. OK, now tell me how do you do that? The statement is a gross oversimplification that the "anti" people might think they understand but when you tell someone to to follow rule#1, where do they begin? Why not provide a list of specific things to be done (the NRA does)?
Yes, I to have an NRA Instructors Certification, and that's probably why I rant, but how does it look to newbies and non gun people when so many "gun" people can not state what they mean. :banghead:
KEEP THE GUN POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION (where people, etc. are not).
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER until you are ready to shoot.
KEEP THE GUN UNLOADED UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT
KNOW YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND
Are those four statements not "Treat every firearm as if it were laded"? If so, how can anyone be so complacent as to use the "short form" of those statements?
Like two other threads I had an incident at one of the local emporiums of legal gun distribution where a customer pointed a 12Ga side-by-side at my face. I immediately (and gently) deflected the end of the barrel away from me and toward the wall. The reply was "well it's not loaded" and I said "I don't care. It's impolite to point a gun at anyone you are not about to shoot." Fortunately the gun salesman smiled broadly and nodded his head and the customer was not terribly offended. His reply was "Oh, I hadn't thought about it that way. Sorry."
My point is simply that how can we, as pro gun people, make headway in educating others, if our basic message of safety is so garbled?!