Adding a 5th Rule to the Basic Rules of Firearm Safety?

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Seems to me like this one is important and fundamental enough that maybe it should be added as a standard recitation:

....

5. While the gun is unloaded, visually inspect the bore (from the breech if possible) to check for bore obstructions.


Bore obstructions could be almost as dangerous as a violation of the other 4 rules. Thoughts?

 

[sturmgewehr667]

yes, that is very important, usually i just run a cleaning rod through tho bore before i go shooting, not while the gun is loaded, we all know what happens when someone "cleans a loaded gun"

 

[withdrawn34]

Not a bad idea; there are several things to do to make sure firearms are safe, but I think that the four rules' main purpose is to provide a simple set of four rules that anyone, even those new to guns, can follow - that cover the mass majority of things that can go wrong.

All in all, a bore obstruction is probably less likely to happen than the issues prevented by the other four rules.

Regardless, it is a good thing to check.

 

[dmazur]

Many of the manufacturers, undoubtedly prodded by their attorneys, have expanded the list of rules to 12 or more. I think I saw a list once that had 20...

These included things like not lubing the chamber, not crawling over a fence while holding the rifle/shotgun, making sure the ammo matched the gun's chamber spec, etc. etc.

Some included rules for handing a gun to another person (what I call "gun store protocol"), and some didn't.

If someone could write these in, say, the style of the late Patrick McManus so they are both educational and amusing, people might actually read them. Better yet, they might remember some of them.

I'm agreeing that the 4 Rules are for safe use of a gun. (Firing one.)

They're not going to handle all aspects of hunter safety, reloading, gun maintenance, or gun storage. And these are definitely important, but perhaps too lengthy to be summarized in list form.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Your rule 5 conflicts with rule 1.

 

[Frank Ettin]

Your rule 5 conflicts with rule 1

+1

The thing is that there are a number of things that could be added to the FOUR RULES. "Use the correct ammunition" for one. But the Four Rules are not intended to encompass all considerations for proper firearm management. They are supposed to be a simple, easily remembered and easily processed set of basic commandments for safe gun handling.

I've seen lists of gun safety rules as long as 10 or 12 points. They were all technically correct and useful, but long lists don't serve the purpose that the Four Rules are intended to serve.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Your rule 5 conflicts with rule 1

This is a good point - it COULD conflict with rule 1 - if you can't view it from the breech. But in my world, this is a recognized exception to rule #1.

 

[Frank Ettin]

This is a good point - it COULD conflict with rule 1 ... But in my world, this is a recognized exception to rule #1.

Thanks, but in my classes, the Four Rules work just fine. I really don't see any reason to change or confuse matters.

 

[seale]

This whole thing about lists of "basic rules" has been over for a long time because too many people and companies make the list too long. "Simple" rules are for general disbursement and cannot go beyond two or people forget them. Therefore there's two rules: finger off trigger and point in safe direction. The dozens of other "rules" people come up with are not for mass dissemination among the general public until they learn the "basic" two that I just outlined. I've seen various gun companies print handouts with "simple rules" and it always is a long list that can't be remembered by noobies and it always contains rules that have to do with cleaning or something. Cleaning a firearm is a specialized form of "handling" a firearm. Checking for bore obstructions is what the owner of the firearm should do, and therefore a separate list of rules is for the owners and actual users of firearms and I would call them "operation rules" as opposed to being part of a comprehensive, one size fits all, list of "basic" rules (that misuses the word basic).

 

[Jim Watson]

Rules 1 - 4 emphasize MY safety from YOUR gun.
If you want to check the bore on your own hook that is fine with me, but it is not a universal requirement.

 

[Funderb]

how about rule number five is "Always check for obstructions in the bore before shooting."

 

[ReadyontheRight]

how about rule number five is "Always check for obstructions in the bore before shooting."

IMHO - This an extremely confusing addition to the "4 Rules".

-Do you check for obstructions between each shot? What if you are shooting an autoloader or a "machine gun?".
-Do you suspend disbelief that you should "treat every gun as if it were loaded"? We, of course need to do this for cleaning, but it is not a requirement to suspend this disbelief when shooting.
-The method to "check for obstructions" is going to be different for many kinds of guns.
-If this was a "rule", published on the Internet and printed in gun manuals, it would probably cause a LOT of first-time shooters to eyeball the muzzle of their gun - and probably cause a death or two.

The Four Rules:

Rule # 1 - Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
Rule # 2 - Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.
Rule # 3 - Keep your finger off the trigger (pointed straight forward) until ready to fire.
Rule # 4 - Be absolutely sure of your target, and what is behind it.

These rules don't account for an obstruction in the barrel, but they also do not account for the wrong sized round in the chamber, wildly inaccurate sights, dropping guns, handing guns to known idiots, etc.

To be honest, I have rarely checked for an obstruction in a gun. I do check with a new gun and, of course when cleaning and if I ever have a strange sounding or feeling discharge.

It seems to me that the four rules are just fine. Any addition would include bigger fish to fry...like a rule that you open the chamber when handing a gun to someone, or you empty your chamber when coming upon someone in the woods.

The thing is...MY new rules (and YOUR new rule) apply only in a peaceful situation.

Jeff Cooper's Four Rules apply even when someone is shooting at you and you need to fire back! I am guessing he thought about this long and hard while writing them. Hence the belief in the wisdom of Col. Jeff Cooper.

 

[akodo]

there are too many equally good contenders for rule #5, be it barrel obstructions, ammo compatability, general check for mechanical defect, rules about passing over fences or carrying up the deerstand ladder, etc.

Look at firearms injuries, how many of those are related to the 4 rules being broken (99%) how many to reloading errors (9.5%) and how many to bore obstruction (0.5%?)

Besides, you have a bore obstruction, you ruin the gun, but no one is seriously hurt...much different from accidentally getting hit with the bullet!

 

[Frank Ettin]

Rules 1 - 4 emphasize MY safety from YOUR gun...

An excellent way to put it. The Four Rules, as I understand it, were originated by Jeff Cooper at Gunsite. Gunsite runs hot ranges. The Four Rules were an attempt to set our simple commandments for safe gun handling on a hot range. They've worked well for some 30 years.

The Four Rules as stated at Gunsite:

Rule One

All guns are always loaded.

Rule Two

Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

Rule Three

Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target.

Rule Four

Be sure of your target. (Know what it is, what is in line with it, and what is behind it. Never shoot anything you have not positively identified.)

 

[RPCVYemen]

Heck, I never bought the 4 rules - the NRA safety courses taught the "three commandments of gun safety" (for me at the Izaak Walton League in Germantown, MD) - in the early 60's:

1. Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to shoot.
2. Always be sure of your target, and the backstop behind it.
3. Keep your finger out of the triggerguard until your sights are on target and you are ready to shoot.

The "1st rule" a lot of people added to these only makes sense if you distinguish between loaded and unloaded weapons pointing them at things - which I was taught never to do.

The one other safety thing that I was taught that seems to have slipped out of vogue was never to hand a weapon to someone else with a closed action. I was taught to open the action before I handed a weapon to anyone. In those days, it was mostly bolt action rifles, and everyone I knew followed that rule.

Mike

 

[Frank Ettin]

The current NRA rules, as we teach in NRA courses, are:

[1] Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

[2] Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

[3] Alway keep the gun unloaded until ready for use.

These rules have always struck me as useful for target shooting on a cold range. I find the Gunsite Four Rule more apt for practical uses of a gun (i. e., hunting or carrying gun for self defense) or for a hot range.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Rule One

All guns are always loaded.

The Gunsite wording of this one just never made any sense to me.

For a new shooter, he/she could very easily think that they are supposed to keep their gun "loaded" at all times. A round in the chamber in their home...in the car...walking to the range...while people are setting up targets...when cleaning...etc.

'Weasel-wording', I know. But "Treat Every Gun As If It Were Loaded" makes a heck of a lot more sense.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

The one other safety thing that I was taught that seems to have slipped out of vogue was never to hand a weapon to someone else with a closed action. I was taught to open the action before I handed a weapon to anyone. In those days, it was mostly bolt action rifles, and everyone I knew followed that rule.

Mike -- I think that is an outstanding rule. One we should preach here on THR and keep in "vogue". There are very few guns where it does not work (AKs are a notable exception).

The thing is..as mentioned above...the four rules apply even when you are in a life/death situation where your weapon is critical to protect your life.

This rule (and many other good firearms safety rules) do not apply if someone is attacking you and yours.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Don't add to it. The 4 rules do what they are intended to do: keep you or someone else from being shot due to negligence. When I took my NRA hunter's safety class they had something like 15 rules and it covered things like that. The 4 rules are the basic, bare bones way to keep from sending a bullet where it's not intended. There are laundry lists of other rules for people willing to read them.

 

[Frank Ettin]

...But "Treat Every Gun As If It Were Loaded" makes a heck of a lot more sense....

I disagree. The point of the rule is that if you see a gun, you know that it is loaded and act accordingly. That is the mindset we want.

When one merely treats a gun as if it were loaded, or pretends that the gun is loaded, one mentally admits the possibility that it is not actually loaded. That invites sloppiness and carelessness.

I've been teaching various handgun and personal protection classes for some time, and our experience with the Four Rules in Gunsite form has been very positive. The fact that they work well in practice suggests that no change is needed.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I disagree. The point of the rule is that if you see a gun, you know that it is loaded and act accordingly. That is the mindset we want.

When one merely treats a gun as if it were loaded, or pretends that the gun is loaded, one mentally admits the possibility that it is not actually loaded. That invites sloppiness and carelessness.

I've been teaching various handgun and personal protection classes for some time, and our experience with the Four Rules in Gunsite form has been very positive. The fact that they work well in practice suggests that no change is needed.

I defer to your training experience. But don't ANY of your students ever get confused and think that you mean that their guns MUST be loaded at all times?

The ONE time I brought up the Four Rules this way in my deer camp, where my family has been safely handling firearms for more than 90 years, I generated nothing but confusion. My younger cousins thought I meant that they should keep their rifles loaded when in camp.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

When one merely treats a gun as if it were loaded, or pretends that the gun is loaded, one mentally admits the possibility that it is not actually loaded. That invites sloppiness and carelessness.

If someone merely treats it as if it were loaded, yet acts carelessly, regardless of whether it is actually loaded or not, they should be punished to the degree that they'll remember that moment every time they pick up a firearm. Violate rule #1, not good. Violate rule #2 after #1, serious rear-end chewing time. Violate rule #3, you're gone.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

The thing is that there are a number of things that could be added to the FOUR RULES. "Use the correct ammunition" for one. But the Four Rules are not intended to encompass all considerations for proper firearm management. They are supposed to be a simple, easily remembered and easily processed set of basic commandments for safe gun handling.

Agreed.

 

[Frank Ettin]

...But don't ANY of your students ever get confused and think that you mean that their guns MUST be loaded at all times?...

I haven't had that experience, and it may be the way we introduce the rules.

We start out by saying at the very beginning that we are going to talk about safe gun handling. We make the point that safety is non-negotiable and that it is up to the person to have the proper attitude and understand the basic rules. I usually introduce the Four Rules. I start with Rule 1 and explain it something like this.

"The First Rule is 'All guns are always loaded.' Notice that I didn't say 'Treat guns as if they are loaded.' If I see a gun, as far as I'm concerned, that gun is actually loaded."

I then ask one of the other instructors if I can see his gun. By arrangement, he's standing at table, and there's a gun on the table. He says "yes", and I go to pick up the gun and say --

"I didn't ask him if it was loaded, did I? Why not? [That's right], as far as I'm concerned it is loaded, and nothing he could say would change my mind. If he tells me that it's not loaded, I won't believe him. Why not? Because Rule 1 tells me that all guns are always loaded."

I then proceed to handle the gun, showing good gun handling -- muzzle control, finger off the trigger and outside the guard, etc. I demonstrate opening the action and confirming status.

Another thing we do in our beginner classes is give the students several opportunities to handle different types of handguns under the direct supervision of an instructor. Many of our students have never so much as touched a gun before. We have a variety of handguns along the side of the classroom (pointed at a wall we know is concrete). The student has a chance to handle the gun, while we walk him through the manual of arms for that particular gun -- have him operate the action, verify status, load and unload using appropriate dummy rounds, etc. And while we're doing that we're continually reinforcing the application of the Four Rules in real life.

It works quite well.

 

[NotSoFast]

5. While the gun is unloaded, visually inspect the bore (from the breech if possible) to check for bore obstructions.

You might want to change that first part to "5. After checking to ensure the gun is unloaded, ..."

All we need is for some dummy to overlook the first four and look down the barrel with it loaded.