Gun Safety Handling

Gun Safety Handling

3. OVERVIEW
•Fundamental Rules for Gun Safety
•Using, Storing and Cleaning a Gun
•Range Safety Procedure

5. 1.ALWAYSkeepthegunpointedinasafe
direction.
Thisistheprimaryruleofgunsafety.Alwayspoint
theguninsafedirectionsothatevenifitwerefiredit
wouldnotcauseinjuryordamage.Thekeytothisruleisto
controlwherethemuzzleorfrontendofthebarrelis
pointedatalltimes.Commonsensedictatesthesafest
direction,dependingondifferentcircumstances.

6. 2.ALWAYSkeep your finger off the trigger
until ready to shoot.
Whenholdingagun,restyourfingeronthe
triggerguardoralongthesideofthegun.Untilyouare
actuallyreadytofire,donottouchthetrigger.

7. 3.ALWAYSkeep the gun unloaded until ready
to use.
Wheneveryoupickupagun,immediately
engagethesafetydeviceifpossibleandifthegunhasa
magazine,removeitbeforeopeningtheactionand
lookingintothechamber(s)whichshouldbeclearof
theammunition.Ifyoudonotknowhowtoopenthe
actionorinspectthechamber(s),leavethegunalone
andgethelpfromsomeonewhodoes.

8. 4. Know your target and what is beyond.
Beabsolutelysureyouhaveidentifiedyourtarget
beyondanydoubt.Equallyimportant,beawareofthe
areabeyondyourtarget.Thismeansobservingyour
prospectiveareaoffirebeforeyoushoot.Neverfireina
directioninwhichtherearepeopleoranyotherpotential
unwantedtargetformishap.
Think first. Shoot second.

10. Know how to use the gun safely.
Beforehandlingagun,learnhowtooperateit.Knowits
basicparts,howtosafelyopenandclosetheactionandremove
anyammunitionfromthegunormagazine.Remember,agun's
mechanicalsafetydeviceisneverfoolproof.Andnothingcan
ever replace safe gun handling.
Be sure the gun is safe to operate.
Justlikeothertools,gunsneedregularmaintenanceto
remainoperable.Regularcleaningandproperstorageareapart
ofthegun'sgeneralpreservation.Ifthereisanyquestion
concerningagun'sabilitytofunction,aknowledgeable
gunsmith,weaponsspecialistandortrainedpersonnelshould
lookatit.

11. Useonlythecorrectammunition foryourgun.
Onlytheprescribescartridgesorshellsdesignedfora
particulargunareauthorizedtouse.Mostgunshavethe
ammunitiontypemarkedonthebarrel.Ammunitioncanbe
identifiedbyinformationprintedontheboxandsometimes
stampedonthecartridge.Donotshootthegununlessyou
know you have the proper ammunition.
Wear eyeandearprotectionasappropriate.
Gunsareloudandthenoisecancausehearing
damage.Theycanalsoemitdebrisandhotgasthatcould
causeeyeirritationorinjury.Forthesereasons,shooting
glassesandhearingprotectorsshouldbewornbyshooters
andspectatorsspeciallyinthefiringrange.

12. Neverusealcoholorover-the-counter,prescriptionor
other drugs before or while shooting.
Alcohol,aswellasanyothersubstancelikelytoimpair
normalmentalorphysicalbodilyfunctions,mustnotbeused
beforeorwhilehandlingorshootingguns.
Storegunssotheyarenotaccessibletounauthorized
persons.
Manyfactorsmustbeconsideredwhendecidingwhere
andhowtostoreguns.Aperson'sinparticularsituationwillbe
amajorpartoftheconsideration.Dozensofgunstorage
devices,aswellaslockingdevicesthatattachdirectlytothe
gun,areavailable.However,mechanicallockingdevices,like
themechanicalsafetiesbuiltintoguns,canfailandshouldnot
beusedasasubstituteforsafegunhandlingandthe
observanceofallgunsafetyrules.Storethegununloaded.

13. Cleaning
Regularcleaningisimportantinorderforyourgunto
operatecorrectlyandsafely.Takingpropercareofitwillalso
maintainitsvalueandextenditslife.Yourgunshouldbe
cleanedeverytimethatitisuse.Agunbroughtoutof
prolongedstorageshouldalsobecleanedbeforeshooting.
Accumulatedmoistureanddirt,orsolidifiedgreaseandoil,
canpreventthegunfromoperatingproperly.Beforecleaning
yourgun,makeabsolutelysurethatitisunloaded.The
gun'sactionshouldbeopenduringthecleaningprocess.Also,
makesurethatnoammunition ispresentinthecleaning
area.

14. RANGE SAFETY PROCEDURES

15. RANGE SAFETY PROCEDURES
1.Makesurethatyourfirearmisunloaded
whenyouenterafiringrange.
2.Handleyourfirearmonlyinthefiringline
orSafetyAreawiththeapprovalofRange
Officer.
3.Loadfirearmonlyuponadviceofthe
RangeOfficerpresentinthearea.

16. RANGE SAFETY PROCEDURES
4.Neverholdyourfirearmifthereare
peopleinfrontofyouorpeopledownrange.
5.Inafiringlinewithnobarriers,theperson
toyourrightisalwaysgivenpriorityunless
statedotherwise.
6.Alwaysannouncethatyouare”FIRING”
beforeyoustartshootingtoallowother
peopletoprepareforyourfiring.

17. RANGE SAFETY PROCEDURES
7.Alwaysweareyeandearprotectorwhen
firingorwhileinsidethefiringrange.
8. Follow 90 degree rule.
9.MakesurethatNOMAGAZINE is
insertedinsideyourfirearmandkeepyour
HAMMERDOWNunlessyouareallowedto
shootandwhileinsidethefiringrange.

18. RANGE SAFETY PROCEDURES
10.Afterclearingyourfirearmammunition,
cockthehammerandpullthetriggerwiththe
muzzleofyourfirearmdownrange.
11.Holsterorbagyourfirearm.Ifyouare
abouttoplacethefirearmonatable,open
cylinderoftheunloadedrevolveror,pullback
andlocktheslideofpistoloropentheboltof
arifle.
12.Followatalltimesthe4RulesofGun
Safety

19. 4 RULES OF GUN SAFETY
1. CONSIDER EVERY GUN IS LOADED.
2.NEVERLETTHEMUZZLEOFAGUN
POINTATANYTHINGYOUDONOTINTEND
TOSHOOT.
3.KEEPYOURFINGEROFFTHETRIGGER
UNLESSYOUAREREADYTOFIRE.
4.BESUREOFYOURTARGETANDWHAT
LIESBEYONDANDAROUNDITBEFORE
YOUSHOOT.