Cardinal Rules of Gun Safety

Gun Safety is Everyone's Responsibility!

Sierra Firearms Academy is dedicated to teaching and promoting the safe use of firearms. With all the troubles of today, many blame the gun for the ills of society, when the gun is only a tool. A gun left alone, is only an inanimate object and harmless.

What makes a gun dangerous is an evil or ignorant person in control of it.

This page is not here to discuss how to fix the problems of society, but rather to educate the uneducated in the safe handling of firearms, in the hope that someone might be spared a tragedy by our efforts.

Firearms safety is not something you read, it's something you do. It's a way of life, a way of thinking and a way of behaving. It must become a part of you and a constant companion, if you are to have guns around you. Guns, like many other tools, are very unforgiving. They demand the respect and caution you would give anything else that is potentially lethal.

These four rules do two things. First, they will prevent you from having an accident. Second, they will prevent you from hurting anyone or anything, if you make a mistake and have an accident.

All guns are always loaded. ALWAYS LOADED....

What this rule means is simply this. You treat every gun as if it's loaded, until you have checked it yourself, and verified what condition it is in. Assume every gun is loaded when you first come in contact with it. Whether it's yours or mine, or anyone else's, doesn't matter. It's loaded until you've checked it yourself. Don't rely on anyone's word, check it yourself.

You see, when the gun is in your hand, you are responsible for it. It makes no difference who's it is. If you do something stupid and hurt someone with it, it's your fault.

ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED!!! Every time you pick up your gun, even if it's only been a few minutes since you had it, check it again..

Your cries of "I thought it was unloaded!!.." won't help after it's done. CHECK IT!

IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT WORKS, leave it alone!

Never let your muzzle cover anything that you are not willing to kill or destroy. You must always be aware of where your gun is pointed. Never let it point at anyone or anything that you don't want to shoot. Think of your gun having a laser that kills, coming out of the bore on the same path a bullet would take. If you let that laser pass over your foot, it's gone. Your child.. Your spouse.. Or any of a thousand other things you would never want to hurt.

This is the rule that saves lives. If your gun is never pointed in an unsafe direction, then no one can be harmed by it, even if you do something stupid. Please, please.... Be careful when you handle a gun. Even if it's empty and you know it, don't let it point at anyone. This is the most often broken rule, that kills and maims so often. People fooling around, with what they thought was an unloaded gun.....refer to rule #1...

Simple and effective.. Keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until your sights are on target, and you have made the conscious decision to shoot.

Most every modern firearm has a number of safeties built in, that absolutely prevent the gun from going off unless the trigger is pulled. If your finger is not on the trigger, the gun cannot go off.  The modern firearm is an extraordinarily safe thing when used properly. You can load your gun, throw it on the ground and kick it down the road, and if the trigger is not pulled, it can't go off..

The television is responsible for most of the true accidents today. When is the last time you saw a gun in someone's hand on TV, and their finger was not on the trigger? Never? Start looking for that and you'll be surprised.

The problem here lies in the primitive brain and the self defense reaction. When startled, the primitive response is to tighten up every muscle in the body, including the trigger finger. If it's on a trigger, it gets pulled. If it's out of the trigger guard, along the frame, it does not...

Without providing graphic examples, please believe me. If you train yourself to keep your finger away from the trigger, except when you want a bang, then nothing bad can happen to you.

Sounds simple, right? Be sure of your target, and what's beyond it..

This is about responsibility. The hand that holds the gun is responsible for whatever is done by that gun. If you launch a bullet, you are responsible for it, no matter where it lands.

Do you know what your gun is capable of? Do you know how far your bullet can travel? What it can penetrate?

Your name is on every bullet in your gun, along with a list of everything you own, and everything you ever will own. That is what you put at risk, along with your freedom, and perhaps even your life, when you hold a gun.

You must know where your shot will go when you fire. You must know what it might hit if you miss your intended target. And you must know what it can go through, and still have enough energy to kill. Sheetrock walls are no obstacle to a bullet. Neither is glass, or floors or most common man made objects.

Before you fire, look over the intended path carefully. If it's not safe to shoot that way, don't. If you have to shoot, and it's not safe to miss, then you better not miss. Find a way to win. Change the background by moving, or change the angle by kneeling.