12 Golden Rules of Firearms Safety

Aaron Spuler is a firearms enthusiast and recreational shooter. Follow more or his work at The Weapon Blog

Rules of firearms safety rules are an absolute necessity for shooting and handling firearms safely.

New shooters are introduced to firearms every day. And the cost of poor safety practices can be dire. So, it’s impossible to repeat the safety rules too many times or make them too available.

The traditional rules of firearms safety are good, and they’ve worked for a very long time. Some iterations of these rules are more realistic, achievable, and cover a broader range of firearm uses.

These are the most effective iteration of the 12 rules of firearms safety to date:

1. Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire
In this rule, “off the trigger” means that your finger is high and outside the trigger guard, up gun’s stock or frame. People have a grasp reflex. If you get startled, you will clench your hand. If your finger is only straight, but inside the trigger guard, you’ll probably crank off a round.

The trigger guard protects the trigger from objects, not fingers.

2. Keep the gun pointed in a generally safe direction as much as possible
There’s no safe direction to negligently or accidentally fire a gun. Unintentionally firing a gun is inherently unsafe. If you shoot a gun, it will hit something, and it will damage it. There’s no way around that. Even downrange isn’t a safe direction to shoot a gun. It’s just the best direction.

Pointing the gun in a safe direction also becomes problematic when using training rounds. The generally safe direction is where it will cause the least damage if you fire the gun.

3. Remember that if you handle a firearm negligently or maliciously, you could injure or kill yourself or someone else. This one gives context and justification to the other rules.

“Never point a gun at anything you intend to destroy” is not achievable unless you intend to destroy everything you shoot.

We don’t even want to destroy the backstop berm at the range. Because then we wouldn’t be able to shoot until they rebuilt the berm. So, the original language is too subjective.

4. Always keep the gun in the appropriate condition for your intended use
“Always keep the gun unloaded until you’re ready to use it” causes confusion in defensive shooting.

One could argue that they’re ready to use the gun when it’s in their holster. However, when the gun is loaded and in a quick access safe for home defense, it’s impossible to be ready to use the gun while you’re asleep. But it’s appropriate to keep your home-defense or concealed carry gun loaded if you stage or carry the gun properly. If you’re storing the gun, unloaded is the most appropriate condition.

5. Always know whether the gun is loaded or unloaded
When you first pick up a gun, check the condition. Never assume that it’s unloaded.

This is a more achievable version of the “always treat the gun as loaded” rule.
If you always treat a gun as loaded, it’s impossible to clean it, especially since some models require you to press the trigger for disassembly. And would you even take a gun apart while it was loaded?

6. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it
The only thing to add here is to also be aware of what could be between you and your target. This part is most important for concealed carry and home defense, where the situation could be very complex.

7. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the gun you are using
Obviously, being familiar with your gun is important. You have to know how to use it in order to handle and shoot your gun safely. The most egregious safety violations I witness at the range are by people trying to figure out how to use their gun. But, this is also vital for verifying that your gun will meet your shooting needs.

8. Always use proper ammunition
Obviously, always use ammunition that fits the gun. Look on the barrel if you need to know the appropriate caliber. Also use the proper ammunition for your shooting context. For example, use defensive ammunition in your carry or home-defense gun.

9. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before loading and shooting
Shooting a gun with a blocked barrel is extremely dangerous. Clean and maintain your firearms.

10. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pressed, keep it pointed in a generally safe direction while you clear the malfunction

Most malfunctions can be corrected by simply cycling the action without unloading the gun.

In rare cases, if you hear a weird “thunk” or high “pop” sound when you press the trigger, you should unload the gun and check the barrel. You got a “squib load” which often leaves the bullet lodged in the barrel. But, if you use factory ammunition, this is an incredibly rare occurrence.

11. Never rely on the gun’s safety to keep it from firing
First, not all guns have external manual safeties. Second, external manual safeties can fail.

If you follow the first two rules, you’ll also comply with this rule.

12. Be aware of your surroundings when handling guns, so you don’t trip or lose your balance and accidentally lose your balance and accidentally point the gun in an unsafe direction or unintentionally fire the gun

This one is pretty straightforward. Also, if you lose your grip on your gun for some reason, let it fall. If you try to catch it, it’s very likely that you will catch it by the trigger and fire the gun. Most guns are equipped with drop safeties. So, it’s much safer to let the gun hit the deck.

These rules may look a bit different than some other iterations. But these rules work for all situations. And they’re redundant. So, they significantly mitigate the risks of shooting guns even if you accidentally violate one of them.

Happy and safe shooting!

Josh Montgomery, MMR’s founder, runs Minute Man Review in his spare time and actively documents the Texas secessionists movements from his home in Austin, Texas. Minute Man Review is one of the fastest growing 2nd amendment and gun blogs online. Since its inception in 2013, it has been covering gear reviews, citizen’s rights, and reporting on the disturbing crackdown on free speech and activity both in the US and worldwide.