Gun Safety and Etiquette (Part 1)

By: Paul Giambrone, III

As some of you have recently seen in the Target Talk newsletter from the NSSA, I did a couple of segments on etiquette when you are at your home club and when you are at a tournament. I know there have been some articles written on this subject in the past, but I feel it’s time to discuss gun safety on top of etiquette. We can examine several different scenarios that we will face at our local club for practice and other clubs when you go to tournaments.

Going out to the range is always an exciting adventure and for some of us, that excitement can get in the way of safe judgment. Each year, there are several hunting accidents and thankfully we usually do not have any of those on the skeet field. However, with a slight lapse in judgment at the wrong time, it can lead to an accident very quickly. Some of you at this point might be rolling your eyes, and quite frankly, you guys are the ones I am writing this article for. Almost all of the hunting accidents I hear about every single year come from “experienced” hunters. Ones that at some point during their career thought that they knew it all and didn’t think anything would “happen” to them. These are the shooters that got a little too casual in their approach and lost respect for the powerful weapon we have in our hands. Let’s take a look at how we can stay safe and be good ambassadors to the newer shooters.

I was working with some 4-H kids recently on the sporting clays course and the first rule I go over with the kids is safety. Behind safety is having a fun time when you come out to shoot. A good rule of thumb (outside gun safety) is to always wear ear and eye protection. Not only should the shooters wear ear and eye protection (even when not shooting), but also spectators. What most people don’t realize is that BBs ricochet backwards and can hit you in the eye. Anyways, back to gun safety, throughout the afternoon, we kept talking about these two things. As they shot more and more, they had plenty of fun and remained safe. We were on the course around the 7th stand when I heard an action close on one of the automatics they had. I asked, why is that actioned closed? The boy responded, “it was an accident, let me open it.” Upon opening the gun, a loaded shell popped out. This leads to rule number 1. When going to the club, from the moment the gun comes out of the car to the point the gun goes away for the day, the gun must remain opened at all times. If the gun is open, no accident can take place. So many shooters, especially hunters, are used to loading up the gun as soon as they exit the car, or walk around with the action closed or the over/under gun being closed. This is WRONG on every level! Walking around with the action or gun closed shows everyone that you have a potentially loaded gun that can do a lot of damage very quickly. This is very unsafe and is completely unacceptable. Even if you know the gun is unloaded, no one else around you does. And 90% of the accidents that I hear about are with “unloaded” guns. This isn’t hard for us to do and abide by this rule so let’s all get it done and set good examples for all of those around us. The only time the gun should be closed is when we are about to shoot targets OR with over/under guns, it is acceptable to have them closed when resting in the gun rack. As soon as the gun exits the gun rack, the first thing should be to keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and opening the breech immediately. This leads us to the next safety rule which is the gun should never be loaded until you are on the station. However, we need to be efficient. It is totally acceptable to have the ammo in your hands when walking on the station, just not in the gun. This helps reduce the amount of time you spend on the station and helps keep things moving fluidly.

So the first two rules seem simple enough, keeping the gun open and unloaded until on the shooting station, but we haven’t discussed at length keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction at all times. Straight up in the air, straight down at the ground or for over/under guns, broken open and resting on your shoulder are acceptable practices. You can also rest the butt of the gun on your foot (automatics) keeping the muzzle straight up in the air and the action open. You can also do the same with an over/under, just keeping the breech open. Once on the station, keep the gun pointed downrange at all times. Stations 1, 7 & 8 are generally the stations where shooters may lose sight of where the gun is pointed and may accidentally point it back towards other shooters on the field or on the next field. Remember, pay close attention to where your gun is pointed at all times, not just some of the time. Last rule that I have about gun safety is keeping your finger away from the trigger until the gun is mounted and you are getting ready to call for the target. The 4-H kids take it to an extreme and do not put their finger on the trigger until they actually call for the target. This is an extra safe practice and there is nothing wrong with it! However, it is not fully necessary either. It is acceptable to have your finger on the trigger after the gun is mounted before calling for the target.

All of these points will help you stay safe and show others how to properly handle your firearm. Safety is the most important thing when we shoot and show others how to shoot. Safety should never be taken for granted and the moment you lose respect for the powerful weapon you possess, is the minute you will no longer be 100% safe. You may think casually loading your gun as you are walking on the station is not that big of a deal, and it usually isn’t. Until the day where someone else sees you doing it, then they do it before they get on the station while having the gun pointed in an unsafe direction and there we have a problem. Stay safe not only for yourself, but for others as well. Stay tuned for the next article covering etiquette on the field and at tournaments!

If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at info@gsclinics.com and visit breakmoretargets.com for more information. Please check the website for upcoming tournaments and clinics in your area. Keep in mind that GSC is now in the New Orleans, LA area and will be for the foreseeable future. GSC is available to teach in the New Orleans area all year-round and is now offering ALL INCLUSIVE lesson packages for shooters that would like to travel to me. Please call or email today for lesson availability.

Tip of the month: The NSSA has a safety acronym called MAT. It stands for muzzle, action, trigger. If we keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times, keep the gun open until on the shooting station and keep our finger away from the trigger until we are mounted and ready to shoot, no accidents can happen from lack of gun safety. It is a good acronym to remember not just in shooting clay targets, but also in the duck blind and other hunting adventures. I never heard of anyone being too safe when working with a shotgun so let’s set a good example and be safe all of the time, not just part of the time.