Grey Matters

The terrorism, beheadings, burning people alive and other atrocities by Muslims are often attributed to “radical” elements. It’s these “radical” Muslims who are attracted to groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda, the mainstream media say.

Christians have a radical element too, I’m told. “There’s the Westboro Baptist Church and people who kill abortion clinic doctors in the name of Christianity. And what about the Crusades? Have you forgotten the Crusades?“, I’m asked. No, of course not.

Let’s ignore that the Crusades were started as retaliation against Muslims for the slaughter of Christians and let’s look at what they did. Crusaders killed Muslims and Jews indiscriminately. In so doing, they were not following the teachings of Christ. The spiritual leader of the Christian religion taught love, acceptance and forgiveness. Jesus taught his followers that if they should be struck on the cheek because of their beliefs, they should turn the other cheek. The Crusaders may have been Christian in name, but they were not following Christ’s teachings. Far from it. WWJD? It wouldn’t have been a crusade such as that ordered by the Pope.

Contrast that with what Muslims are taught. WWMD? (What Would Muhammad Do?) The prophet Muhammad taught jihad. After belief itself, the number one duty of Muslims is Jihad. The duty of jihad exists until there is universal Muslim domination. It’s right there in the Koran or Qur’an or whatever. To not wage jihad is to be an apostate.

The Muslims of ISIS are not “radical”, they are simply devout and following the commandments of Muhammad and the Koran. Their goal is to impose Sharia law and a world-wide caliphate where all are Muslim or under Muslim domination. This is the essence of Islam. This is what the Koran teaches. No fewer than 120 verses in the Koran exhort believers to jihad.

Islam has religious, military, legal, economic, political and social components. Is is a totalitarian system and immensely inconsistent with a constitutional republic. (Some people say that Islam is not a religion at all, but a murderous cult in a religious guise.) And its goals are what the vast majority of Muslims want. To be Muslim is to want these things. After all, it is a commandment from Allah.

Muslims may not take as friends any person who is an infidel, not even a family member. Islam comes first in a Muslim’s life, as commanded by Muhammad.

Muhammad also taught deception in the furtherance of Islam. If, as a Muslim, you fear persecution, you may claim that you are not Muslim as long as, in your heart, you remain a believer. You can even claim to be a Christian, attending Christian worship services as long as you are a true believer. When finally it is safe to reveal your true faith, then do so.

Muhammad also taught that. in war, it is permissible, when in a position of weakness, to make treaties with the infidels to gain time, regroup and grow stronger. When the treaty no longer serves Islam’s purposes, break the treaty and once again use force to assert Islam’s goals. This is another aspect of Islam’s inherent deception.

Some people will tell you that Muslim deception, “taqiyya”, is limited to cases of religious persecution. This is further deception designed to hide their deception.

Allah himself is often described in the Koran as the “best deceiver” or “schemer.” (see 3:54, 8:30, 10:21). To be deceptive is to emulate God Himself.

One of the ways to wage jihad is to infiltrate an area and peaceably live among the infidels, growing in numbers, gathering strength until Muslims are numerous enough to exert force and dominate. Recent history seems to show that when Muslims reach 6-7% of a given population, they start agitating for Sharia and other “rights”. The vast majority of ordinary Muslims want the same thing Muslim terrorists want, Sharia law and Muslim domination. They’re just going about getting it another way, pretending to be happy to associate with infidels until such time as it is no longer necessary to deceive.

I recently viewed this video and noted that it concluded that there are nearly 500,000 “radical” Muslims in the USA. Their definition of “radical” has to do with whether or not Muslims want Sharia law, a world-wide caliphate and so on.

Critics of “radical” Muslims or those claiming that Muslims within the US are not a threat, not “terrorists” or “radical” are both missing the point. A better criterion, do these Muslims share the terrorists’ goals? What percentage of any Muslim population wants to institute Sharia law? Which of them want a world-wide caliphate? A substantial number do want these things, the same as ISIS and other murderous Muslims. Many support “honor” killings of women. Most want cartoonists who draw Muhammad prosecuted. Islam has many attributes that just do not comport well with free societies, with America.

How “radical” Muslims appear to be outwardly does not matter, regardless of what definition of “radical” you use. What counts is where their sympathies lie. And are you going to take their word for anything, knowing that deception is part of their way to further Islam?

When the fighting starts, on whose side will that nice, peaceful, non-terrorist, non-radical Muslim family next door be? Do you seriously believe that they will stand against their Muslim brethren and defend their infidel neighbors (in defiance of the Prophet’s commandments)? We’ve seen time and again that Muslims and infidels live side by side, seemingly peaceably, but when ISIS arrives, the Muslims are the first to point out their infidel neighbors.

We err when we say that ISIS is a “radical” element of Islam. No, they are the true believers. They are the ones actually following Muhammed’s instructions. They’re simply following the teachings of their spiritual leader.

You don’t have to be a “radical”, murderous Muslim to be Bad For America. I am of the opinion that anyone, be he Muslim or not, that espouses a totalitarian system of governance is bad for America. Stoning is the accepted punishment for adultry and is supported by a vast majority of Muslims. Certain Muslim practices and belief are antithetical to America as are practices of other cultures as well.

Europe is lost. I don’t think they can stop a Muslim takeover. England may be as well. But it’s not too late for America. We just have to stop importing people who want to impose a totalitarian regime out of the Middle Ages.

Now, I’m certain that any number of people who read this will be thinking “Islamophobia!” Nonsense. Such people have lost track of what a phobia is: an unreasoning, irrational fear of something. I have set forth my reasoning for being skeptical of Muslims. And any reservations I have about Muslims is not to say that any particular Muslim will send me running to the safety of my home. I have no phobia, just a healthy skepticism and a desire not to see America turned into a collection of warring tribes.

Feel free to rant now.

I’m learning things about my wife’s new Ford Explorer almost every day. Today I learned that it has a temper.

It’s one of those where there’s no need for an actual key in most circumstances. Just having the fob in your pocket when you approach is good enough for the doors to unlock when you pull the handle. No need even to press the door unlock button on the fob. This is a bit maddening as I have a long-enduring habit of giving the door handle a tug after locking it to ensure it is in fact locked. The Explorer instead unlocks the door for me. Not much reassurance there.

The good news though is that even if the doors did not get locked, the car will throw a fit if there’s stranger danger. Today I wanted to measure something inside the car and made the mistake of approaching the garaged Explorer without the fob on my person. I opened the unlocked driver’s door and was greeted by a beeping that grew faster with each second. The dash readout said something like: “Vehicle Alarm. Start vehicle to silence.” Of course, had I the fob on my person to be able to start the vehicle, it would not be beeping at me.

Shortly, the beeping ceased and the horn took its place, warning the neighborhood that I had opened the door without the sacred fob nearby. The exterior lights joined in, flashing on and off. I went back into the house and returned with my fob. As I approached, the horn stopped but the lights kept flashing. Whether it was the approaching fob that quieted the horn or it had timed out, I do not know. The lights stopped when I pressed the door unlock button on the fob.

Lesson learned

Yesterday I hand loaded some test rounds for my AR-15 300 Blackout short barreled rifle. I’m cooking up a recipe for subsonic rounds for this weapon. I want to keep the rounds to just under supersonic speeds to make my suppressor (“silencer”) most effective. Shooting suppressed is fun.

For cartridges, I’m using cut-down 5.56 mm casings shortened to a length of 1.358-1.368″ and necked to accommodate the Lapua 220 grain OTM, .308 diameter projectiles.

My test loads use Accurate 1680 powder in amounts of 10.8 grains to 11.8 grains in 0.2 grain increments. This range should encompass supersonic to subsonic. The Lapua projectiles are seated to a cartridge overall length of 2.255″. I’ll chronograph the loads to see which is closest to the desired 1050-1060 feet per second muzzle velocity.

And, if the Obama administration has its way, for telling you this on the Internet, I’d be classified an Arms Trafficker and, lacking an export license, arrested and jailed for violating I.T.A.R, International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Just like a guy smuggling machine guns to jihadis.

It’s just another part of Obama’s “pen and a phone call” legislating. If the Congress can’t (or won’t) do his bidding, he’ll just Executive Order the issue. Easy Peasy.

You see, the scardy cats pee their beds and have nightmares about toddlers printing guns from information found on the Internet. Dictators and oppressors world wide share Obama’s conviction that only one’s government can determine who should be permitted a gun.

Never mind that anyone with basic hand tools can cobble together a machine gun in a few hours and blue prints for weapons have long been via available mail order since before the Internet. 3-D printed guns are the latest boogyman in government’s war against people being able to protect themselves. And Obama means to do somethings about it. By Executive Order. A pen and a phone call.

Constitution? Fuggedaboutit, we’re talking EXECUTIVE Order! Trumps the Constitution, right?

When another event of GunViolence occurs in the USA, critics are quick to point an accusatory finger at the “Gun Culture”. This action demonstrates colossal ignorance. Not only is the Gun Culture not responsible for nut-cases committing mass shootings, the Gun Culture contributes to our overall safety and security.

As a “gun nut” and senior member of the Gun Culture, I can say with authority that the Gun Culture is the guy at the range sighting in his rifle for the upcoming elk season. The Gun Culture is two buddies discussing the merits of different primers for a cartridge loading that one of them is developing. The Gun Culture is the mother teaching her daughter to lead the clays at the trap range.

The Gun Culture is the fellow melting down wheel weights to mold his own bullets and the woman practicing with the 9mm pistol she carries in her purse. The Gun Culture is is the cowboy action shooter and the three-gun competitor.

The Gun Culture is the fellow searching for the right buffer weight and spring strength to tame the recoil of his wife’s AR-15 modern sporting rifle. And the Gun Culture is the guy posting to an on-line forum looking for information as to why his newly built rifle doesn’t function properly with subsonic loads.

The Gun Culture is the fellow who volunteers his time to teach a gun safety course about The Four Rules.

The Gun Culture is the couple at the next booth in the restaurant, both of whom have Concealed Carry Weapon permits and who are both prepared to defend not just themselves, but you as well, should some nut-case go on a rampage.

There are many things that the Gun Culture is but a source of mass shootings is one thing it is not. Further regulating the Gun Culture with more laws and regulations is not going to solve a problem caused by people who do not obey laws and regulations.

The problem with mass shootings is indeed cultural, but it is not the Gun Culture that is at fault. More likely, it is the “Me” culture, the FaceBook, Twitter culture that is based on having “friends” who “like” you. It is based on getting attention by any means necessary. The Me culture is all about doing whatever it takes to be known or remembered. Even if that means shooting up a school and killing numerous innocent people to gain notoriety.

And shootings not of the “mass” variety are, more often than not, committed by the Gang Culture. These are the folks who will shoot you for wearing the wrong colors or being in the wrong neighborhood. Or for trying to sell your dope in their territory.

The Gang Culture believes that committing and threatening violence is the way to get “respect”. And they could not be farther from the Gun Culture.

We often hear people showcasing their ignorance by claiming that GunViolance is a result of “easy access to guns“. Nonsense. There are people of my generation who used to take their squirrel guns to school and leave them in the rear of the classroom, then bag a few squirrels for dinner on their way home. Were there school shooting back then?

Guns were far easier to get when you could walk into most any hardware store and buy a gun as easily as a saw or hammer. Guns are in fact much more restricted now than before the Gun Control Act of 1968. Now we have to buy from federally licensed dealers who must run a background check.

“Easy access to guns” is not the problem. Guns were once easier to access and mass shootings by self-aggrandizing attention-getters were unknown.

You’ll note that I used the term “GunViolence” earlier. I did this because to some people, Guns and Violence are synonymous. Whenever they speak about “violence”, it is always preceded by “gun”. For reasons I cannot fathom, they seem unconcerned about other types of violence. Indeed, the violence does not concern them, only guns do. This is why, instead of looking at the causes of violence, they continue to fixate on guns.

Something has changed since the old days but it certainly hasn’t been that guns have become easier to get these days. The problem is very much cultural. As with most every other problem, until it is recognized as a problem and acknowledged as such, this cultural problem cannot be fixed.

Those who claim to abhor GunViolence are trying to fix something that is not broken. There is nothing wrong with the Gun Culture.

But there is something wrong with the culture and it is endemic to our inner cities. There is a cultural deficit with a very particular part of our culture. Political correctness prevents society from identifying this sub-culture. Identifying the correct part of the culture upon which to focus our efforts is the first step to solving it.

The Four Rules of Basic Firearms Safety (The Four Rules)

There are four simple rules of gun handling which, if followed, would prevent most “accidental” firearm injuries. Now, “accidental” is in quotes because what we usually refer to as accidental shootings are almost always negligent shootings. That is, someone shot a gun when they did not intend to, but the trigger was pulled intentionally. Given that guns are designed to go boom when the trigger is pulled, having one go off and shoot someone due to someone pulling the trigger is no “accident”. It’s negligence.

A Negligent Discharge (ND) results from pulling the trigger expecting a click and getting, instead, a boom.

We have all heard of someone who shot himself or someone else, or a coffe table — whatever — “accidentally”. Again, these were not accidents if the trigger was pulled. These were NDs caused by violating one or more of The Four Rules.

It is the object of The Four Rules to reduce NDs to zero. Of course, with zero NDs, far fewer people and objects would be shot unintentionally.

While negligent firearms injuries are relatively rare compared to, say, automobile injuries or “medical misadventure”, every one is unwelcome and the vast majority could have been easily prevented. Below is the short version followed by a more exhaustive explanation of the Four Rules.

1. Treat every gun as if it is loaded until you have verified that it is not.
2. Never point a gun at anything you cannot afford to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire.
4. Be sure of your target and what is in line with it.

Simple. There are good reasons for each of these rules and now we’ll cover them in more detail.
Rule one is probably the most misunderstood. The way most people teach Rule One, it is routinely violated.

Rule One
Treat every gun as if it is loaded until you have verified that it is not.

This is a somewhat longer version of Rule One than most people know. Most people teach it as “Treat every gun as if it is loaded”, period. The problem with this is that there are certain things we do with unloaded guns that we would never do with a loaded gun. If you are truly treating a gun as loaded, you would never be able to do these (unloaded gun) things.

For example, before you clean a gun, you should verify that it is unloaded. Cleaning a gun is one of those things you only do with an unloaded firearm.

Shipping a gun off for repair or service is another. You should never pack a loaded gun and ship it off somewhere. Attaching a trigger lock is something else that should not be done to a loaded gun.

Dry fire practice (aiming and pulling the trigger of an unloaded gun) is another unloaded gun activity which requires verifying the unloaded state of the weapon before beginning. If we were to truly always treat every gun as if it were loaded, dry fire practice is out of the question — it is not something you would do with a loaded gun.

So, my somewhat longer version of Rule One acknowledges that there are “unloaded gun” things that we need to do and that it is okay to treat a gun as not loaded, but only after you have personally verified that it is in fact unloaded. Personally.

When I explain my version of Rule One to people, they typically say something like: “Well, you have a point, but I’m still not gonna point a gun at someone even though I know that it’s unloaded.” And my response is: Good. But you’re talking about Rule Two and I’m talking about Rule One.

So, yes, it’s okay to treat a gun as if it is unloaded as long as you, yourself, personally, with your own senses have determined that it really is in fact unloaded.

Never take anyone’s word for it that a gun is unloaded. Lots of people have been shot by “unloaded” guns. If someone hands you a gun, you should determine if in fact it is loaded or not. (Or just treat it as loaded, following the Four Rules.) Until such time as you have determined that it is unloaded, you must assume that it is loaded and handle it accordingly.

And it doesn’t matter whether the person handing you a gun claimed to be unloaded is your neighbor, best buddy or a world-class shooter. Check for yourself to ensure that the gun is unloaded. Worried about insulting or offending your friend by not just taking his word for it? Don’t be. If he’s any kind of a gun guy, he’ll understand Rule One and appreciate the fact that you take his safety as well as your own seriously enough to verify whether the gun is loaded. And if he’s not familiar with Rule One, there’s your opportunity to spread some knowledge and safety training.

How to Unload a Gun

NOTE and DISCLAIMER: The following information is not all-inclusive and is provided only to give readers a basic understanding of the unloading process. Weapons vary one to another and it is impossible to cover every type of weapon in this short write-up, nor is it my intention to do so. Loading and unloading of firearms is best practiced with an instructor and using dummy rounds. All are encouraged to seek out knowledgeable personnel at a gun store, shooting range or gun club to learn from someone who is experienced and qualified. These limited instructions are included only because knowing, in the abstract,  how to determine if a weapon is loaded is an important part of Rule One.

There are two parts to unloading a gun.

• Remove the supply of ammunition
• Remove the round from the firing chamber, if present.

During the unloading process be sure to follow rules One, Two and Four, always keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and your finger outside the trigger guard.

Most handguns are one of two types:semi-automatic or revolver.

Semi-automatic pistols are fed by a magazine (sometimes mistakenly called a “clip”). A magazine is typically released by a button on the left side of the grip just behind the trigger guard. Press this and the magazine may drop clear of the grip. In other cases, it may have to be pulled out. Less commonly, the magazine release is at the bottom of the grip on the front or rear.

Having removed the magazine, there may still be a round in the chamber. To remove this round requires that the action be worked by hand. Holding the grip in your shooting hand, use your other hand to pull back on the slide so as to extract the round and propel it out the ejection port. The round, if any, may be flung a short distance. To prevent this, turn the gun onto its side with the ejection port downwards and wrap your hand around the ejection port as you pull back on the slide. The round should be ejected right into your hand.

With the slide held back, look inside the gun to make sure there is no round present either in the chamber or the magazine well.

Revolvers typically have a swing-out cylinder that is released by a sliding catch. With the cylinder swung out, a push-rod in the front-center of the cylinder will eject all rounds at once when pushed. Since a revolver cylinder is just a series of firing chambers, having ejected the rounds, you have also cleared the firing chamber(s).

Older revolvers may not have a swing-out cylinder and each round of ammunition must be pushed out separately after rotating the cylinder to make it accessible. There is typically a swing-open cover on the right side of the revolver frame to expose the single round to be ejected.

Unloading Long Guns, the semi-automatic ones, is much like unloading a semi-automatic pistol. Remove the magazine then empty the chamber. Modern Sporting Rifles of the AR-15 variety are quite popular and very similar in operation. Bolt action rifles may not have a removable magazine, though there may be a catch to open the trap door on the magazine bottom to empty it. Flipping the bolt up and pulling straight back should extract and eject any chambered round.

Single shot rifles and shotguns may have a latch to “break” them open. Once again, seek proper training and know your weapons well. Practice to maintain your familiarity.

Rule Two
Never point a gun at anything you cannot afford to destroy. Rule Two is sometimes stated as “Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.” I prefer the version with “destroy” in it as it is often hard to find a truly “safe” direction. If the gun were to discharge, something you did not want to shoot will be shot. There are no “good” outcomes from a ND, so keep the gun pointed toward your least expensive furnishing. After all, a direction that may be safe for you may not be safe for your television set, refrigerator or the clock on the wall, should the gun go off.

I prefer my “destroy” version of Rule Two also because I want to impress on people that a gun is not a toy; it can destroy.

This rule alone, if universally followed, would prevent all injuries due to unintended discharge of a firearm. By definition, if a bullet strikes someone or something that it shouldn’t have, causing injury or damage, it was not pointed in a safe direction.

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to never point a gun at another person (that is, unless it is your intention to shoot that person). This applies to even a fraction of a second! Suppose that you are holding your gun pointed straight ahead and someone calls to you so you turn around and in the process the muzzle of your gun (still pointed straight ahead of you) crosses persons next to you or off in the distance. You have just, however briefly, endangered multiple persons by your unsafe gun handling! Such behavior will have you thrown off of a shooting range and perhaps banned. That’s how serious this is.

Even if you’re sure the gun is unloaded, it is not a “safe” direction if there are people where your gun is pointed. No one likes to have a gun pointed in their direction, not accidentally, not in jest, not ever. Many people, if you point a gun at them, will assume you intend to do them harm and will act to defend themselves. After all, they don’t know it’s unloaded and unless and until they, personally, have determined it to be so.

So we’ll say it again: Do not point a gun — even an empty one — at someone unless you intend to shoot that person. Ever.

There is no exception for unloaded guns. If you make an exception for unloaded guns, then there are times when you will point a gun at someone. Better to never point a gun at anyone that is not a threat. It should be such a force of habit to never aim a gun in an unsafe direction that it never happens.

Rule Three
Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Until you have decided to fire, leave your trigger finger straight and outside the trigger guard. If your weapon is pointed at the target, so should be your trigger finger until you have made the decision to shoot. “Finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard”  goes for any and all gun handling that is not actual shooting at a target.

Note too that this rule, like the others, is not a “loaded gun” rule. It applies to all guns, loaded or not.

Some people state Rule Three as: “Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.” I urge more caution; wait until you have decided to fire before putting your finger inside the trigger guard. Keep you finger off the trigger until you have decided to actually pull the trigger.

You know how people, when exerting themselves, clench their jaw? Do you think that person made the conscious decision to clench his jaw? Of course not. It was a reflexive, unconscious action. Our bodies often betray us by doing things we did not intend.

In a training class, I was told about a police officer who had chased down his suspect and had him sitting on the ground. The officer had his gun trained on the suspect. Using his non-gun hand, he then grabbed the suspect by his collar and began to hoist him up when his gun went off, killing the suspect quite unintentionally. When clenching his fist and lifting with his free hand, his gun hand involuntarily clenched a bit too and, because his finger was on the trigger, he caused a ND. It’s called sympathetic compression and is one of those things our bodies do involuntarily.

So, even though the suspect was a legitimate target and the officer may have had to fire in self defense at any moment, he would have been better off keeping his finger off the trigger until the decision was made to pull the trigger.

One big mistake people make is to put their finger inside the trigger guard when presenting (drawing) a pistol. The occasional “racing stripe” results when the trigger is pulled while lifting the gun from the holster and the bullet grazes the shooter’s leg along much of its length. A proper holster will completely cover the trigger guard making it impossible to put your finger inside the trigger guard when drawing.

So, alway, always, keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you have made the decision to pull the trigger. If in a hurry, the difference in time between starting with your finger on the trigger compared to outside the trigger guard is trivial. And safety is vastly improved if your finger stays outside the trigger guard.

Rule Three violations are quite common on TV cop shows and in the movies, indicating that the shooting coach or adviser is not doing a good job. We expect to see Rule Three violations by the frazzled person not familiar with firearms and forced by circumstances to pick up a gun but not by Officer Makes His Own Rules, the protagonist. YouTube has a number of Bad Examples as well, though there are more Good Examples than bad.

Finally, that same, proper holster that covers the trigger guard and prevents putting your finger on the trigger when removing the gun from the holster will, if your trigger finger is through the trigger guard when re-holstering the firearm, push against your finger when you push the gun down into the holster and cause a discharge! This is in fact the most common source of NDs when training with holstered pistols — returning the gun to its holster! So, make it a habit: Once your sights are off the target, get your finger outside the trigger guard and flat against the frame of the weapon. It’s all part of Rule Three and is one of the ways to prevent Negligent Discharges.

Rule Four
Be sure of your target and what is in line with it.

That rule exists not only to be sure that what you are about to shoot is what you think it is, but you should also note anything between you and your target that may be hit and what lies beyond your target and will be hit in the event you miss or your bullet passes through your target.

Let’s take Rule Four in two parts, first being to be sure of your target. At the shooting range, you’re probably the one that put the target up so you’re pretty sure that’s it’s safe to shoot. Where you may not be sure of your target is when you’re out hunting or in a self-defense situation.

Sadly, some hunters are not certain of their target before they fire. Livestock and even other hunters can be shot by hunters that do not know for certain what they are shooting at. Not all movement in the brush is the desired game animal! Always, always, get a good, clear look at your intended target and verify that it is the deer, elk or other game that you hope it is.

Upon relating Rule Four to a friend, he told me that, as a youth, he and a friend were walking through the woods when he stepped on a twig which hade a loud snapping noise and the next he knew, bullets started striking the tree beside him. A clear Rule Four violation.

Recently a South African olympian was convicted of killing his girlfriend by firing through a closed bathroom door. He testified that he thought there were intruders in the bathroom. A clear Rule Four violation.

In self-defense situations, it is your intention to shoot an aggressor — a person. The last thing you want to do is shoot the wrong person — a spouse that returned home early from a business trip and in the middle of the night, a child that couldn’t sleep — or anyone else that does not pose a serious threat. It is not our intention to discuss when lethal force may be used or the moral implications thereof. That is a discussion for another day. I only urge you to be sure — before you pull the trigger — that the person you are shooting is who you think it is and not an innocent party that you have mistaken for someone or something else.

It is ever so important to know for certain what it is you intend to shoot.

Now that you’re sure of what your target is and you’re certain that you want to shoot, it is necessary to consider what is in line with the target. There are three considerations here:

• Your bullet may strike something before it reaches the target and be deflected.
• You may miss your target.
• Your bullet may pass through the intended target and strike one or more unintended targets!

Once again we find that at the shooting range, you have little to worry about. Ranges are constructed such that bullets passing through targets and all but the widest-of-the-mark misses land safely in berms or barriers constructed for that purpose.

Hunters though should always be aware of the location of others in their party and of their own proximity to habitations.

Beyond that, you should also be aware of what stands between you and the intended target. Are there innocents that may be hit? Are there obstructions that may deflect the shot and send it who-knows-where? You are responsible for that shot no mater where it lands. And there is no way to call back a bullet once shot.

You must consider too what lies beyond the target. It is not enough that you have verified that there is an intruder in your apartment or home and that he is pointing his own gun at you. You may have decided to shoot him in self defense, but what happens if you miss? Is that the neighbor’s apartment beyond the wall behind him? Is it the baby’s room? What might happen if you miss? What might happen if your shot finds its mark but the bullet passes through him? Who might also be shot?

Depending on who might inadvertently get shot, the prudent thing to do might be to retreat to a position where your shot cannot cause collateral damage.

So, there you have it. The Four Rules of Basic Firearm Safety or, just “The Four Rules”.

1. Treat every gun as if it is loaded until you have verified that it is not.
2. Never point a gun at anything you cannot afford to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire.
4. Be sure of your target and what is in line with it.

These are the essence of firearms safety. Follow the Four Rules and the chances of a Negligent Discharge will be vastly diminished. All discharges, intentional and otherwise, will be far less likely to injure anyone you did not intend to shoot.