I am going to start my page content with the most important topic concerning owning a Firearm. Safety is the absolute most important part of owning a gun. It doesn’t matter what type of firearm you own, Handgun, Long Gun, Machine Gun, etc., You need to operate them all equally and that is Safely!
I am going to go over the 5 basic, but critical safety rules that I beg you to follow when handling firearms. I will try to break them down and explain so they are easy to understand.
Treat Every Firearm Like It Was Loaded.
This one seems easy enough, but some clarification is needed. The first time you handle a gun, you need to treat it like it was loaded until you clear it. I don’t care if you watched a Range Officer, S.W.A.T. Officer or a Navy Seal Clear the weapon before they handed it to you… Treat it as if it were loaded. This is what causes negligent discharges.
Always Point Your Firearm In A Safe Direction.
This is self-explanatory and leads into the next safety rule. Let’s say you go and buy a gun and you bring it home to show your significant other or the like. When I was researching this article, I came across a line that said “Point your firearm in such a direction that if it were to magically go off, nobody would be hurt and no property damage would occur.” Let me just tell you right here and now…..firearms don’t magically discharge, doesn’t happen. Don’t point the gun at them! See simple. 
Never Point Your Firearm At Anything You Don’t Intend To Destroy.
So when handling your firearm and especially firing your gun, Always make sure it is pointed at something you don’t mind destroying, because guess what?? That will happen. What this rule alludes to is the following.
- Keep your gun pointed down range providing it is safe, I.E. Nothing down range that you don’t want to destroy.
- If you have weapon mounted scope, don’t use it to look at things far away unless you are plan on shooting it.
- Use Common Sense!
Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Ready To Shoot.
This is very, very important! Think about this if you will……when you are about to shoot a gun for whatever reason, you are going to have serious amounts of adrenaline flowing and if your finger is on the trigger before you are ready to shoot and that excitement gets the best of you, bad things are going to happen. So keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot – Simple!
Be Sure Of Your Target and What’s Behind It.
Ahhh, This one is probably the trickiest one of them all.
A lot of people who are new to firearms and shooting ranges are sometimes under the impression that all the targets down range are going to stop the bullet they shoot at it. Not always true. A lot of indoor ranges use hanging paper targets and will have a proper bullet stop at the end of the range, nut necessarily right behind your target. Outdoor ranges will usually have a dirt hill or berm ,etc. at the back of the shooting pit, but again not necessarily right behind your target.
Let’s say you are out in the woods hunting. You find the most amazing trophy buck and you take aim and pull the trigger. What you didn’t see was the other hunter opposite of you just past that amazing buck. Guess what, you may of killed the buck and the other hunter. Yes bullets have the capability to travel to through paper targets, animals, etc.
Firearm Safety Is Common Sense.
So there you have it. I have summed up Firearms Safety in the 5 most common steps. While researching this article I found as many as 10 steps, but basically the other five were just expanding on these. The thing that should be jumping out at you is this all involves common sense.
Now please keep in mind that most responsible gun ranges (indoor or our) will have their own safety orientation that you will have to go through before being allowed to shoot. There is usually a quick video or presentation that covers safety and range etiquette.
So please be safe and enjoy your firearms.
For more information,Please check out the NSSF.
If you ever have any questions or comments, Please feel free to reach out and I will get back to you.
Sincerely, 
Chuck
www.fivecharlie.com
This is a very concise list of rules for firearm safety, Chuck! It is a must for the beginning gun enthusiast and serves as the beginning of a solid foundation in firearm education and authority. Thanks for this critical information!
Good Morning Jeff,
You are quite welcome.
I appreciate your feedback and please feel free to keep an eye on the site as I continue to add content.
Have a Great Day!
-Chuck
Hey,
You are absolutely right, firearm safety IS common sense.
This is a very important article, especially with what has been happening in America over the last week with mass shootings etc. People need to take firearm safety extremely seriously. It is not good enough to “wing it” or not care about firearm safety.
I hope many people will come across your article and learn from you.
Thank you for sharing such an important topic, and keep up the great work.
All the best,
Tom
Hello Tom,
Thank You for taking the time to read my post and for leaving me a comment, both are very much appreciated.
I feel very strongly about firearms safety and follow the rules to a “T”
Have a Great Day!
-Chuck