The Four Rules - Absolutes?

The Four Rules

1. All firearms are loaded

2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy

3. Keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target

4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

There's been a bit of talk going on about the 4 rules of firearm safety. I'd like to open this up for discussion. While I do agree that under most situations, these rules ARE absolute. However, there are times that they are NOT.

For example, #2. I have heard of a few occasions from police types that their new officers are so beat down about never ever pointing a gun at a person that when it comes time for them to do so in the course of their job, they can't do it; or struggle mentally to do so. I can also think of a scenario where a loved one is being held hostage in your home - you arrive home from work and hear screaming, run to see what's going on and there's a man holding a gun/knife/whatever to your significant other's head. You ARE going to end up pointing your gun at your spouse if you choose to engage the threat. Are you going to not do so; in order that you may stick with rule #2?

Concerning rule #3. Let's say that you have 2 bad guys, with a hostage/spouse/whatever between them. Are you going to engage bad guy #1, somehow avoid pointing your pistol at the hostage in the middle and thereby violating rule #2, take your finger completely off the trigger and then re-engage the trigger when the muzzle has been moved to bad guy #2? Granted, your chances of EVER having to do this are probably less than getting struck by lightening, but to say that a scenario such as this would be impossible would be kidding yourself. Instead of the old standby of "keep your finger off the trigger" I like better the concept that the most basic skill you must master in shooting is properly controlling the trigger. If you learn to properly control the trigger, you're well on your way to mastering the skill of shooting.

Concerning #4. The body must be an acceptable bullet trap. I by no means advocate or advise anyone to spray and pray, whether it's at a match or on the street. I would also like to think that I would have the ability to figure out pass through angles, etc if I am ever unfortunate enough to be involved in a shooting. However, I would also like to think that the bullets I choose to carry will not over-penetrate the target and I'm not going to spend a lot of time worrying about it if it comes down to nut cuttin' time.

There are other rules that bear consideration.

Let's say you have a squib round. If you're at the practice range, or the match - you are instantly (if the safety officer is paying attention) told to stop. However, what are you going to do in a life or death scenario? I don't know about you, but I'm pulling the trigger again and hoping the stuck round makes it out the barrel. For the record, I HAVE seen that happen and know it's possible.

Let's say you have a jam. The mother of all jams. Slide's stuck and won't come back, no matter how hard you tap/rack/click/tap/rack/click.... The usual fix for this (and don't try this at home children, without me actually showing you how to do it) is to grasp the top of the slide with your weak hand, and then smash your strong hand into the grip of the pistol. 99% of the time, that works. But let's say you're in a gunfight - and you don't have time! I once saw an honest to goodness old school lawman do this one time in a match - I NEVER would have thought about doing it to my weapons. He was behind cover engaging the targets. Gun jammed as described. He spent countless seconds trying to clear it. He then gripped the gun tightly with both hands and punched the barrel he was hiding behind with the muzzle of his pistol. The shooter calmly racked the slide, ejected the stuck case, and started shooting again. (in the process violating rule #2 - I'm sure he didn't plan to destroy the barrel).

I think the 4 rules are a fantastic guideline for life at the range, or around your house, or out hunting with your friends or just about anywhere in your day to day life that you'll be touching a gun.

But in a gunfight, they could also get you killed.

I'll close with a couple of quotes, one from a movie, and one from someone who's been there, done that and has the t-shirt, scars, and medals to prove it. First, from the movie Blackhawk Down - "My finger is my safety." And from a warrior - "I don't want shooters who can think. I want thinkers who can shoot." Hope this gets YOU thinking.