This Is THE Most Dangerous Thing Gun Owners Do, And You're Probably Doing It! 

Rule #1: treat all firearms as if they are loaded. In my house, they are.

New gun owners learning muscle memory to never have their finger on the trigger is PARAMOUNT

I was in a gun shop that had a glass jar of bullets on the counter. I inquired about it and the owner told me they all came from "empty" guns that customers carried in. He said first thing they do is check firearm that people carry in. Pretty scary.

Mark, they're not accidental misfires, they're negligent discharges. It was by the negligence of the person holding the weapon, failing to verify the firearm was empty, then pulling the trigger. I was at a qualification training session when a older officer had a mis-fire. He pulled the trigger and the round failed to discharge. Not 20 seconds earlier the group was instructed in the event of a mis-fire, maintain a down range position, and raise your hand. "Hank" fanned the entire line with the handgun, as he turned to answer the instructors question if he had a problem.

I was in a gun store in Wyoming earlier this year. These folks had rules posted in many places, check the chamber is the first and it went on from there. The one thing that really stuck with me was #3, aim at posted targets only, these targets are 8 feet up on the wall and in places where people shouldn't be. While I was there, an individual was removed because they did not obey the rules by aiming some where else.

I was at a *major box store* this week and I totally got flagged with a green laser, I look over and the guy is just scoping me out in the aisle, buying a rifle with the store rep. Don’t be that guy

Ask Alec Baldwin ! A beautiful woman killed and a son without a mother.

Maggie is a fantastic person with a contagious personality. Wouldn't mind meeting her if I lived near her gun store in Missouri.

Was a commercial driver. Passed a young lady on Chicago loop who was applying fingernail polish while talking on the phone...and driving 60 mph!

I performed underwater recovery for 20 years and I had to hang a sign in the diver section of the command post that said, "complacency kills". We were diving in dangerous conditions and you had to keep your head on a swival.

When I was a little boy both my father and school ( when they taught about Gun's in class) stressed the point of knowing the loaded/unloaded state of your weapon at all times and was the most important gun safety issue!

The loudest noise you will ever hear is a click when you expect a bang and a bang when you expect a click!

This is a peeve of mine. Gun shops should have a safe place to aim a gun when you're considering a purchase. Even when someone does clear a gun first, that doesn't give comfort to the person who was flagged by accident. There should be a safe zone clear of any concerns. #baldwin

why not provide a specific safe place for customers to aim at?

As an old medic dealing with a multitude of gsw incidents. My exposures are complacent acts, alcohol, distractions, ego, anger and so on. We are at times lazy and take short cuts. This covers everyone.

That's how Alec Baldwin killed that lady on his movie set!

Others have said it already...no accidents, only negligent discharges. Just like pilots...after so many hours of flight time under your belt, the risk of accidents actually increases due to complacency. Always be vigilant!!

That is the reason you always do the same thing after picking up a firearm. You check it .... each and every time someone hands you one, pick it up etc. Thank you for the video. Maggie please be safe. Would miss that friendly smile and laugh. Everyone take care - Be safe and always God Bless.

This took me back. I was hunting alone and climbing over a fence with my Dad's Sears bolt action .22 with the safety off when it discharged skyward. I didn't realize an uncocked rifle could discharge. That was in 1964. I never told my Dad. (My Dad made me a present of the rifle over twenty years later.) From then on every gun was loaded and pointed in a safe direction. I noticed a few months back that when I removed a gun from my safe I was failing to do a check. There are only empty guns in my safe and all ammo is stored in a different safe in a different room. Even so there is no excuse to skip a safety check.......ever. I have made the correction.

There was an incident when I was around 18, where one approx 16 yr old acquaintance thought that somebody was messing with his VW overnights. He loaded a 336 lever gun given to him by his father. Another friend was visiting, and did not understand the operation of the rifle. The bullet went thru a wall, and then thru the young mans heart. He got out the words mommy, then dropped and died in the dining room, in front of his mother. This memory is what makes me very cautious around those I cannot confirm understand the functions of any particular arm. Also why I don't use public ranges. There were other examples from the public ranges, but the most common is boyfriends taking girlfriends out to shoot their pistols. It's a bad mating ritual. Great talk.

“There is nothing in this world more dangerous than an unloaded firearm…” I enjoyed your video and will be subscribing.

As I was growing up, my dad, a former firearms safety instructor, would hand you a gun, from time to time. He expected you to 1) point the gun in a safe direction. 2) clear the weapon. 3) now you could look at the gun and sight it in a safe direction… Failure to doe these 3 steps with every gun you touched would get you in trouble with no guns for a couple weeks/ months… I still use this process today at 66. Oh, and if you didn’t know the gun action/type someone had just handed you, you were to stay in position #1 while you asked the procedure to clear the gun. This simple process has kept me and those around me alive and accident free all these years… I wish everyone practiced them.

I recently picked up gun I purchased online at Academy Sports and while I was standing at one end of their substantial gun counter I looked to my left and saw another customer pointing a short barreled, pistol gripped 12 gauge at me as he was conversing with the guy behind the counter. I didn't see either of them clear the gun, so I stepped straight back and re-positioned myself directly behind the customer. I didn't want to "make a stink" so I didn't say anything, but the guy was "window shopping" and just asking to see this gun and that gun and the salesman seemed as oblivious to where the guy was aiming and "feeling out" the guns as the customer was. I haven't been in a gun store for years but that whole experience was a rude awakening and unpleasant experience for me. Just for the record, I don't like being painted by guns in shoulder rigs much better. If you are turned around and have your back you me, I really can't tell that you're cocked and on safe and have a leather strap covering the firing pin. I just see a gun barrel aimed at me and everyone else behind you as you rotate your body while you do your job. I'm not saying that you are being unsafe, but a light jacket to cover the gun would maybe give an "out of sight, out of mind" effect to squeamish old men like me. I'm glad, because of that recent incident at Academy, that you are addressing this issue.

I think it's human nature, we tend to let our guard down with things we are comfortable with. I remember doing target practice in the middle of nowhere. I remember catching myself almost placing my firearm on the ground, chambered. With people around me. I had to tell myself no, it goes into the holster. I had to actively think of what I was doing. It really takes effort to pay attention to all the details in real time.

Spent some time in the Army....NEVER SWEEP somebody with your weapon.

Mr.Gunsandgear had a good video about the how the first rule of gun safety is WRONG.. instead of "treat every gun as if it is loaded" TO "know the status of the firearm"

Once upon a time, there were mostly revolvers, there were no cell phones, and in general, there were a lot less distractions. Fatalities occurring in video games and Hollywood movies are not real life, and society has been dumbed down. Often times, those that can't do, teach what they can't do, and those that can't teach write books. We must pay attention and accept full responsibility for our actions, and that's all of our actions. Great presentation Maggie and Mark. Blessings!

Nailed it! Complacency. It can happen to all of us in any industry. I watched a lineman get knocked on his butt because he didn't ground off the capacitance in a "dead" 13.2kv line. (One phase = 7250v) You have to keep your head in what you're doing.

I am a retired heavy truck mechanic. Our shop had a safety meeting every week where they drilled into us the danger of complacency. Always do a job the same way every time, including the safety precautions. Getting in a hurry and taking shortcuts gets people hurt. This applies to handling firearms as well.

Complacency caused my negligent discharge in my own closet. No one hurt but woke me up and now always check over and over again

When I was a kid getting really interested in guns, my mother would find newspaper articles about people being killed or shot while cleaning an "empty" gun, or a friend wounded or killed by an empty gun. She used to say, "Empty guns kill people." At first I thought that was a silly statement because empty guns can't fire a cartridge that doesn't exist. Then I caught her meaning, which was that it's the guns that we think are empty and safe that kill people. To this day, over 60 years later, I still can't pick up an empty gun. They're all loaded until I check to prove to myself that they're not, sometimes twice. In 60 years of shooting, I've never had an empty gun fire, and I've never had a negligent discharge. One hangfire that took about 5 seconds to go off gave me firsthand experience with that surprise. Guns are dangerous. Treat them with respect, and teach your children well.

We have had a problem with supposed "first gun" buyers actually loading a gun with a live cartridge just before they hand the firearm back to the counter person. This is a deliberate attempt to cause a negligent discharge by the next person to look at the firearm in question. I sometimes wonder if it is an attempt to make FFL dealers look criminally negligent. Under today's politics, an ATF agent could do this easily to make a FFL dealer look careless or dangerous in the ATF's eyes. I always clear the firearm before putting it back in its case (you could do this a thousand times, and find the firearm cleared and safe, but it only takes one missed cartridge to ruin your business). Also, some private individual can do the exact same thing just to ruin you. You can never be too careful, always clear a firearm after someone has handled it. I also never buy a firearm unless it has been checked out with law enforcement and the NICS system. A stolen firearm in your posession is a liability you never want. Some customers get angry when you can only offer half the value on a trade in for another firearm (your overhead, cost of doing business, and any other liability causes this), and want to "get even" with you. That is what we experience almost everyday we are open. I have a sign that states "if you do not like our prices, there are other firearm dealers you can go to". I price fairly, and if they say they saw the firearm cheaper at another store I direct them to go there to buy it. I am polite, but firm in this. This policy has saved me much trouble over the years. I could go on for pages on what I have learned over the years, but these thoughts and practiced rules have kept me in business.

One disagreement, in my mind there is no such thing as an accidental discharge! A negligent discharge yes.

One of the first things my dad taught me about guns was always treat it as if it's loaded, never aim at anything you don't plan on shooting. As a child, he almost shot his sister. He thought a shotgun was empty and shot it through the ceiling, it just missed her in her room up stairs. In the Marines we were taught the same thing. I've seen to many out in the bush or field, hunting and walking along behind another hunter with their firearm pointed at them or swinging it around were it points at someone. Another thing I've seen is people climbing over fences with their firearm in hand. Either hand to someone and cross or put it through the fence and pick it back up after your over it. My ex's boyfreind wanted to take my son to a class for shotguns with like a dozen other kids around the same age. I said no. I've seen to much stupid even with adults. In Marine boot camp, we were to all through a garnade, we went two at a time into a concrete fenced box with a drill sgt and did it, when I and another went in, he was to through first, he pulled the pin, raised it and dropped it. Luckily the drill sgt. was fast and grabbed it and got it out befor the, was it three second delay was up? Also worked on a range for about a year and saw alot of stupid even with trained Marines.

I the auxiliary police we had a procedure before looking at someone else's gun, "Make it Safe" where they remove the magazine, rack it a few times, then lock it open and place it on a table. Then we pick it up check it rack it and check it again. Use the same procedure to return it to the owner.

I’ve been shooting for 60+ years. Taught safety from day 1. As I got older, Boy Scouts hammered safety. I taught all three of my girls how to shoot and gun safety. Then, one day after range shooting, I brought my semi 9 in and started taking it down to clean. Part of the process is to pull the trigger to get the slide off. I was distracted talking to my daughter. Next thing I know, BAM!!! Luckily, I had pointed it at the ceiling. Bullet grazed my hand for a minor injury. Doc sewed it up with no problems. It’s humbling to have your grown daughter tear your ass up about gun safety. She was standing right next to me. I don’t care who you are…. Things can happen. Got complacent over the years.

What's even crazier is the shoulder holster she is wearing literally flags everybody she is around. Not to mention we know that gun is loaded. I hate shoulder holsters.

Great points. What works for me is to visualize the location of my fingers when using my table saw. At 72 I still have ten fingers. Thank you Lord for helping me be focused.

The gun shop I go to has a special place on the wall, way up high, made for pointing the boomstick at. There is nothing in the next room, they own it. The first time I picked up a gun off the counter, I asked if that spot on the wall was a good place to point the gun. He told me that maybe 5 people asked before they pointed a weapon there. I visit him before I buy any boomstick.

It comes down to the old saw "Familiarity breeds contempt", I'm a Brit, Lived, worked, and carried in the US for 10 years and I come from a 'no gun' culture but was trained by the UK Armed Forces whose lessons you do not shake no matter how many years down the line,

I never pick up any gun without clearing it. Ever.

Never have done that. I have always said, Keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction.

Maggie - I think you're idea of a gun owners 101 for people who've been around guns for 30+ years is a great idea. Unfortunately, people who are highly experienced in anything will tend to bypass those types of classes/pamphlets/conversations simply because they are experienced (not just guns, but in anything we do). Not to add to your list of things to do, but potentially one way to counteract that would be to compile a list of "bad" or "complacent" practices you see, just in the store, and tally how frequently you see those occur. Then over a one month/six month/12 month period, post this tally up somewhere. Then, people can keep an eye an what the top "bad" practices are and really think about how to counteract them. Not saying you need to shame any one individual (or you can - you run your store the way you want), but saying that it provides food for thought.

Maggie, you hit the nail on the head as to why I no longer ride my motorcycles. I have seen some incredibly stupid moves by drivers in the last few years and decided that I want a cage around me for protection. As far as firearms, I treat them the same way I treat power tools, extreme caution, checking and double checking.

Knowledge and common sense is what we all need

I'm, a retired LEO whop was a firearms instructor from 1968-88. I then after retirement taught Concealed Handgun license classes and civilians to shoot for 12 years. No one was ever shot. However there were lots of dumb things happen on the range. What I stressed was safety first and always. Today I'm 84 and I still get my guns out and go through checking them to keep my brain in tune with safety.

Unfortunately I know the consequences of “accidental discharge.” A friend was handed an “empty” pistol, he wasn’t experienced with firearms or basic firearm safety. He accidentally discharged the weapon and killed another friend. Also had a friend home on leave that was proud of the new 1911 he had just bought. Handed it to me and frowned when I dropped the mag and noticed rounds in the magazine. “I wouldn’t hand you a loaded gun man, cmon!” I racked the slide and a round that had been chambered popped out. Every gun is loaded until it’s cleared and checked for me.

I have been trying to be a lot more aware of things around me when in shops, or at the range by myself, or cleaning... I clear them like 3 times in a row now, and try to always point at the floor, not a wall, or anywhere else... You are right though, complacency will kill you. The ONE time you forget or do something too fast. i did a video on it a couple years ago. The more comfortable you get the easier it is to forget.

I’ve had a PD driving diagonally across a parking lot almost hit me (stopped) because she was looking down at a cell phone while driving.

Couldn't agree with you more. I hammer safety home to my customers always. Train that its always loaded. Thanks Mark and Maggie.

Great video! Safety, safety, safety! A few years ago, we had cleaned up an old 20ga pump shotgun. Took it outside, loaded a few shells, pumped it to chamber a shell, and with my finger nowhere near the trigger, BOOM it went off. Thankfully, I was being cautious, pointing it downward & away from everyone, so no harm was done. We took the trigger & firing mechanisms out, soaked them in gasoline, cleaned them real well, & never had another incident. Another time I left the house with my CC pistol thinking it was loaded. Later in the day, it dawned on me that I had never loaded it. We must always check everything, trust nothing & always be cautious.

3:54 Spot on! And Maggie's follow up comments about being "too" comfortable is where the complacency starts. I remember in 1974 I bought a Harley. When he saw it the old man said, "The day you think you know everything there is to know about that thing is the time to get rid of it." Complacency and safety is exactly what he was talking about.

It's always loaded and ready to go! That is the only way to treat it.

Complacency is the worst offender of ND, IMHO. Going into my local GS recently, I was happy to see the salesman safety check the firearm before handing it to me to check out, despite him pulling it out glass cabinet that only the staff could open. Looking at a second pistol option, he did the same and scored points with me for sure. The scariest thing was at the same store where they had a clear plastic candy jar, about 1/2 full of LIVE rounds pulled from firearms brought in by customers, saying "It isn't loaded"...........R-I-I-I-G-H-T.

If you want to check the trigger, check the weapon thoroughly for safe condition, ask the store owner for permission to dryfire and point weapon at floor to do so. I dislike having a firearm inadvertently pointed at me at a shop. And it does happen. (For novice gun buyers, bear in mind that some firearms should not be dry fired, thus the reason for asking).

Twice I've come home from the range and ejected a live round from what I knew to be an "empty gun" before putting them in the safe.

I get flagged just about every time I go to a gun counter, usually by the employee.

Maggie, you are correct about the unsafe handling of firearms.

I have gone into a gun store that have attached range. I want to try a different type firearm and I tend to get upset when the person at the counter will hand me the gun without 1. Showing me it’s empty, 2. How to load and unload it safely, 3. Where the safety is and how it works. I’ve seen it both at gun stores and in the military. It make so angered that someone won’t take 2 minutes to help make sure everyone is safer. I’ve seen it so often where someone is in the range and doesn’t even know if the gun has a safety let alone how to use it. It is entirely un acceptable for it to happen with a rented firearm.

Thanks for the discussion on 'firearm complacency'. It was a very important reminder on firearm safety and handling. It was something I haven't considered to take a more serious approach on, especially since I have been a firearms user since the early 80's. I will start asking the gun store clerk where they consider to be their 'safety zone' within their store to point a firearm I am looking over. In Canada, every firearm licencee, is taught the ACTS and PROVE check when taking physical possession of a firearm. ACTS: A- Always assume a firearm is loaded. C- Control the direction of the firearm's muzzle at all times. T- Trigger Finger off the firearms trigger and out of the Trigger Guard Area. S- See that the firearm is unloaded and PROVE it safely. PROVE: P- Point the firearm's muzzle in the safest possible direction. R- Remove all ammunition from the firearm. O- Observe that the firearm's chamber is empty, visually and physically. V- Verify the firearm's feed path is clear, visually and physically. E- Examine the bore for obstructions, oil, dirt and other debre. (This does not mean looking down into barrel from the muzzle end. Use a cleaning rod or something similar.) When doing these checks on a firearm one takes possession of, some parts of these I will have to start being 'firearm complacent' and much more firearm safety and handling oriented.

Always a good reminder for everyone. Love the channel and all your content.

I have been in a lot of tiny gun shops who have bitchy owners. Their shop is so small there is no safe place to point a firearm in a shop with a tiny floorspace. When I buy a gun I am going to make sure it works, that involves pulling the trigger and looking down the sights. You sell something as is, no returns but I cannot properly check out the gun, you can keep that gun. Customers are much less likely to say something rude or never come back if the staff is polite and helpful, it's not the customers fault you have a shop to tiny to have a safe area.

Obviously you can never be too safe with a firearm but if I’ve personally inspected a weapon and confirmed there’s no ammunition in the weapon, I can confidently point it anywhere. There are two reasons not to point a weapon (even though you’ve cleared it) at another person. One is respect and the other is that another person may see you and get the impression you’re about to shoot that person, possibly causing them to take action against you.

This is the one I see most broken - be certain of your target, your line of fire, and what lies beyond your target.

A gun shop employee once handed me a handgun to try, and I immediately cleared the gun and checked the area for a clear spot to aim. She said, "You can aim at the boss over there. We don't like him anyhow." We all laughed and laughed, and I aimed the gun at an area where there was nothing but a wall. We don't play stupid games 'round here.

I was at a gun store 2 days ago, looking at a 22 revolver. The owner takes it out of the case swings out the cylinder shows me it's empty closes it spins it and hands it to me pointing it at my belly. I take it from him saying thank you when I have control of it, check the action and lockup pointing down with no one else in the store. I open the cylinder from the frame put my middle finger between the cylinder and top strap and hand it back butt first. He smiles at me and says that's how my dad does it. My response was Your dad is a smart man. As I exited the store I wondered if he got it?

"When you get it, you check it. And when you give it, you check it. If it was out of your hands and/or sight, you check it." I learned this from my Dad, 57 years ago before I was in the First grade. The "Old Man" was in the Army for almost 40 years, and had about three years to go before getting out. I really took this to heart and I teach it. It has been a great Mantra. Dad always said. "It is for everything....... Pistols, rifles, Howitzers, slingshots, and Phasers son. Check Them. There is NO excuse". (Yeah I chuckled too. Dad and I both: Star Trek-TOS fans!)

One dude at my old USAF unit had a negligent discharge albeit with a blank firing starter pistol. His callsign henceforth was "Spoo" which is "Oops" spelled backwards.

Yep, gun stores are weird places. When you handle the weapon there’s no where safe to point it.

And never never point a a barrel at someone even if you know 200 percent it’s unloaded. I always make a habit to point in a safe direction at the ground

I'm 68, the son of a career serviceman. I went through an NRA junior .22lr program starting at 10 yrs old, shot for my High School rifle team, and have been hunting and shooting virtually my entire life. Here is my take on safety...one in which I've sometimes taken flak. You could want to show me your firearm, drop the magazine where I could see it was empty, rack the slide back in the locked position where I can see it's empty, drop the slide and hand me the pistol and the first thing I am going to do is rack the slide and look. Some folks have been irritated because they already showed me the weapon was empty. And hey....I knew it was to. But the reason I checked again has to do with building habits. If you do it every time it will become habit and a habit you'll never forget and you will never have to say in a court of law "I didn't know the gun was loaded">

A smart gun store owner has "aim here" signs posted at safe locations on walls. The also advise customers on safe handling procedures.

Great video! I love all your videos, particularly those done in the gun shop with Maggie.

I will tell you a story. I was going down the street. Somebody cut me off. They came into the right lane from the left lane and then went to the left lane again when they got up by the light. I pulled up by that car and this woman was eating dinner not out of a bag. She was eating off a 10-in plate. She brought her whole plate into the car and was in there eating as she was eating while she was driving The whole ball of wax knife fork and probably drink somewhere but you didn't care about it almost hitting me running me off the road and actually Maggie being on the motorcycle. That's the best place you could be with. You got people doing that around you cuz you can see right in the car. That's all I got to say about that lol

We were about to start cleaning guns after a range visit last year and found a lever action with one in the chamber...no discharge, but it was a cheap thrill we didn't care for...complacency is dangerous...

Complacency can happen to anyone. A few years ago, I was processing a scene on a search warrant execution when the Captain standing next to me answered their cell phone and asked me to return to our office to handle a shooting investigation. One of the SWAT officers had apparently failed to clear their weapon after the team had conducted the entry for us on our scene, and when the team returned to the office to debrief, he managed to discharge a round from his issued M4 through a wall. Fortunately only minor scratches resulted when jacket fragments struck a patrol sergeant in the thigh, but the officer who fired the shot was extremely emotional over the entire experience. Scary stuff folks. Be careful.

It would be bad enough to hurt yourself because of not checking a firearm, but a loved one getting hurt or killed because of your oversight would be the worst kind of hell a person could live through.

Maybe a check point target in the gun stores that has reinforced barriers behind would be a good idea for concerned gun store owners and employees. That way your sight checks would be in a controlled target area.

when i was a boy, i was taught, ALWAYS check the fire-arms, and if you MUST aim the gun, aim at the floor, somewhere their aren't any people, so when i see people do that it drives me nuts too

I totally 100% agree with gun safety. I also am one of VERY few who believe in car safety. I am a veteran, and have been shooting guns for 46 years. I have never had a gun discharge when I didn't intend for it to. But when after you have cleared a gun, meaning removed the magazine, and stuck a pencil down the barrel and it came out the other end, while paying full attention to what you were doing, that gun is now UNLOADED. It is now a paperweight. Obviously you NEVER point a gun at another person, UNLESS you intend to shoot them, or are at least prepared to shoot them if they don't quickly retreat, but the gun is now safe to handle. I even point a known loaded gun at my foot and leg while holstering it. I carry it with it pointing at my foot and leg, and even pointed forward when I am sitting down. There is a big difference in being complacent, and knowing what you are doing. I suggest watching this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qEcfjuRXXJg.html

I usually point the gun down as I test the trigger. I mean anytime you pick up a gun you should clear it before checking it out. I've watched my dad clear a gun at a gun store, him hand it to me and I will clear it again. Safety is your own responsibility

GREAT VIDEO! This should be required viewing at every gun purchase for new and experienced gun owners just as a refresher (if nothing else) so we can be as safe as possible and set the right example. Thanks to both of you.

Fleeing California after living here over 23 years. Moving to an undisclosed location in the Appalachian Mountains of NC in 5 Weeks! Get rural, start prepping, become more self reliant and prepare for hard times. I'm not a "dooms-dayer" , but I've never seen the state, the country, the continent, the WORLD in the most dire state of being in my short 45 years of my life. Buckle up, there's gonna be some hard times in our near future. Secure your home, learn you weapons and open handed skills and have the gear to survive. Water and food are number one and two. without the prior, it doesnt matter how many firearms or how skilled you are. 3 days without water and every one of your preps becomes obsolete. Prep smart people!

Another thing I don' hear taught or mentioned enough is the Hot Brass Shuffle! When the hot brass goes into their eye protection, down their shirt or lands on their neck, they start flailling and swinging the gun everywhere trying to get it out/off. This can be (and has been) deadly! LET IT BURN! Put it DOWN before you Get Down!

Wow... again, as I wrote on your other video... what a delightful young lady. We need people like her in Congress. Great Video

I think the expectation of following safety protocol has out placed the public's adoption of safety protocol. I firmly believe in the 3 (or 4) firearms safety rules but I don't remember anyone 20 years ago saying anything other than "Be careful with that." As a minor, and young adult I was routinely handed a loaded gun. Trigger discipline wasn't a thing.

I'm glad I've learned to not be complacent in this area... Every single time I pick up a firearm I clear it. Every time I dry fire I make sure the wall I'm pointing at has nothing behind it with a safe clearing beyond the wall or at a gun show or shop I will always point a solid spot in the ceiling... My buddy was going to sell me a 410 shot gun and he told me it was clear I even watch him clear it... well lone behold maybe a problem with the spring or tube a shell was still in there and when I went to double clear it that shell was loaded... I noticed immediately because I don't just clear the gun by racking it multiple times, I look at the action and barrel to make sure nothing actually goes in... Even when the bolts open when I pick it up I clear and visually check... Every single time I do a double clear and check... And I even tell my friends when I hand them my firearm after clearing and checking, "check it again, even though you just saw me clear it, clear it yourself too... You can never be too safe especially with firearms."

Yep always check because you might hear a bang when its supposed to click and click when its supposed to go bang.

This is life, folks. You have to strike that balance. If you're pedantic, or if you delight in correcting others, you're not helping. Make sure you're being safe always, and try to keep growing as people.

70 years ago my next door neighbor was out hunting. He was walking along carrying his 12 guage under his arm and tripped on a tree root and shot his toes off!!! All the kids in the neighborhoods saw the results and we all grew up as ultra safe firearms owners.

Since I was a child I've known to treat any/all firearms as though they're loaded. I don't understand how anyone could be so nonchalant about handling them.

When I was in the police academy a long time ago; we were given the task of cleaning a lot of service revolvers . One of the other new officers picked up one of the guns; aimed at the wall and pulled the trigger, with never checking if it was safe? I was horrified that any one would do that . Years later ; I was selling a GP-100 that I hated to the rangemaster ; he opened and ejected the rounds into his hand, closed the cylinder , aimed and fired at the wall and pulled the trigger ; the gun fired into the wall into my neighbors apartment . Five bullets had been ejected, and the sixth stuck in and didn’t come out?that was the departments range master, so safety checks are a good thing, some one could have died in either instance

The thing I don’t understand nobody is saying is why don’t you have your gun lock on the gun(safety lock or childproof lock) so that way the bolt is held open on a semi automatic rifle and that way on a revolver you can still call Still check to see if it is unloaded!

I taught my boys to only accept a firearm from someone when handed to them if the action is open and then to only pass a firearm off with the action open. If it is a pistol, slide locked open. A revolver, cylinder open with your fingers in the opening, if it a rifle, bolt open, etc. Then do a pinky check, visual inspection, etc. If you happen to pick up a gun that has the action closed (perhaps your own when taking it from the safe, for example), I taught them to rack the slide, action, etc. several times, pinky check visual inspection, etc. before moving on. A few seconds of paranoia can save decades of pain.

When I maintenance a firearm, I do the following: Remove from safe. Clear & check twice. Insert chamber flag. Place in case. Take to work bench. Remove from case. Remove chamber flag. Clear & check twice. Disassemble & maintain. After I’m finished, I repeat the process in reverse.

I have been playing with guns for around 25 years. I've made mistakes in my younger years, but I am VERY particular about muzzle and trigger discipline. It's experience and common sense.

Old gun safety saying, "It is not if, but when, you have an unintended discharge." Always obey ALL the gun safety rules and each rule seems to cover mistakes in other rules.

All good reminders and yes, way too much complacency when it comes to weapons. I have a usual 3 check system with each weapon. Open it, view it x3 every time I put my hand on a weapon.

The Gun Store I frequent has targets up in the store for customers to aim at and dry fire. These are located in safe areas to aim at in the store and the staff is very good about letting customers know the targets are there for that purpose.

I am 66 and I have been around guns all my life. A couple years ago I bought a Hi-Point .45 Brand new. Oh well I know my guns, I was cleaning it one day and I knew it was empty, Mag out and chamber cleared. I had my shoes off and pointed it at am big toe, pulled the trigger and click, well, I knew it was empty. I then got the gun ready for in case I needed it, I even put a shell in the chamber with a full mag. I dropped the Mag out of it, then I pointed it at my floor remembering never point a gun at something you don't want to shoot. I was under the assumption the gun was empty, Luckily I pointed the gun at the floor and pulled the trigger, well I have a reminder in my floor .45 caliber hole. I always think how stupid I was to point it at my toe, had I done it the second time, I would be minus one big toe. Thank You GOD!!!