0132 – Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger
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I spent a lot of time at the range this weekend! Â Between courses and competition I got a lot of rounds down range and had a great weekend! Â I do have to say that I am amazed at some of the things I see when I go shooting. Â This weekend I witnessed TWO ND’s! Â Thank goodness no one was hurt in either situation. Â I wasn’t involved in either situation at all, I was just one of the lucky ones that didn’t get shot.
When I teach I tend to teach a hybrid of the NRA Gun Safety Rules.
1. Â Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2. Â Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
No matter which firearm safety rule set you subscribe to, Cooper’s 4 rules, or NRA’s 3 rules, there is overlap in the rules to help prevent injury should any rule be broken alone. Â This is a good thing. Â If I break rule 1 but follow rule 2 every one should be ok. Â Same goes for the other way around.
I guess what I don’t get is why do people have such a hard time following both rules?  Is it that hard to keep your finger off of the trigger?  It better not be.  For a gun to fire a very specific set of events must occur and that typically begins with a finger being placed on and then activating the trigger.  If you don’t put your finger on the trigger it is pretty unlikely that the gun is going to fire.  They don’t just go off.
If we are going to use firearms we must accept responsibility for the safe use and handling of the tools we employ.  If we aren’t willing to do that, we should hang it up.  I was pleased to see one of the individuals accept full responsibility for his error.  My guess is that he will learn from it.  The second shooter was a litany of excuses.  For him, another ND and possibly a serious accident is right around the corner.  How bout you?
Resources for Episode 0132
www.SurvivalGearBags.com
Gun Safety Rules
Register for Fighting Handgun Fundamentals April 17
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