Clearing Your Weapon/ Who DOESN'T Do That?

[explorer13421]

I check the loaded/unloaded status of any firearm I handle. If it has a firearm, I take the magazine out. I am very sensitive to the possibility of a round being hung up in a tube magazine, such as a pump action shot gun or.22 LR rifle, which might go through the process more than once. Even after checking, being darn sure where the muzzle is pointed at ALL times is the next step in the safety process.

 

[Bkreutz]

"familiarity breeds contempt", this is the cause of many accidents among experienced workers and hobbyists .when you have used potentially dangerous tools over and over without incident your mind begins to relax around the potential danger.
many old carpenters have trouble counting to ten, on their fingers without resorting to fractions.

yes thats my trigger finger! be careful ,follow procedure at work as well as the range .

This pic makes me think about the sage advice my Great Grandfather (cabinetmaker) gave me about power tools. He said "Watch the blade, if you watch the blade you won't stick your hand into it." I think firearm safety is the same thing. Stick to a simple rule, always clear any firearm before doing anything else. I still have all 10 digits (arthritic as they are) and haven't shot myself yet.

 

[zzzippper]

Never.

And this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Some triggers need to be released for disassembly but not to see if it loaded.

Anyway my question is based on another post in which the poster said something about pulling the trigger on any striker fired pistol to see if it’s loaded. He basically said who would do that?

An empty chamber indicator or flag is also a good idea.

 

[Smoke]

Never.

And this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Some triggers need to be released for disassembly but not to see if it loaded.


An empty chamber indicator or flag is also a good idea.

To be clear the poster said it was pretty dumb too he wasn't advocating it

 

[semperfi71]

Senior hunter was teaching little junior hunters firearms safety.

He told them to work the bolt of the rifle five times, and then pull the trigger to make sure its empty. When he pulled the trigger he shot a hole in the floor board of the car. True story about a family relative in a family I am no longer married into.

hickock45, on YouTube, is ALWAYS cycling an action to clear a weapon, and then pointing it down range to pull its trigger, supposedly making sure its empty...always a bad practice. One should ALWAYS visually check weapons to make sure they are unloaded, as well as a physical check, as in the little pinkie in the chamber.

I went to the gun-show many years ago. Was allowed to examine a bolt-action .30-06 on a table. I did the first maneuver of the "check" and pulled back the bolt. The magazine was full, five rounds. I handed back to the seller as it was and showed it to him. He was surprised and upset with himself.

Number 2: One NEVER handles someone else's firearms without permission.

During a dark, early morning drive to elk territory, one of the four guys in the SUV picked up the driver's .44 magnum, did not say a word, and started "examining" it. He was in the back seat. It went off into the console between the front seat, lighting up the dark interior and making everyone deaf for a few minutes. I was told about this incident by the driver.

Number 3: But actually the FIRST RULE of firearms safety...Never Point A Firearm At Anything You Do Not Intend To Shoot.

A gunsmith was berating me because I said I did not like safeties on lever action rifles. He was next to his truck with a hunting "buddy". Hunting buddy loaded his M94 full, racked the lever to feed a round, put a thumb on the hammer to maneuver it to "safe-cock". His thumb slipped and the round fired into the gunsmiths leg, almost killing him. My question was, "Why was he pointing a gun at you?"

 

[miles71]

Never mean to offend anyone, but I check every pistol handed to me even if it was just checked in front of me. Never can be to safe.
TD

 

[Model 19 6"]

Clearing a firearm was drilled into me by dad. My son and daughter had it drilled into them by me. I bought my 2 oldest grandchildren BB guns between myself and my son they are learning safe handeling.

 

[Grayfox]

I always clear a firearm before handing it to someone else. If that person doesn't immediately clear it as soon as they get it, then I have serious doubts about them.

 

[Riverbear]

We should all take a lesson from Smoke and clear all weapons when we pick them up...period. Even if that offends someone.

My wife just read an article to me about a teenage girl getting killed with a gun shot to the chest by a teenage boy. While sitting at a residence with a group of other teenagers a boy pulled out a gun and the girl (victim) told him to put the gun away. He then pointed the gun at her and said, "It isn't loaded" and then pulled the trigger.

Check and clear all guns.

 

[steelslaver]

Me once. My dad made up from kits and gave each of us boys a Hawkens style muzzle loader years ago. My one brothers stock got broken somehow and as his had nice adjustable sights and mine didn't I got the barrel in a trade. I didn't do anything with it for a couple years. Then another brother suggested we go deer hunting that year with BP. I said ya but, I want to change my barrel out. We lived couple hundred yards apart in a rural area and I walked home and brought the parts back. We assembled it with the adj sight barrel and he goes "we should bust a cap and clear the barrel". Ok, on goes a cap and sitting at the kitchen table with the but on the floor I leaned the muzzle off to the side and cleared the barrel alright. About crapped. 50 cal hole in the cupboard. Through a roll of garbage bags (shoulda saw them unrolled) and into the corner. Never came out the side of the house. After we calmed down, I called the brother who gave me the barrel and chewed his rear a bit. Then he says, "Price used it last". Price was the brother with the new hole in the cupboard. How do you check a muzzle loader when you don't have a marked ram rod for the barrel? Get ball remover and check it. Don't assume its not loaded either. Never leave a barrel charged either. PRICE

 

[pineappleshooter]

Yes! I always look down the barrel to see if there's a shiny thing..........

Use the Zombie-Max ammo - the green tip really stands out!

 

[Smoke]

Yes! I always look down the barrel to see if there's a shiny thing..........

You think that's a joke but i bat there are people out there that do exactly that

 

[Black_Sheep]

The first thing I do when handling a firearm is check to make absolutely sure it is clear. Each and every time...

 

[Cyrano]

When I'm at a friend's house, I check any weapon to make sure it's empty. Particularly a friend who is 90 and a little forgetful.

I check my guns when I leave the range; look at the magazine, close the slide and pull the trigger. I do it again when i put them in the gun room. I do it again, when I clean them; I open the slide, remove the magazine, check both the pistol and the magazine are empty, and clean them before I put them in storage.

 

[Evil Dog]

I can't say that I ALWAYS check every firearm I handle to determine it's loaded/unloaded status... what I can say is that I haven't failed to do so yet. Who knows what may happen tomorrow.

 

[coltle6920]

If constantly checking a firearm to make sure it is unloaded can be considered a symptom of OCD then I wear it as a badge. I'm the sole resident of my home but I swear trolls come up out of the basement at night and move things around. I can't prove it yet but I think they're also drinking my beer. I've filed a police report concerning the missing beer.

 

[CCantu357]

I always learned to clear a weapon from my grandad. The first time he tested me he cleared his Model 64 service piece, closed the cylinder and handed it to me to clean. The first thing I did was open and check it for daylight. He put on an act and got "offended" for a moment and asked why I did that. I said I trusted him but wanted to check. He said I passed the test and that it was not about trust but about common sense. To this day I cannot stand people who get offended when you recheck a piece they cleared.

 

[surveyor_nm]

Always check, no matter who or where. As Jeff Cooper said, "The only gun I KNOW is unloaded is one which I have personally unloaded and inspected, and hasn't left my hands since".

 

[Alpo]

Me once. My dad made up from kits and gave each of us boys a Hawkens style muzzle loader years ago. My one brothers stock got broken somehow and as his had nice adjustable sights and mine didn't I got the barrel in a trade. I didn't do anything with it for a couple years. Then another brother suggested we go deer hunting that year with BP. I said ya but, I want to change my barrel out. We lived couple hundred yards apart in a rural area and I walked home and brought the parts back. We assembled it with the adj sight barrel and he goes "we should bust a cap and clear the barrel". Ok, on goes a cap and sitting at the kitchen table with the but on the floor I leaned the muzzle off to the side and cleared the barrel alright. About crapped. 50 cal hole in the cupboard. Through a roll of garbage bags (shoulda saw them unrolled) and into the corner. Never came out the side of the house. After we calmed down, I called the brother who gave me the barrel and chewed his rear a bit. Then he says, "Price used it last". Price was the brother with the new hole in the cupboard. How do you check a muzzle loader when you don't have a marked ram rod for the barrel? Get ball remover and check it. Don't assume its not loaded either. Never leave a barrel charged either. PRICE

If that was serious and not rhetorical -

Drop a ramrod or cleaning rod or arrow shaft or any other straight skinny thing down the barrel.

Place your thumb on the rod at the muzzle.

Remove rod without moving your thumb.

Lay rod alongside barrel with thumb at muzzle.

Does rod reach to flash-hole? Gun is empty.

Does rod NOT reach to flash-hole? Something is in there. Might be a load, might be a dirt-dobber nest, might be a wadded up thousand-dollar bill. But something is in there.

 

[BillK01]

Do you ever pick up a weapon without verifying it’s status ?

Never. Even when looking at firearms at my LGS I always check the status even after the employee does it and hands it to me. I sometimes get funny looks because I do that but oh well.