Fourth Rule of Firearms Safety

Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.

Under no circumstances should you discharge your firearm at any target unless you are absolutely certain of your target and you have determined beyond any doubt that the target deserves to be shot. You must also be absolutely certain that your bullet will find a safe resting place if the shot misses or completely penetrates the target. You are responsible for the final resting place of every bullet that leaves the muzzle of your gun. There is a significant potential for criminal and civil liability if you do not obey this rule.

The first issue associated with this rule is being able to clearly and unequivocally state that the target you are aiming at deserves to be shot. You need to be able to clearly see the target and identify the validity of the threat by seeing that there is a weapon or other potentially lethal instrument about to be used against you or someone else. IF YOU CANNOT IDENTIFY THE TARGET OR A VALID LETHAL THREAT YOU SHOULD NOT SHOOT.

If you intend to carry a firearm at night, you should carry a flashlight in addition to your firearm. There is a very high statistical likelihood that any confrontation you might be involved in will occur at night. You cannot count on the fact that there will be enough ambient light to let you to clearly identify a potential threat. Having a flashlight could make the difference between a justified shooting and horrible accident.

In a future post, I will have a more detailed discussion on flashlights and what kind of lights are out there...

The second issue is being aware of the final resting place of any bullet that you fire in the direction of the target. This means that you should know what is behind the target in case your bullet fully penetrates the target, emerging on the other side.

You also need to take into consideration the possibility that you might (heaven forbid) miss the target. If you do…where will your bullet end up? If you shoot at the target and miss, but hit an unintentional target, your justification for shooting at the original target will not protect you from significant criminal or civil liability.

If you shoot an innocent person accidentally and kill them while engaged in an otherwise justified shooting, you will probably be charged with manslaughter under the very best of circumstances. You will also very likely be sued for “wrongful death” by the family of the person you shot. The financial liability could easily run into millions and you could end up spending as much as 10 years in prison.

If you plan to carry a firearm for personal defense, you really need to think long and hard about this last rule.

Third Rule of Firearms Safety

Keep your finger off the trigger until your firearm is on the target and you have made a conscious decision to shoot.

Under no circumstances should your finger be on the trigger of a firearm at any time EXCEPT when the firearm is on the target and you have made a conscious decision to fire at that target. Any other time your trigger finger should be resting on the frame of the pistol or rifle, parallel to the barrel.

Modern firearms have been designed and constructed in such a way that ‘accidental’ discharges are virtually impossible. Most firearms manufactured in the last ten years have a variety of safety features built in that prevent the firearm from discharging when it is dropped. Virtually the only way to cause a firearm to discharge is TO PULL THE TRIGGER!

Placing the trigger finger on the trigger prematurely can result in potentially lethal and/or destructive consequences. Human beings are subject to what is referred to as the ‘startle’ response. Essentially this is an instinctive reaction to being surprised by something or to being confronted by sudden danger. The typical reaction of most people is to tense their muscles and make a clutching motion with the hands in preparing to defend themselves.

If this ‘startle’ response occurs when you have a firearm in your hands and if your finger is on the trigger, the clutching motion can result in the trigger being pulled and the firearm discharging. A similar type of response can occur if a person begins falling. In an attempt to catch themselves during the fall, their arm and hand muscles can contract with the same effect, again possibly resulting in a discharge of the firearm should their finger be on the trigger prematurely.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR FINGER IS NOT ON THE TRIGGER UNLESS YOUR FIREARM IS ON THE TARGET AND YOU HAVE DECIDED TO SHOOT.

Second Rule of Firearms Safety

Never point the muzzle of a firearm at anything you are not prepared to destroy.

You should never cover anything or anyone, including yourself, with the muzzle of a firearm unless you are prepared to accept lethal or other potentially destructive consequences. This rule applies to ANY firearm at ALL times whether it is loaded or not.


As in the first rule, this rule must also be consistently applied. When this rule is followed religiously any lethal or destructive consequences can be virtually eliminated should the firearm discharge. Unfortunately, this rule is routinely violated in retail gun stores, on television and in movies.

If you are in proximity to someone who is in possession of a firearm and they point the muzzle in your direction you need to MOVE OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE IMMEDIATELY. In most states, simply pointing a gun in the direction of another is considered to be a FELONY whether the gun is loaded or not.

First Rule of Firearms Safety

All firearms are always treated as if they are loaded.

If you encounter a firearm, you should consider it loaded and treat it as such until you have personally determined by visual and physical inspection that the firearm is NOT loaded. Then and only then can you consider any firearm to be “safe”.

Consistent application of this rule is absolutely fundamental. Consider the following example: You see a semi-automatic pistol resting on a table. The slide is closed and a magazine is in place. There is no possible way to determine if the pistol is loaded or not without additional inspection.
You should always verify for yourself whether or not the pistol is loaded. DO NOT trust another’s word on the status of the firearm. There are countless examples of tragedies that have occurred because someone said “the gun isn’t loaded” and yet it was.

Firearms Safety Fundamentals

Firearms Safety is the single most important factor to consider for anyone who owns or plans to use a firearm.

Any activity that involves the use of firearms includes the potential for serious injury or death if adequate safety rules are not built into the equation.

It is for that reason that virtually all firearms training stresses that the fundamental rules of firearms safety must be consistently applied and become reflexive on the part of anyone engaged in the use of firearms.

Virtually all firearms training in the United States today recognizes the application of the Four Rules of Firearms Safety as codified by Col. Jeff Cooper in his “Modern Technique of the Pistol”.

Those four rules are:

Rule 1 -- All firearms are always treated as loaded firearms.

Rule 2 -- Never point the muzzle of a firearm at anything you are not prepared to destroy.

Rule 3 -- Keep your finger off the trigger until your firearm is on target and you have made a conscious decision to shoot.

Rule 4 -- Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.

In the posts that follow I will be discussing each of the Four Rules of Firearms Safety and it's application in detail...