Putin and Firearms Safety

This is a bit different from my usual posts. However, in every instance of unintentional or wrongful actions that occur with a firearm, they all could have been prevented by following these simple rules.

What prompted this was seeing this photo:

I rather enjoy following Putin and what he gets up to as well as his numerous well-timed photo opportunities.

My mind immediately reacted to two violations. Though knowing Putin’s background and his love for the camera in the end I came to the conclusion that this must be a staged photograph. It seems unlikely he would act unprofessionally except for the uninformed masses.

By the end of this post you should be able to quickly recognise the slew of unsafe firearms practice that the media throws at the public on a regular basis.

On to the rules:

1. All guns are always loaded.

I don’t care if you know you just unloaded the firearm. I don’t care if you think it’s a toy gun and not a real gun. Treat them at all times as if they are loaded.

This prevents any “accidental” (I would rather call it criminally negligent) discharges. If someone ever tells you to not worry because the firearm “isn’t loaded” you are dealing with an unsafe and unprofessional individual.

2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.

In other words unless you are willing to shoot something, do not point the firearm at it. Simple really, but constantly violated in media depictions of firearms.

This also relates to how you carry your firearm at a “ready” position. The position you see Putin in the photo above holding the firearm is known as the “Hollywood”. This is because holding the firearm in this manner was established by the movie industry to be able to get a close up shot of the actors face with the firearm. Carrying a firearm up in this manner is significantly less safe than pointing the firearm down in any one of other preferred “ready” positions.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to shoot.

The human body flinches and reacts to all sorts of stimuli. Keeping you finger on the trigger only allows the possibility of “accidentally” pulling the trigger from being surprised during a high-stress critical incident. Again I would say it wasn’t an accident. It was negligent to have pulled the trigger unintentionally. Keeping you finger off the trigger prevents this from happening.

This is also constantly depicted on television and in the movies. Watch an action movie and you are much more likely than not to see numerous “FOT” finger-on-trigger violations.

As you can see in the photo above Putin has his finger on the trigger. One could argue that perhaps he just finished firing. However, if he’s fired his weapon and has returned it to his ready position, even if it is the “Hollywood” ready then there is no reason to have the finger on the trigger. The firearm is not pointed at his target and he is not ready to shoot. If someone were to surprise him from behind an “accidental” discharge could very well occur.

4. Be sure of your target and your surroundings.

If you are not absolutely sure of what you are shooting at. Do not fire! There is no excuse for a case of mistaken identity. There is absolutely no excuse for hitting your target and then having the bullet pass through the target and into a home or crowd behind it.

The best media example I can think of in this case is where the bad guy is surrounded by a squad of soldiers or cops who are all pointing their firearms at the bad guy… except if they were to actually fire they would end up not only hitting their target but also their own team!

Final Thoughts

Above all else if you wish to handle and use firearms TRAIN.

Owning a violin does not mean you can stand up in front of an audience and play that violin. Likewise, owning a firearm does not mean you will be able to use it when you are under stress.

The next time you hear about an “accidental” or “unintentional” injury or death with a firearm. Look closely, chances are extremely high one or more of these rules were violated.