Mike has an interesting post up of discovering his SIG had an empty pipe. Honest mistake, and I’m gad he discovered it without any ill effects, and I applaud his honesty.
I wanted to talk about Rule #1 of the Cooper Safety Rules
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
Now this rule is hands down the most controversial of all the other rules. In the most simplistic sense there are two ways of viewing this: A) “Pretend all Guns Are Always Loaded”, or B) “All Guns actually always have a round in the chamber”
Both of these aren’t good ways of looking at the rule. You don’t want to be “Pretending” with a potentially loaded gun, or an unloaded gun, because “Pretend” is make-believe, and it only goes so far, and even the most serious film and stage actor can only take the “act” so far. Also guns ARE unloaded. It happens all the time. Your gun runs dry, or you have various collection or practice guns which you don’t store loaded because you’re never going to be reaching for them in a time of need, because there are other guns for that. Also if you have a home defense gun or a self-defense gun that isn’t always kept under your direct control (like a pistol in the night stand, or a shotgun or rifle in the closet) keeping it fully loaded might not be the safest option, and it might be better to keep the chamber empty, and a loaded mag in the gun, or near the gun.
Also there are times when you break this rule. Dry fire and function testing a gun are the two big ones. A really serious one is testing the timing on a revolver by looking down the muzzle with the hammer cocked and a strong light shined under the recoil shield, and then cycling the action for every chamber.
These acts are inherently dangerous by nature…but in practice they can be 100% safe. If you check, and re-check your chambers diligently (and using snap caps when possible), and do your work in an area where no ammunition is present, the chances of an accident approach zero, and accidents can be chalked up to near 100% operator error. (BTW here’s another good reason to remove magazine disconnects from guns that have them, as running a semi-auto WITHOUT a magazine further decreases possibility of a gun getting loaded without the user’s consent).
Personally I like to divide the rule into two parts. Rule 1 basic and Rule 1 Advanced. Basic is for beginners, and generally people who don’t actually own their own gun. A new shooter on the range, or handling a gun under my watch MUST treat the gun as if it is loaded at all times. Period. Any abuse involves the gun getting taken away and the violation being discussed. Further I always stand in such a position so I can take control of the gun quickly.
For Advanced it simply involves ALWAYS checking your chamber(s) and magazines EVERY time I take control of the gun.
So this morning when I grabbed my 1911 for carry, I put on my holster, I picked up my spare magazines (noting that they were fully loaded), then I dropped the magazine in the gun and verified it too was fully loaded, and the did a press-check to check the chamber, then holstered and went about my day.
Now I carry this gun in the same way every day, and I had carried the gun yesterday. When I went to bed I simply unholstered the gun and dropped it in the safe, and put the magazines away. When I collected them this morning they were EXACTLY where I left them. I’d have been VERY surprised if things had been different.
Still guns are serious business, and you NEED to check your safety equipment. You check the gas gauge on your car before you start driving, don’t you? You check the battery of your cell phone before you leave the house, don’t you? In SCUBA you need to check the pressure of your air tank before you jump in the water.
The same goes for the other way. I was fiddling with my FAL last night. I keep it in the safe unloaded with loaded mags nearby (I could keep it fully loaded and ready to go, but I prefer it this way). I was doing dry fire and mag changes, so I started off by locking the action open on an empty well, and inspecting the two mags I was using for mag-changes that they too were empty, and my loaded mags weren’t in reach or where I was working.
I’ve been surprised both times. I’ve open the action on an “unloaded” gun and had a happy little live round hop out. I’ve also press-checked a gun I thought was loaded, and was surprised to see an empty chamber rather than a piece of brass.
It goes to the point of silliness. I’ll clean my 1911, then re-assemble it…then check the chamber before dry firing it in a function test. Yeah I was just running a bore brush down that empty barrel, and them dropped that empty barrel into the slide and mated it to the frame…then I double checked if any ammo has materialized.
I’ve also simply set a gun down on a bench while adjusting a holster in an empty room…and I’ll check the chamber simply because it wasn’t on my control.
A little silly, but a good habit to be in.
Carry your guns, and be safe out there!
Safety is never silly… as both a long time NRA and 4H Shooting Sports instructor… My practice, and my instruction, is that ANYtime a gun is in your hands and control you need to treat it as if it were loaded and check it and know it’s condition. At the range, I like new students and 4H’ers to use the buddy system where you check a gun to make sure it is unloaded and the action is open AND your buddy checks it too.
Several times in my life I have asked to look at a firearm and the gun store employee or the person checks it to make sure it’s unloaded, then hands it to me and I immediately check it to confirm it is unloaded. I had a gun store employee say, “Hey, I just checked that, it’s clear.” to which I replied, “I know, but now I’m holding it and have the responsibility.”
Too often, “I didn’t think it was loaded.” is uttered after an accidental discharge.
Good stuff Weer’d!
Dann in Ohio
PS: Here’s a link to support your thoughts… (warning, slightly graphic)
http://godgalsgunsgrub.blogspot.com/2012/02/empty-chambers.html
Also, luckily that hand has now healed for our friend’s son and the scars are so small, they’re hard to see.
Dann in Ohio
Good post. There’s also something to be said for building habits.
Doing a press check before a function test or dry fire every single time helps ingrain that habit. Even if you were just cleaning the gun and knew it was empty versus doing it at the range to, say, check the trigger pull.
That’s also why following the other rules is a handy thing to ingrain, such as safe directions and finger off the trigger until ready to pull it. Sure you could be in a situation where you “know” the gun is empty or non functional, but its easier to be consistent with the habit.
It’s like seeing someone handle a blue gun and that they’ll keep their finger off the trigger and keep it pointed at the ground even though its just a hunk of plastic.
I’ve had a Laserlyte “round” in a pistol for a couple weeks. I know it’s in there, and I know no one could have changed it.
But I still check the chamber every time I pick it up.
It only makes sense.
BTW I haven’t had a chance to play with Jay’s. Do they look noticeably different than a live round in a press-check?
I have both the polymer dummy rounds, as well as the red anodized snap-caps. So when I see one of those is in the chamber I KNOW there are no live pills.
That’s a GREAT question Weer’d… I have a friend who picked up a cartridge-sized laser bore-sighting system from Cabela’s and it is brass, as in looks like brass, as in looks like a regular cartridge during a press check.
Dann in Ohio
They’re brass.
One difference is that they are designed such that the extractor cannot get purchase.
If you pull the slide back, they will remain chambered.
So a press check will reveal a piece of brass stuck in your chamber.
Not conclusive, but will reveal that something is off.
Good post! My only disagreement is with the “do your work in an area where no ammunition is present” philosophy. I prefer to unload the gun and have the ammunition there on the table but set away from the immediate work area. That way, I can look over and see “full mag plus one on the table, that means I didn’t put anything in the gun and forget about doing it.” I still check the chamber anyway (suspenders and belt), but it adds a layer of safety by letting me visually account for the ammunition that is normally in the gun.
Of course, I don’t have to deal with MA’s asinine “safe storage” laws like you do, so my carry guns stay loaded all the time. I also store my ammo in the same room that I use when I’m cleaning my guns, because I don’t have enough rooms in the house to do otherwise. YMMV. Of course, I don’t do this with guns that I don’t normally keep loaded, like the Ruger MkIII, or the Savage 110. Those just get thorough (and frequent) magazine/chamber checks.
My carry guns stay loaded…they’re just locked up when they aren’t holstered. I can’t verify it without a chamber check, but I fully suspect my PM45 will be loaded next time I pull it out of the safe.
Your philosophy of simply keeping the ammo in sight seems sound. I just generally like a BARRIER of some sort when doing things with a gun that MUST be unloaded.
Now that Barrier can simply be the far side of the bench where I can’t reach it. But I like to make it a deliberate effort to make my gun hot when I MUST have a “Cold range”.
Could get a clear box to stick the mags in.
That combines the barrier method with the visible check.
Guns are one of those areas where having a tendency towards OCD can be a good thing.
+1!
+2!
I’m a big fan of chamber safety flags. I have several rifles that stay out of storage, a few on the gun rack, one behind the bedroom door, one in the shop, etc.* If it has a safety flag, I know it’s unloaded, if there is no safety flag, it’s loaded, I’m a little OCD about keeping them loaded. Everything that’s stored has a safety flag. When we’re on the range, if someone is taking a break, ammo comes out, safety flag goes in.
*no, I don’t live in a dangerous neighborhood, I live on a ranch and it’s not uncommon to have a wild animals running around threatening the livestock, people, or my peace (snakes get dead quick). We also have impromptu range sessions throughout the week, it’s easier to grab a rifle off the rack then to unlock it, unpack it and load it.
Chamber safety flags, they’re cheap and effective.
They’re cool for certain applications, such as proving at a sight that a gun is unloaded. They’re awesome for making a cold firing line.
They suck in administrative handling of guns tho as they keep the gun out of battery.
Most of my handguns are revolvers, so it is not as hard to do a verification. My Beretta 21 is also easy-peasy to do a check (hit the lever, pop the bbl, check for “CCI”, snap it down again).
But as a personal rule of thumb, all handguns are loaded and chambered, and my rifles will have loaded mags, but will not have a loaded chamber- I tend to be a bit paranoid about setback in a semi-auto. So, for the AR, the super expenisve defensive stuff stays in the mag unless it’s heading down range, and for the semi-auto pistols, the first downrange shot is the one in the pipe. For dry fire, I tend to go with a wheely gun. It’s easier!
Yeah I’m paranoid about setback as well. That’s why my carry guns just get loaded up, and then stay loaded. I do unload my revolvers, simply because that’s one of their big advantages, so why not?
now that I have a blog I’ll post pics of some ammo given to me with severe set back
Joe “super expensive defensive stuff ” for an ar in 223/556? wtf?
M193 works great as long as its going 2500 fps+
Yeah my FAL mags are loaded with L2A2 Ball. Its cheap, its proven to work. Further the most likely situation where I’ll be reaching for my FAL is riot situation, in which case over-penetration and wounding of secondary and tertiary targets is an advantage, as in an angry mob the MOB is the threat, not the individuals, and “Shock and Awe” is your best hope for dispersing/relocating the mob.
Still deer hunters who use .308 Rifles use soft points, and not just because they’re required by law in many places, so I won’t fault people wanting to use expanding ammo.
Also I’ve heard some VERY good arguments for HD guns using 5.56 Frangible ammo when concerns about errant rounds harming innocents is present. In those cases frangible is likely packing enough energy to stop a threat…but as soon as the bullet finds a hard target (be it a threat, or a piece of structure) it will quickly begin to desegregate and lose energy.
Caution still needs to be taken as those rounds can still punch through multiple walls and remain deadly….just the risk isn’t as high.
The Box O’ Truth and Rule #4 Weer’d **Link Added By Editor**
A really serious one is testing the timing on a revolver by looking down the muzzle with the hammer cocked and a strong light shined under the recoil shield, and then cycling the action for every chamber.
Modern technology has a solution! Use a borescope ( <$50 at Harbor Freight, where it is known as an inspection camera) or point the gun at a cheap USB camera connected to your laptop.
If I goof, I prefer to blow to pieces a $50 camera on a flexible wand rather than my head.