A Good Rundown on the Basics

I thought this was a good rundown on the basics. Of course it is no substitute for proper training. However, it is a nice reminder.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/16/13-politically-incorrect-gun-rules/

Bob M. Thank you for sharing your list!

DStephan

That was good. I enjoyed reading it. However, his suggestion to not get within arms reach of a thug is not good. I would say: "Don't allow anybody to get close enough to you that He can get you before you can fire your gun." In other words, if it takes you a second to pull the trigger and shoot, then he has to be kept far enough away that he cannot grab you before you can shoot. Otherwise, he may end up with the gun. Probably more like 40 or 50 feet. I hope I'm making sense.

I've seen that list before... it's a good one. Mostly common sense items... but many people seem to be lacking in that area now a days.

Perfect example... our local news had a segment on an indoor range and gun shop in a nearby town. The female reporter as part of the segment fired her first gun. Of course they made a big deal over this and her being scared of it, etc. They ended the segment with a close up on her saying that everyone in the studio had better be careful as she's now getting comfortable with guns... then the camera pulls back and you see one of the workers standing there pointing a gun at her head.

REALLY? Someone who works around guns all day would be so (explicative of choice) dumb as to point a gun at someone's head? I don't care how many times you checked it... you don't point it at anything you aren't prepared to destroy! What kind of example does this show? I was planning on checking out this place... after this stunt I immediately put them on the "don't ever go there" list.

You are 100% right, Culex. A gun is a TOOL, not a toy! Guns are not to be played with! If someone wants to play, there are plenty of other items out there. People who are careless with guns give all gun owners a bad name. I never pick up a gun without checking to see if it is loaded. I also taught my kids that policy. I hope they still remember. Again, don't play with guns!

MrDario541 wrote: I never pick up a gun without checking to see if it is loaded. I also taught my kids that policy.

Even if you checked that it isn't still treat it and act as if it was! When I go with a group of guys from work we all try each others stuff out. We always check when handing from one to another even if the first person already checked before handing it off.

And, even if you know that it is unloaded, NEVER point it at anybody. I often see gun buyers in gun stores holding a rifle up to their shoulders pointing right at people. BAD POLICY!

Reminds me of the class I took at our local police department. It was a multi week class and during "weapons night" they passed around their Bushmaster and Colt ARs. Of course no magazine, unloaded, etc.

You could easily tell who knew how to handle a weapon and who didn't. A few of us would point it in a safe direction, bring it up to a firing position, check out the scope, etc. The rest of the class was sweeping the room, pointing them at everyone, standing like rambo with the gun on their hip and shaking it while making the eh-eh-eh-eh machine gun sounds, etc.

Originally I was going to suggest for future classes that they have "range night" and let us pay a few bucks (to cover ammo costs) to actually try out their "toys" but upon seeing the types of people that would be there with me and realizing they'd have loaded fire arms... I changed my mind.

You guys bring up an excellent point. We are all big on protecting our second amendment rights and we are quick to cut into anybody who even dares to utter a requirement for ownership. I am curious to what people's opinion is about some kind of safety class requirement before a person can buy a gun. If so, in your mind what would it look like and who would implement it? We do it with cars, are guns any different? What do you think?

Cheers,
Bob

Bob M. wrote:You guys bring up an excellent point. We are all big on protecting our second amendment rights and we are quick to cut into anybody who even dares to utter a requirement for ownership. I am curious to what people's opinion is about some kind of safety class requirement before a person can buy a gun.

Slippery question there...

On one side it is a constitutional right so there really should be no regulation. Period.

On the other hand, you need to pass a test and get a license to drive a car. This certifies at least a basic level of competency. What would be bad about requiring this for gun ownership?

The arguments I can make against is that I don't have to pass a test or get a certification for any other constitutional right, so why single this one out?

Also looking at the "times" when these rights were established you pretty much had to be armed to get food and for defense. Kids were pretty much adults with chores, responsibilities and such by early to mid teen years. The had to be responsible. Fathers (parents) would teach their children how to handle the weapon. This was ingrained and part of growing up.

Now we don't have that in many cases. Instead you got some gang banger who is given his "nine" by his buddies, he holds it sideways to look cool and that's the extent of his training.




Requiring a certification or safety class or something is only going to impact the law abiding citizens and I would imagine those that take it seriously would probably do this on their own anyway. I voluntarily went to an "intro to guns" class at Cabelas and then inquired at a range about their class. It was really slow/quiet so the guy behind the counter said he'd just spend the time with me right then and there if I wanted. Over a half hour he went through safe handling, basic stance, loading, check for loaded or not, etc. He then supervised while I fired the revolver multiple times. After I finished with that we switched to a semi auto and he did the same "drill" with me. I think anyone that is serious about gun ownership will either learn from a relative (not an option for me) or will seek out training on their own. Making it a legal requirement I don't think will make a difference and just create another limitation on one of our rights.

In the case of accidental shootings, where a kid finds a gun and shoots a playmate or something, the owner of the gun should have either taught the kids better or realized that it was stored with the ammo (and probably loaded) and stored in a position that the kid could get to it. In each case I put the blame back with the owner. Would a safety class have helped? Maybe, maybe not. Probably no more than passing a drivers exam and getting a license prevents idiots from driving like idiots.

I have heard people say that they will not allow their children to be friends with any family that has a gun in the house. They ask the parents of their children's potential playmates if they own guns. If so, they will not allow their kids to associate with the gun owner's children. These anti-gun people do everything they can to make sure that their kids never get any where near a gun. They believe that they are protecting them.
However, I recently read that there are 8 guns for every 10 people in America. That means that, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, sooner or later most every child in this country is going to come across a gun of some sort. And, if they have NO idea of what to do, disaster is very possible!
To me it makes more sense to train EVERY child in America in safe gun handling. That way, when they inevitably do come across a firearm, they will knows its dangers. They will know what to do. I personally think that gun safety should be taught in every school. This might go a long ways in preventing children, who are ignorant of guns' awesome powers, being hurt or hurting others.
Knowledge is a good thing, ignorance can be deadly!