Posted on July 8, 2025
Gun Safety Tips Every Firearm Owner Should Know
By: Joel T. Nadler
Hopefully everyone owning or considering adding a firearm to their lives is familiar with the four rules of gun safety. Major manufacturers such as Glock sponsor month long awareness campaigns on safety every year (Follow the Four) and some versions of the rules are posted at almost every firearms range in the United States. Additionally, every firearm training I have given or received has incorporated some form of safety rules from the very basic introductions to the most advanced classes. These rules as we present them are as follows:
1) Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. Always!
2) Never point a firearm at anything you do not want to injure, damage, maim, destroy, purchase, or replace
3) Keep your finger off the trigger, outside the trigger guard, and along the frame until you are on the target and intending to shoot
4) Be absolutely certain of your target and the environment. (Anything in line with the firearm and target)
Everyone that touches a firearm should be familiar with these rules. However, what are the practical reasons behind these rules, and what are the real-world consequences they are meant to address?
Overall Safety
In my experience following these four rules, especially the 2nd one (never point a firearm at anything you do not want to injure, damage, destroy (or purchase) tends to be the hardest with two groups. The first group is someone new to firearms, often after forcing themselves to overcome their initial trepidation around holding one. When there is safety violation in this group it is often driven by competing goals (safety and being comfortable around firearms) or being cognitively overwhelmed by a situation (drills, firing, increased stress).
The other group are those that have become too comfortable with firearms. Though the term “contempt” has becoming wholly negative in modern usage, the original meaning was to be negligent or dismissive. This category of people has (often somewhat rightly) comfort around firearms and their ability to manage them. The problem is even people who have fully mastered a skill still occasionally make mistakes. And when it comes to firearms one small mistake can be deadly.
We have all heard horror stories about someone accidently shooting a loved one after years of firearms experiences. It is easy to think, “yeah, but that would never happen to me.” I would strongly argue that continuing to follow the four rules rigorously will further guarantee that you are correct, that it won’t happen to you. There is a common phrase used around firearms, “Everyone will eventually have a negligent discharge, it is just a question of whether it has already happened or will happen in the future.” Though I do believe you can be around firearms without ever having this happen, the concept is a good one. Never become lackadaisical or ‘contemptuous” of your firearm. Firearms are dangerous, and they would be of no functional use if they were not.
Negligent Discharge
The accidental or negligent discharge is what all gun safety rules are created to reduce or avoid. It is often said the loudest two noises are “A click when you expected a bang, and a bang when you expected a click.” Like many I am not a fan of the term accidental as almost all unexpected discharges of a firearm include some action by the wielder that resulted in the unexpected shot. Thus, I prefer the term negligent to remind us that in the vast majority of cases someone’s actions resulted in the discharge. The most common way this happens is during dry-fire.
Dry-Fire Negligent Discharges
Dry-fire (practicing with our firearm with no ammunition present) is a great way to work on fundamentals (accuracy) and mechanics (manipulations) of our firearm. However, we are not the perfect recorders of events we like to think. Have you ever walked into a room and forgot why you were there in the first place? A common example of how dry-fire can go bad is the following. A person clears their carry firearm and transports it to the location where they will practice dry-fire. They do their drills and reload the firearm, only to be interrupted by a call, a random event, or someone yelling a question across the house. Once the interruption has been addressed, they try and remember what they were doing, “oh yes, I was dry-firing.” However, the weapon is now loaded. This is a common story heard repeatedly by those in law enforcement that are charged with investigating such instances.
A deeper Dive on The Four Rules
Negligent discharges are an unfortunate reality among today’s gun owners. Anything we can do as an individual to reduce these potential tragedies, and as a group to reduce the overall statistics politically is worthwhile. As such, let’s take a little deeper look at practical applications of each of the four rules of firearm safety.
1) Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. Always!
I have never taught a firearms class when the following question was not answered the same way. “What is the first thing someone says when their gun goes off without them wanting it to?” The answer of “I didn’t know it was loaded” is almost universal. I have often referred to this as the “Don’t do stupid things with a firearm regardless of its current condition” rule. This is because hidden behind the statement “I didn’t think it was loaded” is the behavior that someone was doing an unsafe behavior in the first place BECAUSE they didn’t know it was loaded. Treating a firearm as if it is always loaded means applying the other rules to the best of your ability regardless of the gun’s condition. In other words, treat any firearm with respect and understanding of its potential to do harm.
2) Never point a firearm at anything you do not want to injure, damage, maim, destroy, purchase, or replace
Often referred to as muzzle awareness or discipline, this rule focuses on knowing that even if the firearm does discharge if it is pointed in a relatively safe direction; only ringing ears and embarrassment will follow. I want to make sure that when the firearm is in my hands it should only be pointed at potential targets or areas that would stop a round with minimal damage. I often joke if the magic bullet fairy set up a situation where I got a bang expecting a click, the worst fall out is needing to repair a divot in wall or floor that would stop the round.
3) Keep your finger off the trigger, outside the trigger guard, and along the frame until you are on the target and intending to shoot
Often referred to as trigger discipline, this is easy to see once it becomes second nature watching people when handling objects with triggers that are not firearms. I have often heard this rule stated as “on target, on trigger, off target, off trigger.” The simple fact is we are all born with a grasp reflex that is often unconsciously triggered when surprised. If you are in a tense situation, your finger is on the trigger, and if something surprises you this reflex will likely result in the firearm discharging (as you inadvertently pull the trigger. Reaction tests have shown no significant time differences between the decision to fire and the action of pressing the trigger from either position (finger off the trigger or on). Following this rule further encourages the purposeful decision to fire. Finally, rules 2 and 3 work somewhat like the two keys to launch a nuclear device. You must fail at both to cause a tragedy. Poor muzzle discipline but good trigger discipline you may annoy those you flag (point your firearm at) but it will not discharge. Poor trigger discipline but good muzzle discipline, you may get a discharge, but it should ground safely. It takes both poor muzzle and trigger discipline to result in a tragic situation.
4) Be absolutely certain of your target and the environment. (Anything in line with the firearm and target)
This can be the hardest rule to incorporate even in a low stress practice session on the range. This rule often requires some level of basic geometry to ask where the round will finally impact after penetrating a target. A straight on shot may well hit the intended backstop; however, a low target hit may end up hitting the floor before making it to the backstop. Alternatively, a higher hit may result in the round hitting the ceiling in an indoor range or leaving the range entirely when outdoors. This becomes even more important and complex in a high stress defensive situation. Are there potential innocents between you and a threat, are there people behind the threat? Practicing this rule will help you make the decision of whether to take a shot or not in a multitude of situations.
Conclusion
Guns are dangerous, plain and simple. They would be of no use to us as tools if they were not. Treating these tools with respect and safety not only individually protects us from a personal tragedy, it also reduces the real-world stories of tragedy that assists those hoping to remove or reduce civilian access to firearms. Regardless of your current skills and experiences with firearms, there is a reason the four rules (or variations therein) are always being hammered home in any class throughout the country. The reality is there are still too many negligent discharges each year, and some of these result in tragedy. Try your very best to stay attentive and not add to the statistics!