Safety, 200th Hour, Safety!

When I was a young small arms instructor in the military I had been teaching for about a month. The NCOIC (non- commissioned officer in charge) of the CATM (combat arms training and maintenance) called me into his office. This guy was a Viet Nam veteran who served in the Army as an infantryman during the war. He was a grisly, no nonsense kind of guy. He asked how things were going and then pulled out a file with my name on it. I did not even work for the security unit that he was in charge of. He mentioned my shooting scores for re-qualifying. I had done pretty well that day and he mentioned that it’s been a year since my initial instructor course. I had only just started to instruct. Finally he said, “We’re getting close to your 200th hour and I wanted to make sure things were going well.”
Why is the 200th hour such a critical time? That’s when trained, experienced professionals make some pretty bad mistakes. In certain areas of my job as an instructor I had a checklist. Now I could quote the checklist but it was important not to. You follow the checklist to not skip a step, not because you don’t have the tasks memorized. As an instructor I had the four safety rules memorized but I made it a point to have a printed copy of them in my hand when I reviewed them so I would not miss anything. When dealing with danger to life, ensure safety.
If you are new to guns and you haven’t been carrying long make it a point to take note of your 200th hour of training or carrying. Take that time to review the safety protocols you have in place. Think about what you do and how you do it. If you need some changes to be safer then make them. Never feel like it is “overkill” to be safe. Checking something twice is not redundant it is ensuring safety.
One of the things that many shooters do not understand is that even experienced gun handlers can make a mistake under certain circumstances. Being tired, unfocused, or under stress can affect actions. Reviewing the 4 basic safety rules and expounding upon them can be a very important task.
RULE 1
ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
The only exception to this occurs when one has a weapon in his hands and he has personally unloaded it for checking and just checked it. As soon as he puts it down, Rule 1 applies again. Obviously if a slide is back and you can see into a chamber the gun is safe but the rule is more about bad habits and good ones. There is no difference in how you point the gun if you are sure it is “loaded” or “unloaded”.
RULE 2
NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER (POINT AT) ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
You may not wish to destroy it, but you must be clear in your mind that you are quite ready to if you let that muzzle cover the target. To allow a firearm to point at another human being is a deadly threat, and should always be treated as such. This and three are the most broken of the rules. You must be meticulous about this. Others and other things are obvious to not point at, but what about you? Your body, your hand, your leg, your foot.
In a combat situation I remember how badly this rule was broken. I do remember how often a negligent discharge would happen. Amazingly, they rarely hit anyone. But I don’t like the odds.


RULE 3
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER (AND OUT OF THE GUARD) UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
This we call the Golden Rule because it's violation is responsible for about 80 percent of the firearms disasters we read about. The problem is the design of a gun is such that this may be easy to violate. Triggers should be easy to get to. You must make a conscious choice to keep your finger straight.
RULE 4
BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
You never shoot at anything until you have positively identified it. You never fire at a shadow, or a sound, or a suspected presence. You shoot only when you know absolutely what you are shooting at and what is beyond it.
Many people, even experienced gun handlers, think that after rule 1 is accomplished, there are no more rules. This is of course BALONEY! In most incidents the other 3 rules were ignored and as a result, a negligent discharge. If you have a gun. If you ever think you will ever own or use a gun, these 4 rules should be tattooed on your brain. Do not violate these rules in any form. Remind others also. I do this constantly with my family. Not because I don't trust them, on the contrary, I absolutely do not want them hurt or for them to experience the heartbreak of an accident that they could have prevented.
The only time I point the barrel at myself or another person is when the gun is apart and the barrel is off the slide. Otherwise, all rules apply. I even hate the idea of carrying a weapon that has one in the chamber. Which, by the way, is stupid NOT to do if you carry for self-defense. If there is an external hammer it doesn't necessarily have to be pulled back with an auto that is double action.
Good habits save lives. A strong lifetime habit of handling a weapon respectfully EVEN when unloaded can prevent injury and death when your brain isn't paying as much attention as it should.
First, unload the firearm, then lock the action open and double-check that it's unloaded, using your eyes and then your fingertip to be sure. (That takes care of Rule One.) Be conscious of your muzzle direction at all times. Don't get sloppy or careless with the muzzle even though you think the gun is now unloaded. (Rule Two.) Close the action and deliberately point the muzzle at a consciously-chosen safe aimpoint. One reason people point guns in foolish directions is because they haven't consciously chosen a good direction, so choose a specific spot to aim the muzzle before you put your finger on the trigger. (Rule Three.) When you choose that spot, be certain it can really stop a bullet of the caliber your gun can fire. For instance, for a handgun you might choose to aim at a cement wall in the basement, or at the top of a thick stack of books, or at a purpose-made product such as a Safe Directions pad, or at the corner of the floor in a one-story building. (Rule Four.)
Remember the 200th hour. This is about the time that someone spends training when they make their first mistake. In flying this can happen with pilots. I tend to agree. By the 200th hour your experience just starts to exceed your knowledge and you can become careless. That's when mistakes are made. Be aware of this and act accordingly. I believe the second “danger hour” is after 2 years. Know your limits and NEVER break the rules!
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn