gun etiquette

i've been in the woods all of my adult life.
i have been accidentally shot at by hunters, i have had more ricochets than i can count fly over my head.
bzzzzzzztttttt, the sound is unmistakable.
i am interested in a thread discussing the do's and don't of handling guns.
a few things i was taught at a young age,
-do not pull the trigger unless you know exactly where your bullet will end up.
-unless shooting with friends, no one, i mean no one sees your firearm unless you are pointing it at them and willing to pull the trigger.
-a gun is not a toy, if you want to show it to a friend, unload it before handing it over.

things like this may seem very basic, but over and over again people have shown me that there are far to many stupid humans that possess firearms.
something happened a couple of weeks ago that convinced me this may be a worthy discussion for ats.

i was out camping with 7 friends in the fossil creek area of arizona.
we had a couple of rv's, a couple of vans and pick-ups.
we'd been there 4 days already.
guy pulls up less than 50 yards away, gets out and begins to pop off shots, hitting the rock wall across the creek.
instantly we heard the ricochets.
honking horns and yelling did no good, he was wearing headphones.
crack! bullet hits windshield on friends rv. homer runs over, waving arms, 'hey, you shot my windshield.'
'no, i didn't'
'well, your ricochet did, you owe me a windshield!'
'bunch of cuss words i can not repeat'
guy turns around and continues popping off shots.
my friend bill, disappears in his van, emerges with .308 and takes off at a run, crosses creek climbs rock wall and waits for this idiot to reload.
he starts shooting again, we can hear bills rifle go off.
the hiss of the guys radiator is a telltale sign.
a few minutes later he was stopped at gunpoint before entering our camp.
we knew nothing, must have been his ricochet. we refused to give him water or any help whatsoever.
anyhow, the guy had a hell of a walk out, showed up the next day with a tow truck.
i call these people 'stupid humans', that is exactly what they are imo.
so, what were you taught, have you ever had any experiences worthy of telling us about?

And never, ever, clean a loaded firearm.
&action_type_map=[%2210200125176193303%22%3A%22og.recommends%22]&action_ref_map=[%2210200125176193303%22%3A%22arts haretop%22]11 Alive



(ouchie)

reply to post by rubbertramp


"I have spent all my life in the woods" gonna stop you there. I'm like you because we have shot things before. Most people that have guns nowadays don't even know how to load/unload them let alone have proper training. Personally there is no such thing as "toy guns" even plastic ones are just guns that don't fire/ have no bullets and no kid should have a toy gun. Either the real deal or nothing.

NEVER point a gun at another person (unless of course, you intend to shoot them)

NEVER assume a gun is unloaded until YOU check that it is.

NEVER leave your guns unsecured (either a lock or in a safe locked place, etc.) when kids are around

Simple rules, really.

reply to post by rubbertramp
The number one rule I was ever taught, or taught anyone else for that matter is this: Do not point your firearm at any living thing unless you are prepared to kill it.

Four weapons safety rules.
1 Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
2 Never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
3 Keep your weapon on safe until you are ready to fire.
4 Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend to fire.

And know your target and what lies beyond.

reply to post by rubbertramp

Rule number 1: A gun is alway loaded, always.

Rull number 2: Never point a gun at anything you aren't willing to destroy.

Never ask if a gun is loaded. Look. If you don't know how, ask somebody to check for you. No egos when it comes to firearms.

seems, so far that the most common rule is,
'do not point your gun at anything you are not willing to kill/destroy.
yup, makes sense to me.
here in arizona, selling firearms is simple, i vend at flea markets, many of which gun sales are allowed.
some of the things i've witnessed are insane.
customers pointing guns at people, loaded or not.
vendors forgeting to unload a gun before displaying it, and customers 'accidentally' firing it.
personally, i don't think the word 'accident' can be used at all concerning firearms.

reply to post by rubbertramp


I have two rules I always follow never and I mean NEVER keep rounds chambered. Second I never put my finger on the trigger unless I am going to fire the weapon.


When you are hunting you had better make sure you have a clean shot and that nothing is behind the target.

Always assume weapons reload themselves when you aren't looking.

If you pop the mag, rack the bolt and stick your pinky in the receiver, it's probably unloaded. See #1, though.

Know where your buddies are before you open up.

Unless you're using frangible, assume the round will traverse the building if you miss. Maybe even if you don't, if the target's thin and wormy. See above.

Don't shoot at a flat angle over water, unless you just don't care about that guy a mile downrange

A 50BMG carries a long long long long way. Don't loft the shot if there are friendlies downrange anywhere

Friends don't let friends use BreakFree CLP

eta: "3-S prevents NJP"

Good story and glad all ended well... besides the stress and broken windshield. I can't believe some people can be so stupid but I guess they're out there. Hopefully that guy learned a lesson but I highly doubt it.

reply to post by Bedlam


yes, stupid humans.

.50 cal ricochet.


i've actually witnessed people shooting cast iron pans as targets.




link doesn't seem to work
.50 cal ricochet

reply to post by rubbertramp

personally, i don't think the word 'accident' can be used at all concerning firearms.

Yah, but all good shooters have had at least one. If you survive, thats how you become an expert.

One time at a firing range we were at the 100 yard rifle range and all of a sudden this green huey from fort Ord drops in and lands right on the range. Me and my friend were the only ones there on a quiet weekday.

There was a big red cross on the side (medevac) of this green Huey style chopper from the Vietnam era. Two guys jump out and run by us with a stretcher and we are dumbfounded when they come right back by us again carrying the lifeless body of a man that had a huge gunshot wound to his chest. He was pale and limp and they jounced him to the helo which took off and flew away.

This other guy comes walking by us carrying two 12 gauge double barrel break open shotguns. He walked really slow and he looked really sad tears all down his face.

After this we loaded up our guns and went to the office where the owners told us that the two men had been down on the manual claybird range and that one of them had loaded his gun and closed and locked it with his finger on the trigger. The barrels swung up pointed at his friend and the gun went off.

BLAM. Dead friend.

I will always remember that. What an awful thing to carry on your conscience for a lifetime. For such a simple mistake. Know your firearms. Know your etiquette.

The "do's and don'ts" are well known and plenty obvious.

The trouble is that the biggest "don't" of all is impossible to account for. Namely DON'T be an idiot.

If you're an idiot all the other "do's and don'ts" get thrown out the window.

From the UK and it appears to me there are few people that should have guns. Guns are very dangerous and from what I understand of the good ole USA any lunatic can have one.

There should be for anyone that wants a gun a psychological test and profiling, then training in firearms and use.
Thereafter yearly of the above.

Gun etiquete? What the hell is that? The safe use of a firearm is more appropriate.

Civilians should not have firearms they are downright dangerous and accidents happen. Guns should be banned.
I know this may upset the Yanks but we in the UK haven't done that bad with regards to firearms in comparison.

Trained in the use of firearms and don't like them.

Originally posted by shuck
From the UK and it appears to me there are few people that should have guns. Guns are very dangerous and from what I understand of the good ole USA any lunatic can have one.

There should be for anyone that wants a gun a psychological test and profiling, then training in firearms and use.
Thereafter yearly of the above.

Gun etiquete? What the hell is that? The safe use of a firearm is more appropriate.

Civilians should not have firearms they are downright dangerous and accidents happen. Guns should be banned.
I know this may upset the Yanks but we in the UK haven't done that bad with regards to firearms in comparison.

Trained in the use of firearms and don't like them.

just think, maybe if you had guns in england, and were allowed to carry them.
that soldier that was murdered in the street yesterday, might still be alive due to someone stopping them from hacking him to pieces, using a gun.

instead of just standing around. you can bet here in the states, more than one person would have jumped in to help. guns or not.

reply to post by intrptr


very sad story, yet i am confused by this part,

the owners told us that the two men had been down on the manual claybird range and that one of them had loaded his gun and closed and locked it with his finger on the trigger. The barrels swung up pointed at his friend and the gun went off.

tragic accident? mistake?
seems careless to me, i'm still trying to picture how this could happen.
btw, i in no way mean to belittle the event but it seems like it definitely could have been avoided with a bit more care.

There I was, I could'a died...One time in Camp Stanley in 1986 an E5 and This then Specialist ,were tasked with training KATUSAS (college kids whose parents paid so they could serve with us)how to use the AT-4 and grenade throwing. During this session I saw a kid throw the shipping plug and toss a grenade (They made me get it back) then later on I was closely observing a guy with a live At-4(If he twitches wrong I stop him by any means) he checks the marker to see if its a bad missile.He even pulls it open with apparent skill. So I cautiously took a half step back which is exactly when some one called out to my shooter and he proceeded to turn around and in doing so aimed right down the firing line! I returned to his side to re aim the weapon.I then instructed him to fire a bit louder that the rest and then I fed him to his NCO who had the appropriate red in his face.

reply to post by shuck


I'd agree with having to take a safety test.

Civilians should not have firearms they are downright dangerous and accidents happen. Guns should be banned.
I know this may upset the Yanks but we in the UK haven't done that bad with regards to firearms in comparison.

That incident the other day in the UK, one of those guys had a PISTOL, you know, the ones that beheaded that soldier? See, the problem with gun bans, is that it only takes them away from law-abiding citizens. It does NOT take them away from criminals. With so many guns out there in the US, if you outlaw guns, only outlaws would have them.

reply to post by rubbertramp

btw, i in no way mean to belittle the event but it seems like it definitely could have been avoided with a bit more care.

Or following the simple rule mentioned above...don't have your finger on the trigger until ready to shoot.