Real World Firearms Safety Rules - Revised March 9th, 2015

From my good friend over at BLUE LINE SHEEPDOG. Share with permission the BLSD Range Rules!

1.     Treat your weapon as if it were loaded, unless you have specifically made it otherwise, verified its condition, and had someone else verify its condition. Don't treat it likes it’s radioactive. Treat it like it’s a firearm and you will be safe. Since this is a hot range, this should be a real easy rule to remember.

 2.     Do not intentionally or deliberately point your muzzle at anything you are not willing to destroy, without an adequate reason for doing so. This is a practical training class, in a training environment. For the square range make a conscious decision to NOT point your weapon at other people. In the real world, you do occasionally have to point your firearm at other people. Only point it at someone you can justify your gun pointed at if it were to go off.

3.     Know what is between you and your target, and to either side of your target. We’re not going to be operating on the square range in the real world. You will have good guys and innocents down-range of you in addition to the suspect. Pay attention to your surroundings. Consider the reality that you might miss. The reality that someone may step in the way of your shot, and the reality that your round may punch all the way through someone and keep going. Most of all, consider the reality that you might miss.

4.     Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. If you fail in all three of the preceding rules, there is a fourth one for good measure. If you point your weapon at someone while it’s loaded, but don’t pull the trigger, the worst thing that will happen is you will get beat up. Unless you are actively engaging a target, with a solid sight picture, there is no reason, whatsoever, for your finger to be on the trigger. It will not make you any faster, to run around with your finger already on the trigger.

5.     Use your mechanical safety. It’s there for a reason. It works really, really well. If you're running and you trip or if you sling your rifle for whatever reason, it’s entirely within the realm of the probable for a stub/finger/piece of gear/etc. to end up inside your trigger well. That will cause a bang if your safety is not engaged.

There is a zero tolerance policy for safety. If you violate safety rules, you are gone.

M.L. Blue Line Sheepdog