NZGAC Hunter Education. Enabling better education and safer hunting practices.
NZ Hunter Education:
Module 5: The 7 Basic Rules
Rule 1: Treat Every Firearm As Loaded
Using firearms and hunting can be really great fun and bring a lot of enjoyment.
The following 7 RULES are designed to help you, the firearms owner and user, to have safe experiences while owning and using a firearm. Because firearms are used in so many widely differing circumstances, these 7 rules are only a framework out of which each hunter and shooter must make responsible choices in the situations they find themselves in.
The word assumption means something can make an ass out of you and me. Unfortunately with firearms, assumptions can sometimes be fatal.
If you treat every firearm as loaded, that means you will be:
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Thinking safety right from the start. People can be distracted and careless, they can be tired and make mistakes, they can be fooled and they can unintentionally lie. You have made a commitment to act differently.
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Taking responsibility for your safety and the safety of others, by putting proper boundaries in place, regardless of what other people think or do.
Here’s a story that illustrates how faulty assumptions can have serious consequences:
“Many years ago when I was commercially hunting, I stopped over at a friend’s place in Dunedin. I’d sold him a Mauser action rifle that I’d tuned up some time before. We were sitting in the lounge when I asked him how the rifle was and if he could grab it for me. He handed it to me with the bolt shut, so I asked him if it was loaded. ‘No’ he said, ‘A friend used it with me hunting a couple of weeks ago and I asked him if it was unloaded when we got home. He told me it was.’
I took him at his word and asked him if he liked what I’d done to the trigger, at which point I said I’d try it out. Now, with a Mauser action all that is needed to cock the action is to lift up the bolt handle and put it down, which I did. I then aimed the ‘empty’ rifle at a spot on the wall and pulled the trigger! You can guess what happened. There was a huge bang, one very irate wife, two white ghosts sitting in the lounge and a hole in the wall. Not a good look.
That rifle had passed through the hands of three hunters and not one of us had bothered to do the first of the 7 basic rules: ‘TREAT every firearm as if it were loaded!’
Not one of us had even bothered to check!”
So, make sure you are the one who asks and inspects the firearm.
Never, never, never assume anything when it comes to safety and firearms!
Here's another great safety tip:
Never pick up someone else’s firearm without asking their permission, even if that person is your best hunting mate. Why?
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It’s someone else’s possession – you wouldn’t drive their car without their permission, so don’t pick up their firearm without their permission. Respect that ownership.
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It puts a boundary of respect around the firearm and what it stands for – firearms are potentially lethal weapons. The firearm may still be loaded.
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It’s a great practice when you are a part of a group, meaning that the responsible and safe behaviour you agree on is an important part of the group culture.
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It demonstrates responsible handling to others, especially younger people and gives a great example. Children, for example, copy adults and are less likely to pick up a firearm left around by a careless person without asking permission if others exhibit responsible behaviour.
So here are some tips:
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Never, never, never, never take anyone else’s word that the firearm is unloaded.
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Only accept or pass a firearm that has the action open, is shown to be unloaded and has the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
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If the firearm belongs to someone else, ask them to show you the firearm is unloaded before they pass it to you
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Always check every firearm yourself to make certain it is unloaded – when you pick up or receive a firearm, inspect the chamber or put a finger into the chamber of a centre fire rifle if necessary to make certain it is empty. Also make certain the magazine is empty.
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Always keep your finger off the trigger unless you are in a hunting or shooting situation and are ready to fire.
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If there are others in your party with firearms, you take responsibility by asking other to demonstrate their firearms are unloaded and safe.
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If you do not know how to open a firearm, leave it alone.