The Gun Page
Being a red-blooded, American man, I own guns. I own guns which I will use in defense of life, liberty, family, property and country. The ownership, display, concealment, carrying and employment of these firearms are my birthright (and yours), and are non-negotiable. Anyone who believes otherwise is a slave-in-training: Read your history if you don’t believe me.
To get started, we’ll open up with the basics: Firearms Safety.
It’s quite simple, really. There are four basic rules when it comes to handling firearms safely. All of them are based in the firm reality of what we used to call “common sense”, but which is quite hard to come by these days.
1.) Always treat all firearms as if they are loaded. (How many lives would be saved by following this rule?).
2.) Never point the muzzle (the business end of the barrel) at anything you do not want to destroy. (Same question.).
3.) Don’t put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to fire. (Keep it alongside the trigger guard. It’s called “indexing”.).
4.) Be sure of your target and what’s behind it. (Again, this would save many lives.).
Now, let’s expand and/or expound on these rules a little, starting, of course, with the first: Always treat all guns as if they are loaded. Do you realy understand what this means? If someone hands you a gun, when considering this rule, what do you do? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you.
If someone hands you a gun the very first thing you do, if you know how to, is “clear” the weapon. If you don’t know how to do this, then ask the person handing it to you to “clear it first”. If they do anything besides clear the weapon and hand it back to you, don’t touch it. Step away and say, “no thanks”. This is especially true if you’re thinking about buying a gun and the person selling it doesn’t hand it to you with the action open — showing you that it isn’t loaded. This way everyone present knows that the weapon isn’t loaded. There’s no doubt, no nervousness, no apprehension. ‘Nuff said.
Moving on to rule number two: Never point the muzzle at anything you do not want to destroy. For a more direct impact on that statement, let’s subsititute “anything” with “anyone”, and “destroy” with “kill”. Never point the muzzle at anyone you do not want to kill. The message becomes much clearer, doesn’t it? If you’ve ever been around guns of any kind, and especially around most hunters, you’ve no doubt watched them standing around with loaded guns in their hands, swinging the barrels willy-nilly in every direction under the sun, completely oblivious as to what they’re doing. THIS IS COMPLACENCY AND INCOMPETENCE AND THERE’S NO EXCUSE FOR IT. Stay far, far away from people who disrespect firearms, human beings and property in this way. They’re not worth your time, and they give hunters and gun owners in general a very bad reputation.
Muzzles should be pointed either up or down, generally speaking. This is why there are so many old paintings and photographs showing father, son and trusty old dog heading out to hunt with shotguns over their shoulders– a slice of American life which is, sadly, very close to becoming non-existent. Hunting has a long and rich history in America, and ignorant, dumbass rednecks who disrespect both it and the firearms they use deserve to get knee-capped by those who love and cherish our heritage, and want it to continue. (And yes, I’m volunteering for the task. ).
NOTE: Rule number two applies to handling firearms, and should apply to the display of them as well. However, if you go to a gun show you’ll have muzzles pointing at you from twenty different tables at any given time. This isn’t a violation of rule two, necessarily, since there’s a more than reasonable expectation that these guns aren’t loaded, and that safety is a primary concern for all those involved; from the vendors, to the security personnel, to the promotors and the attendees. Not to mention that the majority of those involved have a deep respect for firearms, for American heritage, and for human life.
Rule number three: Don’t put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to fire. The best thing to do, instead, is to index your finger alongside the trigger guard, as previously stated. This not only ensures that you don’t inadvertently pull the trigger, but it also helps guard against something else getting in there to do so. Again, when most people pick up a firearm the first thing they do (besides not checking the chamber) is curl that finger around the trigger. Are they hunting? Are they target shooting? No, they’re either ignorant or don’t give a shit. I promise you, the first time they cause a neglegent discharge (ND – causing the weapon to fire unintentionally), they’ll wish they’d given a shit – especially if they’ve broken rule two as well. Where was that muzzle pointed at the time of the ND? Up? Down? Or at you? Something to think about.
Rule four: Be sure of your target and what’s behind it. While this should be self-explanatory, there are constantly incidents regarding its neglect. For instance, there’s a tale of some people at a pistol range (I think it was a personal range on private property) who’d been shooting for a while and stopped, having becom involved in some lively conversation. Long story short, after the conversation dwindled they started shooting again, only to find that a child had gotten behind one of the targets (I’d question someone’s parenting skills as well). If memory serves, the child was the pre-teen or teenage gandson of the man who shot him, in the head, inadvertently (ND). This is a tragedy I’d never want to experience in my life, and I’m sure you wouldn’t either, but it serves as a vivid reminder of the importance of all firearms safety rules, and especially of rule number four. I know I’ll be sure to follow it, as I have for years. Will you?
I suppose that’s enough for now. I’ll be back with more soon enough. Have a good one.
Firearms Terminology
Over many decades of television, movies and mainstream media pummeling us with scattered bits of incorrect firearms terminology — many times intentionally – I’m going to attempt to set the record straight on as many of these things as I can, so that the next time you hear them, you’ll know what they should have said.
Let’s start with one of the biggest “mistakes” the entertainment/news folks usually make: Misusing and intermingling the terms “automatic”, “auto”, and “assault weapon/rifle”. Very simply put, many gun owners use the term “automatic” when referring to semi-automatic firearms. This is something we, as gun owners, must try to avoid, as it only continues the misinformation put out by an ignorant or agenda-based industry. The correct terms should be “semi-automatic”/”semi-auto” and “fully-automatic”/”full-auto”. Is there a difference? Absolutely. A semi-auto firearm is designed to fire one round with each pull of the trigger, while a full-auto firearm is designed to fire rounds continuously, as long as the trigger is pulled. It’s a difference in the mechanics of the two types, and has little effect on the “lethality” of either. However, the legalities concerning the two types are critically important. Full-auto firearms (among other items) are regulated by the unconsitutional Gun Control Act of 1934 (GCA ’34); this does not make them illegal to own. However, check with your state of residence (BATFE office) before venturing into this potentially debilitating legal quagmire.
As for the terms “assault weapon”/”assault rifle”, this is a fear tactic used by the gun-ownership-fearing media, plain and simple. The terms are military in origin, and those who know little to nothing about firearms simply began applying the terms to civilian-owned items. Again, the terms “semi-auto” and “full-auto” should be used here, since anything under the sun can be used to assault another person. (You don’t see the term “assault baseball bat” do you? Or “assault knife”?) The true definition of “assault rifle” refers to military rifles only. Does this mean civilians don’t own these types of weapons? No. Again, the difference is mechanical and legal, referring back to the semi-auto/full-auto clarification, and GCA ’34. In short, if it’s designed to fire one round for each trigger pull, it’s a semi-automatic firearm and is not an “assault weapon”. If it’s designed to fire continuously with one pull of the trigger, it is a full-auto firearm, but…unless it is military-owned, it still is not an “assault weapon”. Besides that, how can anything be an “assault weapon” if it isn’t being used to make an “assault”? Moving on.
One of the most frequent “mistakes” made by the entertainment/news industry is the use of the terms “clip” and “magazine”. Again, there’s a difference between the two. The term “clip” developed from the term “stripper clip”, which originated with military rifles the world over, utilizing a metal band to retain live rounds for quick reloads. These metal bands generally held 10-rounds and could be pushed down into the action of the rifle, stripping the rounds from the clip into the magazine. The now-empty clip is removed and retained in a pouch or pocket for later use, and the rifle is now loaded. Many countries also called them “chargers” or “charger clips”, especially those in and around Europe.
A magazine is what feeds the ammunition into the chamber of the firearm in question. They can be a permanent/integral part of the firearm, or they can be detachable, but they are not the same as a stripper clip. Probably the most recognizable example is Hollywood’s reference to the AK-47 “banana clip” — a terrible misusage of terminology…but it “sounds cool”. I suppose the “banana” part of the misusage isn’t so bad, since the magazine is curved for better ergonomics, but it is not a clip, by any definition. Most modern firearms, from pistols to battle rifles, to sub-machine guns, use the detachable box magazine, since it allows for much quicker reloads, as well as the uber-necessary “tactical reload” (a subject we will cover at another time). If you’ve ever seen an old gangster movie, the round box that mounts under the Thompson sub-machine gun (“Tommy” gun) is a detachable box magazine. A quick search for “mag change drills”, or “how to use a stripper clip” on YouTube should bring up some excellent examples of both.
I hope the information supplied so far has helped to clarify things for you. Please, feel free to leave any feedback and, as always…have a good one.
