Yeah, What She Said

As always, Tam comes through in reaction to a commenter defending the Sonny Puzikas incident in Texas:

Prayers go out to the injured person. Yes. But stop with the 4 Rules sermon.

"Four Rules Sermon"?

Brethren and Sistern, there is an obvious lack of sufficient sermonizing here, so let me turn to the Book of Armaments, Chapter Four, Verse One: "Be Sure Of Your Target And What Is Beyond It." There is no codicil that says "Unless you're in a shoot house," or "Unless you're going really fast."

It’s not okay to shoot your fellow range patrons EVEN… and I’d like to make this perfectly clear… EVEN IF THE RSO SAYS IT’S COOL.

As an NRA-certified instructor, I don't typically teach the 4 rules, instead following the 3 primary rules of gun safety:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction!
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot!
3. Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to shoot!

Additionally, ALWAYS know your target and what is beyond!

I'm also a Range Safety Officer and instructor. Yeah, the RSO is there to ensure safety on the range; however, do you trust only in your mechanical safety? I think not. It's not infallible.

If you can't safely assess what is going on downrange without every little instruction from the RSO on the range then, perhaps you should consider taking-up something safer. Maybe finger painting?