Have the three rules changed?

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I was at the range this afternoon, and there's a poster from the NRA with the three rules:
  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 Use
The NRA web site has the same three: https://gunsafetyrules.nra.org/

Wait, where did that third one come from? I always used to read & hear "always know what's behind and around your target". What have you been taught? Those of you who teach NRA classes, has the curriculum changed, or has it always been this way?
 
Just always be ready to use your firearm and #3 goes away. ;)

But, could this be a poster for "cold" ranges? The Range at which I am a member requires all firearms to be safe (unloaded, mags out) upon entering the property until/unless on the firing line.
 
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The rules I learned were four from Col. Cooper:
1) treat every gun as if it's loaded, always
2) keep your finger off the trigger
3) keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction
4) know your target and beyond.
 
Catfish said:
The rules I learned were four from Col. Cooper:
1) treat every gun as if it's loaded, always
2) keep your finger off the trigger
3) keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction
4) know your target and beyond.
Click to expand...
I was gonna say: yes, the three have changed. The four must have lost one...and one of the remaining three got a sex change.
 
GreatGazoo said:
Just always be ready to use your firearm and #3 goes away. ;)

But, could this be a poster for "cold" ranges? The Range at which I am a member requires all firearms to be safe (unloaded, mags out) upon entering the property until/unless on the firing line.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I believe this is a cold range NRA poster
 
For range rules they are not bad. You know what the target is and likely don't need the gun loaded all the time. As general rules, they are lacking.
 
Catfish said:
The rules I learned were four from Col. Cooper:
1) treat every gun as if it's loaded, always
2) keep your finger off the trigger
3) keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction
4) know your target and beyond.
Click to expand...
Posted here in several places.
 
Catfish said:
The rules I learned were four from Col. Cooper:
1) treat every gun as if it's loaded, always
2) keep your finger off the trigger
3) keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction
4) know your target and beyond.
Click to expand...

When I was on active duty from 2004 to 2010, we had to recite all 5 rules from memory before shooting at the range, and we shot thousands of rounds every Thursday (unless we were on deployment).

The five rules were these, plus:
- Never point the weapon at anything you do not wish to destroy.
 
Last edited:
Catfish said:
The rules I learned were four from Col. Cooper:
1) treat every gun as if it's loaded, always
2) keep your finger off the trigger
3) keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction
4) know your target and beyond.
Click to expand...
Alabamacoastie said:
When I was on active duty from 2004 to 2010, we had to recite all 5 rules from memory before shooting at the range, and we shot thousands of rounds every Thursday (unless we were on deployment).

The five rules were these, plus:
- Never point the weapon at anything you do not wish to destroy.
Click to expand...
If you look up Cooper’s rules, #3 isn’t there. But #5 is. I’d learned them as :

#1, #5, #2, #4:
•loaded
•destroy
•trigger
•target

The “destroy” and “target” both would cover the “muzzle in a safe direction” rule.
 
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