Gun Range Safety Rules, How to Stay Safe While Shooting

If you shoot any sort of firearm you should already know the 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety  They will keep you safe when handling any firearm.  The problem is not every gun owner follows these rules.  Which is why you must also follow some basic gun range safety rules when you are shooting on any gun range.

The Very Basic Gun Range Safety Rules

• Always Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
• Always Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
• Always Keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
• Know what your target is and what is beyond it.
• Be sure your gun is safe to operate
• Use only the correct ammunition for your firearm
• Wear Eye and Ear protection
• Never use alcohol or drugs before or while shooting
• Shoot only from the firing line
• When you hear “CEASE FIRE” stop shooting immediately

The Importance of the Rules

Just as the NRA gun safety rules are important so are the gun range safety rules.  Every rule a gun range has is because someone has gotten hurt.  There are no gun range safety rules solely for keeping you from having fun.  No one wants to get killed or injured at the gun range.  Little alone be the reason someone gets killed or injured.  So no matter what range you go to look for their list of rules and follow them.  They are there for your safety and other’s safety.

Range Safety Officers

Most ranges have an RSO (Range Safety Officer) on duty when the range is open.  This person is trained to make sure you follow all the rules and no one gets hurt.  It’s amazing how hard this job can be when most gun owners consider themselves safe with firearms.  However, all you have to do is look around and you will eventually see someone being unsafe.

What do you do if there is No RSO

Many private ranges don’t have an RSO.  Which makes you the RSO.  This also means you are now responsible for your own safety and the safety of anyone around you.  This is an important role.  It’s nothing to be responsible for yourself.  If you can’t be responsible with a firearm you should rethink owning one.  However, you need to be responsible for those around you.

This means keeping an eye on who’s doing what around you.  If you see guns being pointed in unsafe directions, fingers on triggers when not shooting, lack of eye and hearing protection.  You should never be afraid of pointing out unsafe gun handling.  Don’t let someone tell you “oh don’t worry it’s unloaded”.  I doesn’t matter if it’s unloaded, you should treat every gun as if it’s loaded.  Also, don’t let someone’s age or experience stop you from pointing out something they are doing that makes you nervous.  Everyone gets complacent and forgets a basic gun range safety rule, once in a blue moon.

Complacency

Complacency will get you killed.  Most shooters eventually get complacent.  You start to follow the rules without thinking about them.  Then they get so second nature that you do them out of memory without paying attention.  One of the most recent famous examples of this happened to Massad Ayoob. Massad is one of the best-known firearms instructors around.  While teaching a class on a cold range he had an accidental discharge.  Now if you read another account of what happened.  You will see more than one person who was complacent.  This incident could have been way worse had other safety rules been violated as well.

My Own Complacency

I am not perfect.  This weekend I had an incident at gun range that proved just how much I needed to be reminded of the gun range safety rules.  Now mind you I’ve been helping RSO for Appleseed, and a few weeks ago I spent the whole week teaching BSA Rifle Merit Badge at summer camp.  So I too have been around a range a few times.

This day, however, was different.  I went out to the range to shoot some videos for my YouTube channel and get some practice in.  No one was around because it was early in the morning. This is a private range and thus no RSO.  Everyone is just expected to be safe.  Which is normally not an issue.  Some people are safer than others, but I’ve never felt anyone was unsafe.  Until this morning.

My Mistake

About mid-way through testing some new ammo, someone else showed up to use the range.  I finished what I was doing.  I unloaded my gun and set it down on the bench.  About that time he asked me if it was ok for him to go downrange.  To which I let him know the range was cold.  This is all SOP for the range.  Everyone agrees the range is cold then they walk downrange of the firing line.

As I was about to go downrange.  A second person showed up and asked me if this range was for sighting in rifles.  We had a quick conversation about how it was a pistol range and only .22LR rifles where allowed on it.  After that since I hadn’t heard anyone say the range was hot, or tell me they were going to start shooting I started to head downrange.  I didn’t make it very far.  About 3 steps.  As the gentleman who asked me to go down range had made it back to the firing line and started shooting without talking to me first.  Needless to say, I returned to the firing line very quickly.

I should have said something to this person right then and there.  Asking him why he hadn’t let me know that the range was hot?  However, I should have also looked and made sure he wasn’t getting ready to shoot or even handling his firearms.  This was my mistake.  Don’t ever assume anyone else is being safe on a gun range.

The Second Mistake

The worst part is it happened a second time.  As I was finishing packing up my stuff.  Because I wasn’t going to hang around after this.  I watched as he just randomly started to walk downrange.  To which I figured the range was cold.  So I started picking up brass.  Just as I stepped over the firing line he made it back and started firing.  By this time I was done without even getting my brass.  I left the range very quickly.

Conclusion

At some point in time, everyone will violate a gun safety rule.  It’s going to happen.  What you need to do is follow all the gun range safety rules, and hope that the rule you violate doesn’t get you injured.  I was lucky, honestly, I was never far enough downrange to be in any serious danger.  That doesn’t make it safe.  Whether you follow the 4 Basic Gun Rules or the 3 NRA rules,  you must also follow the gun range safety rules for wherever you are shooting at.  These rules are for your protection.  Don’t let complacency or distractions prevent you from being safe.