By Donovan Beard

February 13, 2025

 

Treat every weapon as if it was loaded.

For some reason it is always the unloaded gun that ends up going off unintentionally and killing someone or damaging property. Regardless of whether you are handling a real firearm or a fake firearm you are building muscle memory which turns into habit. It usually takes about 1000 repetitions to make something a habit. My recommendation is to handle all firearms consistently and with a sense of deliberate purpose with an awareness of what is going on around you.

Never allow the muzzle to point at anything you are not willing to destroy.

The short barrel of a handgun makes it very easy to cover large areas with minimal movement. Pointing a firearm at another person who is not presenting themselves as an immediate threat to you or another person is a crime. You need to remember that if you are pointing a firearm in a direction and it goes off, that you are personally responsible for the damage that is caused by that firearm. If you feel that you need your handgun outside the holster for defense and have not positively identified a threat, that you can use any of the ready positions while you are in preparation for use. If you are moving with a firearm in your hand, you need to make sure that you are always pointing your firearm in the safest direction possible on the off chance that it unintentionally discharges.

Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you have consciously made the decision to fire.

I always recommend that if you are handling a firearm that you keep your finger outside the trigger guard always pointed upwards towards the chamber. The goal is to make sure that it is a conscious decision that you make to deliberately move your finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger only when you intend to fire. Triggers can have a pull weight of as little as 2lbs and as much as 15lbs, which may sound like a lot, however in reality it is not much at all. The problem we run into is that if we do have our finger on the trigger the higher the probability that the gun can go off. There are three main causes for firearms to unintentionally go off if we have our finger on the trigger.

The first is “Postural instability.” If you have your finger on the trigger and you slip or lose balance, it will cause you to tense up which could cause you to apply enough pressure to the trigger to cause the weapon to discharge.

The second is “Startle Response.” If you have your finger on the trigger and you hear a loud noise or something startles you, your body’s natural response is to tense up, if you have your finger on the trigger when this occurs, it would be easy to have the firearm unintentionally go off.

Lastly, we have “Overflow effect.” The way this works is, if you have a firearm in your dominant hand with your finger on the trigger, if you grab an object with your non dominant hand and apply substantial pressure, there will be a transfer of energy from you non dominant hand to your dominate hand that can cause you to exert enough pressure to the trigger for the firearm to go off.

Know your targets, back stop, and beyond.

A bullet fired from a gun has enough energy to go through buildings, people, cars and other objects with enough remaining energy to wound, kill or cause damage to property. It is imperative that you consider your surroundings and make sure you know what your bullet may hit if it goes through your intended target. Collateral damage is not acceptable and even if you are shooting your firearm in defense of your life, if the bullet goes through your target and hits an innocent person or causes damage to property, you can be held both civilly and criminally responsible for it.

In summary, it is all these rules being followed, at the same time, that is going to ensure a safe environment for you and everyone around you. The more of these rules that are being broken in unison increases the chances of having your firearm discharge unintentionally. Having said that, I would say the two most critical safety rules that exist are keeping your finger off the trigger until your ready to fire and never pointing your weapon at anything you’re not willing to destroy. However, constantly following all rules, at all times, is the only real way to ensure maximum safety.

If you are interested in getting online training for your Oregon Concealed Handgun License, click the Get Certified Now button below.