Gun Etiquette - Rules for My Guns

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  • TwinSix

    Marksman
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    4   0   0
    Aug 29, 2010
    233
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    Indy South Side
    I see this ALL the time at LGS's... Usually it's the Goof Ball guy that is the Brother of the Owners best friend that needed a job, so they let him work behind the gun counter (at least that the perceived knowledge level). And now I see it with my elder (insert thinks they know more than I) family members.

    Its gun etiquette. How is it that people who have "been trained" as an LEO, Marine, Tacticool Operator, master hunter/tracker internet guruu do not understand how to handle other peoples firearms.

    Should I set up some ground rules?

    How do we do that without sounding like an ass? (like my post is really starting out really positive, right!)

    A couple of things that struck me recently:

    1) Dropping the slide with the Slide Release on an empty chamber on my NEW 1911! YES, the Gun Counter guy did this TWICE... C'mon man! I am about to buy this thing! Now, am I over reacting? And yes, the relatives did the same thing last night. I cringed at the pain my brand new slide felt as it's mating parts slammed together with enough force to split atoms.

    2) Leaving an empty magazine in the gun, on the bench after you get done shooting my gun... It's like driving my car and leaving the gas tank empty in the drive way.

    Now... these are a couple of my quirks. I am sure I am not the only one that has them, and I probably do things that others look at say "Oh Man... ". If I am, you'll enjoy the sarcastic purple font posts to follow.

    But here is my solution, and question.

    Do the standard NRA gun safety classes cover things like this? I see basic "this is a gun" advertisements often. Would it be offensive to suggest to them that "We take this class together" and I pay for it? I really DO enjoy shooting with my relatives, and I want them to do it safely and enjoyably too.

    So, what do recommend? As far as your encounters on the range, in classes, or other engagements when you see not so good "etiquette" what have you done?
     

    SEIndSAM

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    May 14, 2011
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    I have found that sometimes even ex-military has very little training on proper handling of handguns. My half brother spent 12 years in the Marines...Had a bunch of training with a rifle, but only a day or two with handguns because of his specialty...It just depends on what their specialty training and MOS was.
     

    poppy

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    May 4, 2012
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    If someone is not familiar with handling a weapon in your presence, it is your responsibility to educate them in the safe operation of said firearm. Next is to read the owners manual that came with the firearm. In two of my owners manuals, there is no mention of slide release. My manuals refer to the part as a slide stop lever. Use of wrong part nomenclature would seem to me to encourage using said part to release the slide which it was not designed to do. I for one would never hand over a firearm to a person who is unfamiliar with it's operation without going over proper handling and safe operation.
     

    indyjoe

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    May 20, 2008
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    I spent a few minutes educating someone shooting at Indy Trading Post yesterday. I asked that he not sweep me with his muzzle. He looked behind him at first and then finally got that I was talking with him.

    "Um, it isn't loaded."

    "Yes, it is."

    "It ain't loaded bro."

    "A gun is always loaded. As soon as you assume it isn't, you accidentally kill someone."

    I continued by showing him that it is also a good courtesy to lock the weapon open to show it can't fire right now.

    I had not been to public ranges in a while and it shouldn't have been a surprise. Everyone I shoot with will get reamed by me for that behavior. But you can't be quite as harsh with a total stranger who isn't at the range due to your invitation.
     

    GodFearinGunTotin

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    Mar 22, 2011
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    Mitchell
    I don't usually get too bent out of shape about some of this stuff. But if I'm not handling your gun or other property to your liking, a simple: "Dude, please don't do that...it may cause XXXX" is usually enough for me to understand your preferences. I don't think it has to be some big production. If they scoff at you all you have to do is assert, my stuff, my rules.
     

    Gluemanz28

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    Mar 4, 2013
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    Elkhart County
    Unfortunately you open yourself up to this type of behavior when you "Show and Tell" your firearms.
    A friend of mine broke down a brand new gun and inspected the parts one at a time like he was in the quality control Dept.
    Im not sure if he was trying to show his disassembly skills or check the quality of the firearm.

    I could have said something to him but didn't want it to come across wrong. The guy is very knowledgeable about guns so I'm sure he knew what he was doing but he didn't even ask, he just started taking it apart.

    I no longer tell him if I bought a new gun, because he would be at my house in five minutes.
     

    masterdekoy

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    Feb 12, 2013
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    Columbus
    I think your #2 complaint about leaving the mag in the gun unloaded is due to inexperience. I've taken several new shooters to the range and this was almost universally their response when the gun ran dry. I wouldn't let them walk away, and instructed them to remove the mag and take it back to the reloading area a couple times and they got the idea pretty quickly.
     

    88E30M50

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    Dec 29, 2008
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    My pet peeve is when others assume that it's Ok to dry fire your gun without so much as asking. It's not always Ok to dry fire a gun and it's never Ok to dry fire someone else's gun without asking them first.
     

    TwinSix

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    Aug 29, 2010
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    Indy South Side
    I think your #2 complaint about leaving the mag in the gun unloaded is due to inexperience. I've taken several new shooters to the range and this was almost universally their response when the gun ran dry. I wouldn't let them walk away, and instructed them to remove the mag and take it back to the reloading area a couple times and they got the idea pretty quickly.
    Excellent Point!
     

    TwinSix

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    Aug 29, 2010
    233
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    Indy South Side
    If someone is not familiar with handling a weapon in your presence, it is your responsibility to educate them in the safe operation of said firearm. Next is to read the owners manual that came with the firearm. In two of my owners manuals, there is no mention of slide release. My manuals refer to the part as a slide stop lever. Use of wrong part nomenclature would seem to me to encourage using said part to release the slide which it was not designed to do. I for one would never hand over a firearm to a person who is unfamiliar with it's operation without going over proper handling and safe operation.
    I will refer to the manual, Thanks for the Advice! Slide Release / Slide Stop Lever "Seem" like interchangeable language.
     

    MohawkSlim

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    Mar 11, 2015
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    It's important to remember there are a whole bunch of noobs out there right now. Shooting sports and gun ownership is skyrocketing and the vast majority of those new people have almost no experience with "traditional gun etiquette." Equally important to remember is some of the "traditional gun etiquette" doesn't need to be applied anymore since there have been advancements in modern metallurgy and manufacturing. Also worth noting, "my brother is a cop/marine/competitive shooter, etc." doesn't mean proficiency.

    1) Dropping the slide with the Slide Release on an empty chamber on my NEW 1911!
    It's probably going to take thousands upon thousands of times of doing this to cause damage to your new gun. Brass (or steel, though I'm guessing you're not the type to shoot steel through your 1911) doesn't exactly cushion the blow. Thousands of times = normal use and with normal use, it's going to get damaged eventually.

    There are a lot of "old wives tales" or "grampa told me to never ______." out there and this is one of them. Modern firearms are made to be dry fired. If you're not comfortable dry cycling or firing I'd suggest you get comfortable with it because it's a wonderful training tool. If you still don't want to do it, best to tell folks when you pass the gun to them. "Please don't cycle or dry fire that gun. I don't like it when people do that."

    2) Leaving an empty magazine in the gun, on the bench after you get done shooting my gun...
    Personal pet peeve fixed by, again, explaining your particular process of gun handling to the person you let shoot your gun.

    As seen on this site, we can't even agree on safe handling rules so it's no wonder we can't agree on how to pass a gun back and forth. I'm with you on this one though. I like it to be cleared before I take it. When I shoot with new people though, I don't expect them to automatically do it. Typically, after a few iterations, they're already reloading the mags behind the line because they want to shoot more!
     

    10mmMarc

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    Jan 16, 2015
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    Greenwood
    I actually prefer they leave an empty magazine in my gun, when they hand me a gun I prefer for it to be unloaded, I like to be the one who loads my gun when it is returned to me, only because once I saw a guy reload a 38 and hand it back to the guy, another guy asked what the difference was between a single action and a double action, the guy took the loaded gun and proceeded to pull the trigger, luckily we got him stopped before it discharged.
     

    223 Gunner

    Master
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    199   0   0
    Jan 7, 2009
    4,411
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    Red Sector A
    I am also very particular about handling firearms, and the way people handle mine. I do not slam slides, or bolts in AR's either. I do not dry fire someone Else's weapon, unless they hand it to me and say "feel the trigger pull on this" followed up by "it's okay, you can dry fire it".
    I quit handing my guns to other people because of all the above. There are very few people that I let handle my firearms. So I get it, I also very rarely go into shops, because most of the time I am not going to buy a gun. I think it is good etiquette to not waste someone's time by letting me "coon finger" a bunch of firearms and then say "thanks, have a good day". I know it happens in shops all day long, but I value my time and yours as well. Even at gun shows, I do not waste dealers time by handling their inventory. I have been on both sides of the table at the Indy 1500, and there are a bunch of people that will walk up to a dealer table and not even ask, and just start picking up guns. Racking/slamming slides, letting a bolt "fly" home on an AR etc.

    I do think there are a lot of people out there that haven't been taught proper gun etiquette or even good manners. It's disappointing to say the least. We are slipping as parents and mentors to our younger generations.
    It's on us to educate others and to politely call them out on bad manners and poor etiquette.
     
    Last edited:

    ATM

    will argue for sammiches.
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    Is this a good place to mention the Four Rules?

    No. I will find it and point out the superior excellence and sufficiency of the 3 Rules while tagging your old favorite, the "Santa Claus mantra", as a proud but failed relic from a bygone era.

    Do I really need to do that ...again? ;)
     

    308jake

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    Feb 5, 2010
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    No. I will find it and point out the superior excellence and sufficiency of the 3 Rules while tagging your old favorite, the "Santa Claus mantra", as a proud but failed relic from a bygone era.

    Do I really need to do that ...again? ;)

    Some simply enjoy losing repeatedly. After a while, it becomes addicting I imagine.
     

    Jeremy032

    Plinker
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    Sep 22, 2014
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    La Porte
    I hate when you show someone your gun and there hand goes right on the barrel or metal receiver rather than grabbing it by the handguard or other plastic/wood areas. I always feel the need to wipe the metal parts down afterwards because you just don't know where their pecker scratchers have been.
     

    Trigger Time

    Air guitar master
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    204   3   0
    Aug 26, 2011
    40,112
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    SOUTH of Zombie city
    I hate it when people make me feel uncomfortable around guns because they look at their guns like a golden egg instead of a tool. In that case don't shoot them. Seriously fingerprints? Make people wear gloves then. For god sakes. This is why I don't hang out with most people.
    i don't shoot with people that make me nervous. It's like people who have to look up in their brain to remember how to march and then **** up. I don't wanna get shot by accident.
    Also in the military it's not always the same as civilian classes. Some things are more strict others less. In real life (combat), you will sweep people. It happens. You train against sweeping your own team but in crowds or buildings their is always gonna be the case where it does. People above you, people below you, people behind walls ect.
    Training on a stagnant range and practicing proper safety is great, but if you ever have to fight with your gun then it might cause you to hesitate and die.
    My guns are tools. If you want to shoot them go for it. If you accidently drop one it's not gonna hurt it because I don't own crap guns.
    New People to guns or with little time around them are already nervous. They are constantly remembering the safety rules and they are remembering the operating rules that are basic and then sometimes they have someone's extreme rules to remember on top of that. Why even shoot if it's not fun?
     

    Trigger Time

    Air guitar master
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    204   3   0
    Aug 26, 2011
    40,112
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    SOUTH of Zombie city
    I spent a few minutes educating someone shooting at Indy Trading Post yesterday. I asked that he not sweep me with his muzzle. He looked behind him at first and then finally got that I was talking with him.

    "Um, it isn't loaded."

    "Yes, it is."

    "It ain't loaded bro."

    "A gun is always loaded. As soon as you assume it isn't, you accidentally kill someone."

    I continued by showing him that it is also a good courtesy to lock the weapon open to show it can't fire right now.

    I had not been to public ranges in a while and it shouldn't have been a surprise. Everyone I shoot with will get reamed by me for that behavior. But you can't be quite as harsh with a total stranger who isn't at the range due to your invitation.
    that was nicer than punching him in the nose and I would have told him that. You never know
     

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