The Four Rules - Easy to understand in any language

UPDATE 17 May 2009 17:39: Welcome folks from NJ Gun Forums. I should just point out that the Japanese part came with the manual for my Tokyo Mauri Airsoft pistol. I don't know what the Japanese says (anyone who reads Kanji, please feel free to leave a comment). IOW, the commentary is my own, not the folks at Tokyo Mauri. However, it's clear that the 4 Rules are alive and well in the Land Of The Rising Sun. /UPDATE

The Tokyo Mauri 1911 Airsoft pistol is pretty fun, but the instruction manual is very interesting. It's all in Japanese, but there's a section that is clearly about the Four Rules of gun safety. I'm posting part of it here - you can see the whole thing at the Tokyo Mauri web site.


Rule 1. Guns are always loaded. Note that rule 1 does not say "treat guns as if they were loaded", or "treat them as if they might be loaded". All guns are always loaded, until you verify that they are not. Always.

As the famous saying from the Russian firearms instructor goes: Ees gun. Ees not safe.

Violation of this rule is responsible for 100% of accidental injuries: "I thought it was unloaded" is no excuse. Of course it was loaded; that's the point.

This one is interesting, and is a variation of Rule 1 that you don't see often. There are a lot of people who freak out when they see a gun. These people are actually very tuned into Rule 1. I'm sure that the folks at Toyko Mauri put this in so that little Johnny doesn't have Officer Friendly put him face down and cuffed until everything gets sorted out; this is something worth thinking on for the folks who advocate Open Carry.

Rule 2: Never let the muzzle point at anything you're not willing to put a hole in. If the gun discharges (intentionally or non-intentionally), Mr. Bullet will go in the direction that the gun is pointing. Duh. Make sure it's not pointing any anything that doesn't need any holes.

You'll shoot your eye out with that is bad if it's Airsoft; it's really, really bad if it's a gun with live ammunition.

Rule 3: Keep your finger off the trigger until you have the target aligned in your sights. Guns don't just fire themselves, you know - the trigger is there as the ignition switch, so to speak. No finger on the ignition, no ignition. Simple, right?

Violation of this is said to be the cause of 60% of all negligent discharges.

Rule 4: Be sure of your target, and what lies beyond it. Mr. Bullet goes in the direction you point the gun, duh. If you're pointing it kinda sorta at the target, but absolutely at your neighbor's cat, Mr. Cat is in more danger than Mr. Target. If the cat is behind the target, then you're still fixin' to put a hole in him (blood comes out, air comes in, both are A Bad Thing). This, of course, is why ranges have big earthen berms or slanty armor plate behind the target area.

So, 4 simple rules that cover the bases and keep everyone safe. Any language, or none. Let's be safe out there.