to strike the firing pin if the hammer is struck by an accidental blow. Many models of bolt action rifles also have improved safeties. While most older bolt action rifles required the safety to be moved to the “off” position to open the bolt, many newer ones allow the bolt to be opened without having to disengage the safety. This is a great improvement because to open the action the shooter does not have to operate the bolt of a rifle that is in firing condition. Some bolt action rifles have indicators to show when the piece is cocked, but with others there is nothing visible to show whether the action is cocked or not. Today, most semiautomatic rifles and pistols have a device that holds the action open after the last shot has been fired. An increasing number of semiautomatic pistols have some sort of indicator that shows when there is a cartridge in the chamber. For example, on the new Ruger Mark III the loaded chamber indicator is a lever that runs along the left hand side of the frame and fits flush with the frame when the chamber is empty. When a round is chambered, the lever swings out of the frame slightly and a red dot on the top edge of the lever is visible.
All modern semiautomatic pistols chambered for rimfire cartridges have safeties. Usually they are levers located on the left hand side at the rear of the frame and are operated by the thumb of the shooting hand. It is possible as a result of handling the firearm or removing it from a holster to cause this lever to be moved accidentally. Pistols of recent manufacture often have safeties that are better designed to prevent this from happening, and the possibility of litigation has caused most firearms marketed today to have triggers that require more force to discharge the piece than was the case a generation or two ago. These and other improvements in firearms have helped reduce accidents, but the most important aspect of safety is still the human mind.
Older single-action revolvers had to have the hammer at half cock in order to rotate the cylinder.
Many firearms are shipped with a “flag” in the chamber to show that no cartridge resides in the chamber. Shown here is a Smith & Wesson Model 22A.
While the changes in equipment have made the shooting sports safer, so have the training programs that have been conducted or sponsored by numerous organizations. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has conducted the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program for many years, and more than 18 million of youngsters have received instruction in what to do when encountering a firearm as a result. More information on this program is available from the NRA Eddie Eagle Department at (800) 231-0752 or from the web site www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, fatal accidents from firearms in the pre-K through third grade age group has been reduced by more than twothirds during the operation of this program.
The Boy Scouts of America includes instruction in shooting in many areas of the country. Other groups that are proactive with regard to shooting include 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) groups. Many summer camps that are operated by civic and church groups for youngsters have instruction and practice in target shooting. Other companies and groups are concerned primarily with safe handling and shooting of airguns, and this activity is frequently a forerunner of shooting firearms. Daisy Outdoor Products has sponsored national BB and airgun competition for many years. Daisy also has a trailer that has been converted to a portable range that is used in various parts of the country to introduce boys and girls to shooting activities with airguns. Crosman Corporation also sponsors programs that are directed toward training and safe shooting.
Semiautomatic rifles like this Ruger 10/22 Carbine have a push-button safety located at one end of the trigger guard.
With the emphasis on safety in shooting, most states require the completion of a hunter safety course for anyone under a certain age who wishes to get a hunting license. Certified instructors who make sure that the prospective hunter is familiar with proper handling and use of a firearm conduct these courses. Safety is a constant thing, not a sometime thing. Changes in equipment and training have led to a drastic reduction in firearm-related accidents, but further reductions are possible. Those of us involved in the shooting sports must constantly be concerned with the safety issues of our activities.
Rimfire rifles and pistols are at the same time some of the safest and most dangerous of firearms. Because of their having low noise and almost no recoil, they are convenient and pleasant to use. However, the same characteristics may also cause them to be taken lightly. This should never be the case! The author has served on a coroner’s jury and seen first hand the incredible effect that can be produced by a bullet from a 22 rimfire. He has also used a rimfire to prepare large hogs and cattle for the butcher’s block. A rimfire round can produce an enormous amount of damage!
A bullet from the lowly 22 LR rimfire can travel up to a mile and a bullet from the 17 HMR or 22 WMR can travel even farther. Because the velocity is relatively low, bullets from rimfire firearms (especially the 22 Short, Long and Long Rifle) are prone to ricochet badly. Shooting at almost any object on the ground will result in that familiar but horrible whine of a bullet on its way to somewhere else. Not only that, it may be going at some merry angle compared to the direction in which it was fired. The rimfire shooter must exercise good judgment and restraint. If you are engaged in the noble and time-honored pastime of hunting squirrels with a 22, remember that you may be able to fire at game in some directions but not others. If you miss that squirrel on a limb 40 yards away, the bullet is going to come down a long way from where you are. It may also strike a branch and ricochet in some uncontrollable and unknown direction.
The Thompson Center Classic has a hole through the rear of the trigger guard through which a special lock is placed.
A 22 LR looks tiny beside a 458 Winchester magnum cartridge. As a result of its small size, there is sometimes a tendency to take a 22 caliber firearm lightly.
A bullet from a rimfire can easily penetrate a 2x4 or several inches of flesh. I have performed almost every test imaginable, and the power produced by a cartridge that measures only one inch in length and costs as little as 2 cents is almost unbelievable. Not far from where this is being written, a man getting into a vehicle dropped a loaded 22 handgun, which struck the floor, discharged, and sent a bullet into his body. It penetrated several organs on its upward path and the man was killed. A rimfire has the power to be lethal from many directions, not only when a bullet hits “just right.” All of the safety requirements for any firearm must be exercised in the use of a rimfire. A rimfire firearm is every bit as much a firearm as is a powerful rifle that is intended for hunting elephants. In fact, the story has been told of a shooter actually killing an elephant with a 22 LR!
Safety Rules
Many accidents are avoidable. Common sense and logic would prevent many situations from arising in which someone might be injured or killed. Millions of shooters have enjoyed their sport for many years without ever being involved in an accident. In terms of the number of man-hours involved and the very low incidence of accidents, shooting sports are safer than are many other types of activities. However, when an accident involving a firearm does occur, it is deemed a newsworthy item. Even a minor injury inflected by a firearm will get more press coverage than a broken spine that results from a skiing accident except when the injured party is someone famous. Those of us who are involved in any form of shooting sport must remember that there is a large, vocal segment of the population who does not believe that we even have the right to own and use a firearm. They believe that the Second Amendment is some sort of collective right that was intended for militias but not individuals. That is remarkable in view of the fact that the other rights specified in the Bill of Rights are individual rights. Historians of my acquaintance who specialized in constitutional