Cocked, loaded and posted!

[Turnup]

Rule One: All guns are always loaded.
Rule Two: Never let the muzzle cover anything which you are not willing to destroy.
Rule Three: Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
Rule Four: Always be sure of your target.

I agree that this is widely attributed to the Colonel, but I suspect it is possibly a quote taken out of context. The reason being that rule 1 makes it impossible to clean or otherwise maintain a gun. The Colonel was highly articulate and usually meant exactly what he said, and not more. While I can see rule 1 in the form quoted is a bit more snappy and memorable, it is unlike him to sacrifice accuracy for "sound bite" appeal.

[Benelli B76]

Had a lot of respect for Jeff. He came over to South Africa many years ago to share his knowledge and experiences with defensive shooting. Many carry pistols daily for self protection. I always remember his 4 rules even today and I wince when I see how some people handle firearms. I was invited to dinner with a family and we were discussing home protection. The host said "my father brought a Luger home from the war", he goes and retrieves it from the safe,slams it down on the table where 5 of us were all sitting around. I was explaining to him one of the quirks of the P08 that it can be fired without the grip frame attached, as I stripped it a 9mm round ejected from the chamber. He was totally shocked, he had never checked it since the day he had it from his dad.

Baz

[Geezer]

I agree that this is widely attributed to the Colonel, but I suspect it is possibly a quote taken out of context. The reason being that rule 1 makes it impossible to clean or otherwise maintain a gun. The Colonel was highly articulate and usually meant exactly what he said, and not more. While I can see rule 1 in the form quoted is a bit more snappy and memorable, it is unlike him to sacrifice accuracy for "sound bite" appeal.

I think rule 1 includes a second sentence. Something like “Even if they are not loaded, treat them as if they are.” His point wasn’t that all guns are or (God forbid) should be “always loaded” but that if your mindset is to treat them (see subsequent rules) as if they were, you will handle them correctly.

My variant of rule one, back when I did some instructing, was “treat all guns as if they were loaded, and always verify and be aware of their status”.

Because there are times (mil/LE, hunting, shooting on a hot range, legal personal protection) when you actively want the thing loaded (whether loaded means, in the late Col’s framework, condition zero, one, two, three is determined by unit practice or personal choice depending on the weapon in question and the regulations in place).

Most other times, you actively don’t want a loaded gun, and should ensure the transition between the two states. Combine that with rules two and three and you should be OK.

As Cooper used to say, the vast majority of negligent discharges derive from Rule 3 violations.

One time I encountered a failure to follow the rules, many years ago, it was lending an underlever air rifle to an apparently sensible relative, who gave it back to me months later loaded and cocked (with safety on, if that matters). Which I discovered because on receipt I automatically pulled down the cocking lever, finding no resistance, then looked in the breech, then gave him a rather sweary lesson in gun safety.

PS - that isn’t the only time I’ve encountered poor handling. I cite it to stress the “verify” point. If someone hands you a gun, even in a shop or the military, check its condition. Trust no-one.