Proving The Importance Of Safety Rule No. 2

by
posted on December 31, 2015
gsagi2015_fs.jpg (3)

There are a number of reasons the NRA’s No. 2—and golden—firearm safety rule is to keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. The human body’s quirks are chief among them, and rather than regurgitate the scientific reasons, here are three exercises that demonstrate how quirky our bodies, minds and hands can be.

I can pretty much guarantee these won’t work on everyone, but I’ll start with the one that still has me scratching my head.

• Close your eyes, raise your right foot about 2 inches and start moving it in clockwise circles. Keep it going, then raise your right arm and draw the number “6” in the air with your index finger. Hmmm, those circles seem to have changed direction, right. It doesn’t have much to do with shooting, but it does demonstrate how movement in one place on the body can impact fine motor skills elsewhere. Do it with your left foot and left hand so you feel better for the rest of the day.

• Close your eyes, and using your index finger, feel your nose, up and down. Now, with the same hand—eyes still closed—cross that finger over middle finger (like you’re crossing your fingers for good luck). Ensure they both touch at the same time, and run that duo up and down your nose until you’re finally convinced it’s really the one affixed to your face. It feels foreign at first, but highlights the potential for cross-limbed confusion, especially in the dark. Apply that principle to the Harries tactical light technique (arms crossed while holding a handgun and tactical light in separate hands), under the stress of a criminal encounter.

• Grab that screwdriver and attack the stingiest, rustiest and toughest screw with one hand at home. Really push hard, twist with everything you’ve got, stop quickly and look at your support hand. The odds are good it’s clenched in a fist, or at least tensed in what law enforcement terms a sympathetic squeeze. Inter-limb interaction is more scientifically accurate, but it can have dire consequences when handling a criminal or working a flashlight while holding a gun, especially under stress. Civilians can encounter the same affect when working a stingy door to the safe room, holding a panicked child from running away, or when they lose their balance and grab a stairway railing to arrest the fall.

• Bonus Exercise: Hold out your support hand with your fingers spread widely apart. Try to curl just your pinky toward your palm, and the odds are good your ring finger is going along for the ride. Hold that hand out again, and instead of trying to move it, just curl that pinky into your palm using the other hand. There’s a lot less movement in the other digits that way, which means the problem’s in our minds, and there’s still hope I’ll quit pushing those shots when I’m not using a magazine extension—assuming I make more time to practice.

Add our startle reflex, which usually make our fingers squeeze into a tight fist ready to fight when we’re surprised and scared simultaneously, and it’s obvious why firearm safety rule No. 2 is there. Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

Latest

heavy machine gun crew with DShK on tripod pointing in air above trees
heavy machine gun crew with DShK on tripod pointing in air above trees

Red Fifty: The Soviet 12.7 mm DShK Heavy Machine Gun

While the Browning .50-cal. M2 machine gun has been unequaled for more than a century, John Moses Browning’s genius design has had one significant 12.7 mm competitor: the Soviet DShK.

Support The NRA Youth Education Summit (YES) On Giving Tuesday

With more than 1,200 students having graduated from the program and over $700,000 in scholarships awarded since 1996, NRA's YES is an immersive leadership program for high school students eager to learn about the foundations of our nation, the importance of civic engagement and the role of the Second Amendment.

Rifleman Review: Remington 360 Buckhammer

Remington Ammunition's 360 Buckhammer is a straight-wall hunting cartridge that's designed to give deer hunters an ideal round for their Midwestern hunt.

New For 2025: EAA Girsan Witness2311 Brat, Match and MatchX

European American Armory Corp. (EAA) introduced an affordable variation of the double-stack 1911 design with their Girsan Witness2311 in 2023, continually adding additional chamberings and slide length options. New for 2025, the company is adding three new versions of the Witness2311 with the Match, MatchX and Brat models.

Review: Citadel Trakr

At less than 4 lbs., this repeating rifle is easy on the back while also being extraordinarily easy on the budget.

Freedom Munitions To Move Ammo Component Production To Idaho

Freedom Munitions has announced it will be consolidating its projectile component production from X-Treme Bullets out of Nevada into its Lewiston, Idaho, facilities.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.