I was just wondering what are some safety tips for when you're at shooting competitions and firing ranges? Besides the rule of never pointing your gun at anybody, keeping the safety on, keeping it unloaded at certain times, what are some other important rules for firearm safety which are very important yet aren't taught as much?
Knowing the rules of the specific range and shooting discipline is good advice. USPSA, IRC, IDPA, Sillouette, sporting clays, high power.. they all have different rules and expectations. Knowing the rules as they pertain to the competition at hand is the best advice I can give anyone.
Holster / Unload In all events I have ever been in or to; Never draw your handgun unless on the firing line or in a designated "safe" area. Don't load your weapon unless your are on the firing line, and then only after the safety officer instructs you to. When in doubt, cease fire. If you see an unsafe act, call for a cease fire, then bring it to the attention of the safety officer.
I agree with Tanker. The safest competitions that I been at all have safe tables. There is absolutely no gun handling except at the firing line and at the safe table where ammo is never handled. The pistol is handled at the firing line only after being instructed to by the range officer. Of course, after completing the stage, the shooter shows the range officer an empty pistol which is then fired empty at the backstop before being holstered. At my club, where we have had a weekly falling plate shoot for 16 years, there has been an estimated 450,000 rounds fired and there have been no injuries.
Benchrest requires you to have a hunter orange flag that blocks the chamber of your rifle. At least most of the ones I have seen do this. The RO walks by and sees an empty chamber because the flag is in and sticking out where you can see it. No ammo no way of something hapening.
I was at an IBS match today, (my father-in-law is trying to get me to shoot) and their 'range safe condition' was "Hold your bolt in the air". The policy at this shoot was never put the bolt in the action unless you are on the firing line and have been instructed to commence firing. Incredibly simple as a boltless rifle is basically a club.
I have seen them with the flags and without bolts. I am sure that the IBS and the NBRSA do it a little different then you have differances from region to region and state to state. How ever they do it like you said a rifle without a bolt can't shoot anything.
