Firearm Safety

Lower Providence Rod & Gun Club believes that safety is everyone's responsibility. The club emphasizes safety in all our organized club events, and expects our club members to be safety conscious when they use the club. Each Senior member is a Range Safety Officer of the club, and is expected to enforce basic safety procedures among others.

With over 70 million Americans owning and using firearms, the Federal Government estimates that over half the households in this country have at least one gun in the home. Each one of those individuals has a personal responsibility for the safe handling and safe storage of their personal firearms.

Basic Rules of Firearm Safety

• Always treat a firearm as though it were loaded. After unloading a firearm, or checking to make sure it is unloaded, continue to treat it as though it were loaded.
• Always unload sporting firearms before leaving the field or range, and keep the firearm unloaded until you are ready to use it.
• Always check a firearm to make sure it is unloaded whenever it is being handled for the first time, prior to storage, after removal from storage, or after any period without direct physical contact.
• Always make sure the firearm is pointed in a safe direction. Never point the muzzle of a firearm at another person or yourself.
• Always keep your finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
• Always remember that safety devices can, and do, fail.
• Always make sure the firearm is in a safe operating condition before using it. Do not use a firearm if you are unfamiliar with its operation or safety features.
• Always use ammunition designed for use in your firearm. Use only ammunition that matches the caliber of your gun.
• Always be sure of your target AND what lies beyond. Pay attention to the surrounding area, and structures that may cause a ricochet or be penetrated by a bullet.
• Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting, or on the range with others shooting. Also, wash your hands after handling lead bullets or shot.
• Always refrain from using alcohol or drugs before or while shooting.
• Always store firearms in a locked container and separate from ammunition. keep the keys and combinations to cabinets, drawers, safes, and trigger locks where children cannot get them.
• Always make sure firearms are inaccessible to children and unauthorized adults.

Children and guns

Parents have a responsibility to their children to teach and reinforce firearm safety. Children of all ages should be taught to do the following if they ever find a gun:

• Stop! Do not touch it.
• Leave the area.
• Tell an adult where the gun was found.

Children are encouraged to sign the following "Firearms Responsibility Contract" when they are old enough to begin learning about the safe handling of guns.