Second Amendment Blog
The Four Rules
Posted by:Sebastian on 
Nov 10th, 2008 | 
Filed under: Gun Care & Gunsmithing
SayUncle had a negligent discharge of his Walther P22 over the weekend, but because the four rules were being followed, no one was hurt. One thing I need to get, and I would say anyone who handles firearms a lot needs to get, is a clearing barrel. Every time you load a gun, there is a small chance that the round could slamfire, either from a problem with the gun, a misseated primer, or what have you. There’s also the chance of human error. A clearing barrel makes sure no one gets hurt, and you don’t end up having a hole of shame in your floorboards. It’s one of those things that over time, statistics will catch up with you, as they did with Uncle, so it’s best to be prepared.
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November 10th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I dunno, but for $640, I think I’ll just step outside from now on ;)
November 10th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I’ve seen cheaper ones :) Those were the first I could find looking fast. Anyone who doesn’t have a job to worry about want to go find me a cheaper example?
November 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am
A five gallon bucket full of play sand works fine. So does a stack of those old Encyclopedia Brittanicas or National Geographics in that box you’ve been meaning to throw out.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Yup, I have a bookshelf full of old encyclopedias that my guns get pointed at when clearing or loading.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Slam fires and negligent manual hammer-decocks are rather different problems, fundamentally.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Yes, but both will tend to happen over time. Tam’s sand idea is a good one.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
+1 Box-o-Truth showed that a few inches of sand will stop just about anything.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot7.htm
They found that about 6″ of sand was enugh for even beefy rifle rounds….so for a handgun, a bucket with a foot or more of sand in it should be more and adequate.
November 11th, 2008 at 11:14 am
[...] Sebastian. [...]
November 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
As some have noted, a clearing barrel need not be a barrel.
It can be any container tall enough to fill with several inches of sand, such as a flower pot or a miniature trash can.
In the basement next to the safe, it doesn’t even need to look spiffy.