Same here. If I’m looking at a revolver with the cylinder in the open position, it gets treated like any other chunk of metal: I handle it in the manner most convenient to my purpose.
If I have a semiauto, and I drop the mag, lock the slide to the rear, and physically insure that the chamber is empty, again, it’s just a chunk of metal.
Under any other condition, I follow The Rules.
The actual rule is “Every firearm is loaded until you PROVE to yourself that it is NOT loaded. If the firearm ever leaves your hand, you do not have proof that is is unloaded.”
That rule is NOT an overstatement. It is a basic safety prinicple - If you treat a firearm as if it is loaded until etc. etc., you’ve established a basic attitude that enhances safe handling.
The next two rules follow the same attidute, and re-enforce it:
“Never let your muzzle cover anything you’re not willing to destroy.”
“Always be certain of what is down-range of you.”
If you follow those three rules, it becomes relatively unimportant whether or not you’re familiar with the individual weapon or not; any unintentional discharge will still not do any harm.
The above three rules are my baseline for safe handling - If you know and follow those rules, you’re safe enough to handle a weapon around me and mine. Any less than that, and either you won’t be welcome, or me and mine won’t be anywhere nearby.
Not quite… There’s also the question of what, precisely, the gun wielder is willing to destroy. If I’m at war and on the battlefield, I won’t take any comfort at all in knowing that the guys on the other side of the field have had proper gun safety training.
Not only should one “assume” that any gun in battery (i.e. not inoperable as described by ExTank in post #21), but in fact the rule is “All guns are always loaded.” Period. It doesn’t matter if one has just checked the cylinder, or pulled the magazine, or the chamber loaded indicator shows an empty chamber; all guns are always loaded. Aside from preventing unintentional discharges with a weapon that the holder “thought” wasn’t loaded, this also prevents the lapse in handling discipline which may allow someone to thoughtlessly handle any firearm at any time in such a manner that it poses a threat to bystanders or oneself.
Except for the very rare (with well designed modern firearms) mechanical failure, no gun has ever gone off in a holster, or in hand without a finger intruding into the trigger guard. On the other hand, plenty of firearms have been negligently discharged by someone who allowed themselves to walk around with the finger resting on the trigger, as often displayed by actors on television and movies.
With regard to the question of the o.p., if we are to define “…population that can safely handle a gun…” as being people who have received adequate safe handling training, I would guess it to be the in low single percentage, mostly from hunters safety courses and concealed carry requirements in some states. Most shooters never receive proper training, or if they do, it is extremely rudimentary (i.e. that provided in military b.t. or Scouting or somesuch) which is not comprehensive and adequately reinforced.
Stranger
Another aspect of the question is what percentage of the population DO handle guns safely? There’s a big difference between knowing (past experience/taking a course/having been in the military/gone hunting with dad/etc) and doing. A frightening number of people become over-confident and complacent very easily. “I’ve been doing this for years, I know when it’s safe to take a shortcut for convienience” The cop video is a good example of that.
A better example is to consider how many people “can” operate a motor vehicle safely. 99.9% of drivers have read the diving guides, passed a test, and know not to speed/drive drunk/take risks. In theory everyone with a license can operate a car safely. Reality differs just a little bit though…
That’s outside the scope of the question, and I think you know that.
It is all about habit. Not the things that happen when you are thinking, but those things that happen when you are not thinking, or surprised, or panicked.
If you think that a weapon you unloaded can be pointed willy nilly at people because it is not necessary to follow safety protocols at that time, then you do not have the habit of safety, but the thought process of safety. So if you do that around me, when there is a panic about your wife or child or some outside threat to you other than me, I know you will not be safe around me because you are out of control. You will go with your strongest and / or oldest habit. You think you have done something, (cleared the weapon because you WERE GOING TO, in your mind ) and in reality did not, then your habit is to be able to treat it like a chunk of metal.
I have been to too many funerals where pilots, ninja bike riders, and others that engage in potentially deadly activities and many of them are dead because they only practiced safety when they were thinking about it and not all the time. Weapons do not very often let a careless person have a do over.
YMMV, just not around me.
Yes, and I apologize for posting it. The topic of this thread should probably be taken to be about unintentional shootings.
Thanks for all the responses. The 5%-10% figure in lazybratsche’s cite is about what I expected, but I agree the numbers are probably always going to be fuzzy. I’ve been around guns my entire life, but I don’t have any documentation of safety training, other than the one day with the M-16 course provided by the Air Force. I was taught by my father, and reinforced by other adults that took me hunting/shooting when I was growing up.
In my rural area of the South, I’d guesstimate 45% of men and 20% of women. I’m sure it will be very hard to provide a factual answer.