PBJ Training, LLC

Bryce and Jill Hetler

Certified NRA Instructors in Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, and Personal Protection in the Home

NRA Range Safety Officers

Instruction locations in Occidental, Sebastopol, Duncans Mills, and Ukiah

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This is the Number 1 rule of firearms safety. A firearm that is pointed away from everything will not be able to injure anyone, should it have an accidental discharge. Always treat every gun as though it was loaded. And always keep track of where your muzzle is pointed, even when the gun is unloaded.

Firearms should be kept unloaded at all times

Do not trust your firearm's safety

Be sure of your target and beyond

A bullet fired out of a gun can travel in excess of 1 mile. Make sure that you have a good, solid backstop. If shooting at game, make sure that if you miss (we all do from time to time), the bullet will not travel beyond your line of sight.

Use the proper ammunition

Every gun is designed to shoot a specific type of ammunition. There may be several names for the same round of ammunition. If you are unsure of what your gun shoots or what ammo you have, ask your local gunsmith. A firearm may chamber a different caliber, but firing the wrong ammunition could result in serious injury, dismemberment, or even death.

Know what to do if you have a misfire

If you squeeze the trigger and the round does not fire, you may have a "hang-fire." Revert to the First Rule; be aware of where your muzzle is pointed! Keep your face away from the breech of your gun, put the safety on, and carefully open the action. Take care to properly dispose of the round. Remember, just because the round did not fire, it is still a loaded round of ammunition, so treat your gun as a loaded weapon.

Always wear eye and ear protection

You risk great damage to your eyes and / or ears by not wearing proper protection. A stray fragment from your ammunition could end up in your eye, there could be a mis-loaded round that caused extra-high pressure and creates a disaster; anything can happen. The noise created by firing a firearm will damage your hearing after only a few rounds, and ear plugs only cost a few cents. What are your eyes and ears worth?

Make sure that the barrel is clear before firing

Before firing your gun, open the action, and after making sure it is unloaded, look down the barrel to ensure that you have not collected any debris in the barrel. A small amount of dirt, snow, grease or even a stray spider's nest could increase the pressure in the barrel to the point where the gun could explode. Never try to shoot an obstruction out of your barrel, you most certainly will be injured, or at least ruin your firearm.

Do not modify your gun, have it cleaned/lubricated regularly

Your firearm was designed by engineers to function a certain way. Modifying or dis-engaging any safeties of portions of your firearm will only serve to endanger you and possibly ruin your firearm. We recommend that you have your firearm serviced by a qualified Gunsmith.

Learn all the aspects of your particular firearm

Guns from different manufactures are very different. The individual characteristics of each gun should be learned inside and out before you chamber the first round. Read the owner's manual before ever shooting any firearm.

Firearms can be a great source of good, clean, family entertainment; but only by following appropriate safety measures will the activity be safe and enjoyable.