Safe handling rules

Australia's National Firearms Safety Code says its principles stay the same whether you shoot a rifle, shotgun, air rifle or handgun. Victoria Police's safety code, shooting association courses and club range rules repeat the same core rules in their own words. Learn them before your first session, then follow your club's induction, which adds the rules for that range.

The core rules

Why each rule matters

Treat it as loaded. Most of the other rules follow from this one. If you assume a firearm could fire, you won't point it at anything you aren't willing to hit, and you won't put your finger on the trigger casually.

Muzzle direction. The muzzle is the open end of the barrel. On a range, a safe direction is usually downrange, towards the targets and the backstop. Away from the firing line, range rules usually ask for the firearm to point straight up. One SSAA range allows shotguns and double rifles to point at the ground instead. A clay target association's safety rules say no one should ever turn and point a muzzle at another competitor or behind the firing line.

Finger off the trigger. Keep your finger away from the trigger until you have decided to shoot and are certain it is safe. The Victorian safety code is direct about mechanical safeties: a safety catch only supplements safe handling. It never replaces it.

Load only when ready. Ranges control when loading happens. Pistol competition rules allow loading only on the firing line after the command or signal, and a government shooting centre's rules say no firearm may be loaded until a range officer directs it.

Know what's beyond. The national code asks you to consider the area beyond the target as well as the area in front of it. Shots that hit water or hard, flat surfaces are likely to ricochet, which is why the code warns against shooting at them. Steel targets used in some disciplines, such as metallic silhouette, are set up by the range for that purpose. Shoot only at the targets the range officer approves.

Checking a firearm is unloaded

Never accept someone's word that a firearm is clear. The national code asks you to check every firearm yourself, and to pass or accept firearms only when they are open and unloaded. Your coach or range officer will show you how to check the type of firearm you are using. In general, you remove the magazine if there is one, open the action and look into the chamber.

At the end of a string, unload and check before you step back. Pistol rules require shooters to confirm there are no rounds left in the chambers or magazines after the last shot. Some ranges also have a range officer inspect each firearm before it leaves the firing line, and some ask you to insert an empty chamber indicator (a brightly coloured flag) into the open action.

Cease fires and people forward of the line

When a cease fire is called, stop shooting straight away. Then follow the range officer's instructions to unload and make your firearm safe, which usually means removing the magazine, opening the action and often inserting an empty chamber indicator. Target Pistol Australia's rules and SSAA Victoria's Eagle Park rules both say firearms are unloaded and made safe on a cease fire. Once your firearm is safe, step back behind the line as directed and don't touch it again until the range officer says the range is open.

While anyone is forward of the firing line, nobody touches a firearm at the line, even an unloaded one with the action open. SSAA SA's range rules, Target Pistol Australia's rules and the Sydney International Shooting Centre all say this.

If a firearm misfires or jams

Sometimes a firearm doesn't fire when you pull the trigger, or it jams. Treat it as loaded. The NRAA's fullbore rules and the South Australian Clay Target Association set out the same first steps:

• keep the firearm closed and pointed downrange, at the target area

• don't open the action straight away, because a delayed shot (a hang-fire) can still go off

• tell the range officer straight away (on some ranges the referee or your scorer), and follow their instructions

Some rules set a waiting time before you open the action. The NRAA's fullbore rules and the South Australian Clay Target Association both say to wait at least 30 seconds. Other range rules, such as the Sydney International Shooting Centre's, require every malfunction to be reported to the range officer straight away. Follow the range officer and your club's procedure. If the barrel needs checking afterwards, the Victorian safety code says to check it from the breech end, in case a bullet is stuck.

Alcohol and drugs

Every source we checked rules out shooting under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and clubs won't let anyone affected by them shoot. The Sydney International Shooting Centre also asks shooters not to take medication that will impede their judgement before shooting.

Away from the range

The same rules apply in the car park and at home. The national code says never to take a loaded firearm into a car, a home or a camp. Storage and transport rules come from your state or territory, and they are covered in Storage and transport basics.