Gun Safety Rules

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

I was just pointing out that we're playing with numbers, we really aren't actually making any valid comparisons.

It does appreciably increase that likelihood, if you can measure it, which you just did, that it's an appreciable increase.

I suppose that is the definition of appreciable. Lets go with "significantly," then.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Paying for Common Sense helps the PC avoid doing stupid things- like pointing a gun at your buddy, not checking to see if it's loaded, etc.

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this issue but Common Sense (as written) only helps if the player says something stupid. So with guns it would kick in if the player says, "I point my gun at Charlie." or "I take the weapon off safe, just in case." or something. It won't stop a negligent discharge from happening just because of a critical failure.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

I suppose that is the definition of appreciable. Lets go with "significantly," then.

It does also, by statistical definition, significantly increase your likelihood of increased death.

Put it this way, none of my friends who don't own guns have ever had to plaster over bullet holes in their living rooms after gun-cleaning accidents, whereas I have more than a few friends who do own guns who've had oopsies over the years.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

It does also, by statistical definition, significantly increase your likelihood of increased death.

It depends on what you're setting your statistical significance at. Accidental deaths are about 100,000 a year in the US. That puts accidental firearm deaths at around 0.5% of accidental deaths. Some measures of statistical significance would consider that non-significant.

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

Put it this way, none of my friends who don't own guns have ever had to plaster over bullet holes in their living rooms after gun-cleaning accidents, whereas I have more than a few friends who do own guns who've had oopsies over the years.

About half of my friends own guns. The only ones that have ever admitted to accidentally firing off a round was the brother of a friend I talked about earlier that put a shell of buckshot through the wall when he was 12 or so. No one else has ever had to patch a hole in a wall due to a negligent discharge. Or at least will admit to it.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

About half of my friends own guns. The only ones that have ever admitted to accidentally firing off a round was the brother of a friend I talked about earlier that put a shell of buckshot through the wall when he was 12 or so. No one else has ever had to patch a hole in a wall due to a negligent discharge. Or at least will admit to it.

I'm stretching friend to include acquaintances, and most of their negligent discharges were into safe areas, like shooting barrels, the ground, the trees nowhere near the deer type of thing, and it's not something most people admit to under normal circumstances, but we even had kids with negligent discharges on .50 cals because they were bored and playing with the safety on a condition 1 weapon.

If you're being safe you also aren't pointing your muzzle at your walls, while rapid cycling your shotgun, especially in an apartment complex, like one friend of mine liked to do.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

Meh, seems pretty much everyone agrees (both pro- and anti-gun) that 40-45% of US households have a gun in them. If it's good enough for both sides in a fairly acrimonious debate, it's good enough for me for eyeballing statistics.

Yeah, roughly half of households have a gun, and the average (not the median) number of firearms in a household with a gun was 5.

[Anders]

Is it safe to point your weapon to the ground? Under what circumstances do you have to worry about ricochets?

[sir_pudding]

I'm not certain that the statistics correlate all that easy. Most people in households with cars probably drive a significant amount of the time. Quite a few households with firearms probably don't shoot anywhere near as much. It's also true that while even minor car accidents are counted by insurance companies, minor gun accidents are just ignored. That said, cars are certainly lethal weapons, and freeway speed collisions are often worse than being shot. In game terms though, either kinds of accidents probably happen only on critical failures (barring Unluckiness or Cursed) on rolls that hardly are ever even made. Basically, gun accidents probably happen on critically failed job rolls for Soldiers and Peace Officers, and auto accidents on job rolls for professional drivers.

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Is it safe to point your weapon to the ground?

Generally yes, as long as you are obeying the other safety rules.

1. Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
2. Never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
3. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
4. Keep your weapon on safe until you are ready to fire.

Under what circumstances do you have to worry about ricochets?

Near any armored or otherwise very hard tough surfaces.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Is it safe to point your weapon to the ground? Under what circumstances do you have to worry about ricochets?

There's two schools of thought. One says down is better, because then you won't be worrying about where a round is going to land if you fire one into the air. The other says up is better, because then you don't have to worry about the round hitting a rock and either richocheting or causing incidental fragmentation. Personally I'd rather pepper myself with rock fragments than accidentally kill someone a mile away.

I've actually been hit by a 5.56mm round that travelled about 300 yards, struck and travelled along the grain in a 2x4, then hit me in the head. It felt like getting flicked really hard.

In general you might prefer not to point the weapon at the ground if there's not a lot of people around and there's lots of gravel or rock on the ground.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Basically, gun accidents probably happen on critically failed job rolls for Soldiers and Peace Officers, and auto accidents on job rolls for professional drivers.

Yeah, barring PC-like frequency of combat occuring, job rolls are probably the way to go.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this issue but Common Sense (as written) only helps if the player says something stupid. So with guns it would kick in if the player says, "I point my gun at Charlie." or "I take the weapon off safe, just in case." or something. It won't stop a negligent discharge from happening just because of a critical failure.

If you check my example, you'll see that I cited the sorts of things a reckless or hasty player might describe his PC as doing.