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ExecutiveHealthandSafety

Guns

Agricultural

Safety

AS

Guns

This is a web-friendly

version of leaflet AS7(rev),

reprinted 05/02

This leafletgivesbasicpracticaladviceonthesafeuseofriflesandshotguns.Itisnotasubstituteforproperinstructionandtrainingoranexactinterpretationofthelaw.However,followingthisadvicewillhelpensureyouuseyourgunsafelyandmeetyourlegalobligations.

WhatthelawsaysEmployersandpeoplewhoconductanundertakinginvolvingtheuseofgunshavealegaldutyundertheHealthandSafetyatWorketcAct1974totakeallreasonablypracticablemeasuressothatnooneisputatrisk.Inthissenseanundertakingdoesnotnecessarilyneedtoinvolveemploymentorcommercialgain.Thedutymayextendtoawiderangeofindividuals,includingfarmstaff,gamekeepers,beaters,pickers-up,drivers,guests,volunteersandmembersofthepublic.Inadditionemployeesalsohaveresponsibilitiesfortheirownhealthandsafetyandforthatofotherpeoplewhomaybeputatriskbytheirwork.Thereareotherlegalrequirementsthatapplytobuyingandsellingguns,licensing,fire-armcertificates,agerestrictions,andstoringgunsandammunition.Getadviceonthesemattersfromyourlocalpoliceorfromoneoftheorganisationslistedatthebackofthisleaflet.

TrainingandsupervisionAgun isa lethalweaponandanybodyhandlingoneoughttohavereceivedinstructiononsafeuse.Inadditiontrainingonsafeuseisalegalrequirementforallthoseusingworkequipment.Thatincludesgunswhenusedaspartofaworkactivity.Suitabletrainingcoursesareavailableandusefulcontactsarelistedatthebackofthisleaflet. Closesupervisionofinexperiencedgunusersisusuallyappropriate.Thisisalegalrequirementforemployees.

Beforeyouuseagun Everytimeyoupickupaguncheckthatitisunloaded. Alwayscheckthereisnoobstructioninthebarrels,egsnowormud. Checkthebarrelsregularlyforrusting,pittinganddents. Makesurethegunisinproofandhasbeenservicedregularlybyacompetent

person,egareputablegunsmith. Ifthegunisnewtoyou,familiariseyourselfwithallitsfeaturesespeciallythe

safetycatch.Checkhowsensitivethetriggeris.Usesnapcapsforthistoavoiddamagingthemechanism.

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Rememberaboveallelse:GunsaredesignedtokillandusuallydoSO

NEVER

POINT

ONE

AT

ANOTHER

PERSON

PassingaguntoacompanionThenormalprocedureistocompletelyunloadagunbeforehandingittoanotherperson.Asanadditionalsafetyprecautionshotgunsshouldalsobebroken,andtheboltopenonrifles.Alwayscheckthatthegunisunloadedbefore itispassedfromonepersontoanother.Thereareoccasionswhenitmaybeacceptabletohandoveragunwhenitisloaded,egjustbeforetheculminationofadeerstalkorwhenashooterisworkingwithaloaderonadoublegunsystem.Onlyattemptthiswhenbothpartieshavefullyrehearsedtheprocedurewithunloadedguns.Alwayscheckthatthesafetycatchisonbeforepassingoverthegun.Takespecialcarenottodroporknockgunstogether.

UsingagunWhen to load and unload

Alwaysremoveammunitionfromthebreechbeforeputtingagundown. Onlyloadashotgunwhenyouexpecttotakeashotintheimmediatefuture.

Unloadrightawayiftheopportunityforshootingpasses. Keepthemagazineandbreechofarifleemptyexceptwhenactuallystalking. Alwaysunloadgunscompletelybeforeenteringabuildingorplacingthemina

vehicle.(Usingaguninsideabuildingispotentiallyverydangerousandshouldonlybecarriedoutaftertakingspecialistadvice.)

Carrying guns

Ifyourenotlikelytofireagun,carryitunloadedwiththemuzzledownwardsinitsprotectivecoverorcase.Thiswillhelptoavoiddamageorbarrelblockage.

Whenresting,orwalkingtothenextplaceyouexpecttotakeashot,carryyourshotgununloadedandbrokenoveryourarm.Insomecircumstancesyoucouldcarryitonyourshoulder,butyouwillneedtokeepthetriggerguarduppermostsothemuzzlesareslopingupwards.Makesuretheyarealwayspointing inasafedirection.

Whenwalkingupgamewithaloadedshotgunkeepthesafetycatchonandmuzzlespointinginasafedirection.

Whenstalkingwithaloadedriflekeepthesafetycatchonandtherifleslungsecurelyoveroneshoulderwiththemuzzleundercontrolatalltimes.

Checkregularlythatthesafetycatchhasnotbeenaccidentallypushedtotheoffposition.

Takecarenevertodroporjara loadedgun.Thismaycauseittogooffevenwhenthesafetycatchison.

Nevercarryariflewitharoundinthebreech,theboltclosedandtheactionuncockeditmayfireunexpectedly.

Obstacles and difficult terrain

Alwaysremoveammunitionfromthebreechofyourgunbeforenegotiatinganyobstacleordifficultterrainandbeforemovingthroughthickcover.

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HealthandSafetyExecutive

Whencrossinganobstaclewithacompanion,alwaysunloadbothguns.Yourcompanionshouldholdbothgunsuntilyouareontheotherside,thenhandthemtoyouemptyandopen,andpreferablystockfirst,onebyone.

Ammunition

Makesureyouhavethecorrectammunitionandthatitisundamagedandloadseasily.Useaproperextractortoremovejammedcartridges.

Nevermixshotguncartridgeswithdifferentboresizesespecially12and20bore.Acartridgeofthewrongsizecouldaccidentallybeloadedandlodgeinthebarrelbeyondthechamber.Ifanothercartridgewasthenloadedandfiredthegunmightburst.

Checkthatrifleammunitionmatchesthecalibrestampedontheriflebarrel.Storage

Storeyourgunandammunitionindifferentplaces.Removetheboltofarifleandstoreitseparately.Shooting Youneedgoodjudgementandreactionsthatmeansbeingcalmandyour

sensesnotdulledbyfatigue,alcoholordrugs. Toshootaccuratelyandsafelyyouneedtobe inapositionwhereyoucan

adoptafirm,steadystance.Makesureyouhaveaclearunobstructedviewofthetarget.

Whenaimingariflealwayscheckthatthere isnothinginlinewiththemuzzlewhichisntvisiblethroughthesight.

Developmuzzleawarenessasenseofalwaysknowingexactlywhereyourgun ispointing.Beconstantlyalerttothepositionsofotherpeopleintheareanotonlyothergunsandhelpers,butalsomembersofthepublic.Takespecialcarenearpublicrightsofwayandroads.

Keepyourfingeroffthetriggeruntilyouaresurewhatyouareshootingatandonlyreleasethesafetycatchimmediatelybeforefiring.

Alwayscheckyouareshootingintoasafebackground.Thatmeansclearskyifyouareshootingatbirdsinflightorasolidbackstopifyouareshootingatgroundquarry.Thebackstopneedstobeearthorsomesimilarmaterialwhichwon'tcausericochets.Thatmaymeanarrangingyourpositionsothatyouarefiringdownwards.Neverfirearifleintowoodland,lightcoveroracrosswater.

Takeextracarewhenshootingatnight.Beabsolutelysureyouareshootingintoasafebackgroundandattherighttarget.

Remembershotgunpelletscantravel300metresandabulletfromadeerrifle4km.

Riflebulletsandshotgunpelletscanricochetoffwater,bushes,fencewireorotherobstaclesontheirwaytothetarget.Atelescopicsightmaynotalwaysrevealthese,soalwayscheckbyeyethatyourlineoffire isunobstructed.

Ifyourgunmisfirestakeextremecare.Keepthemuzzlepointinginasafedirectionuntilthegunhasbeenmadesafe.Openthegunwellawayfromyourfaceandonlywhenyouaresatisfiedenoughtimehaspassedtobesuretherewillbenofurtherdetonation.

BEASAFESHOT. PEOPLEWILLRESPECTYOUANDYOUWILLNEVERHAVECAUSEFORREGRET.

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Organisedevents Nomatterhowlargeorsmalltheevent,onepersonshouldhaveoverall

control.Makesureyouknowwhothatpersonisandwhattheagreedsignalsare.

It

is

important

to

recognise

the

signal

to

stop

shooting.

Whenhelpersareinvolvedinbeatingandothersupportingactivitieskeepyour

shotshighsothatnooneisputatrisk. Ifyouaregoingtoshootbehind,turnwiththemuzzlepointingtothesky,so

thatnoonebesideyouisendangered. Thepersonincontrolshouldissueclearinstructionsandinformationon

potentialhazards.Theyshouldalsoensurethathelperswhoneedtobe invulnerablepositionswearhighvisibilityclothingorcarryclearlyvisiblemarkerssothatshootersarealertedtotheirpresence.

Eventsshouldbeorganisedsothatnoonecomeswithintheexpectedarcoffireofaloadedgun.Theonlyexceptionisifthepersonincontrolhasestablishedbeyondalldoubtthattheyarenotwithinrange.

Vehicles Alwayscarrygunsunloadedinvehicles,preferablykeptintheirprotectivecover

orcase.Useafixedholster,carrierorgunclampontractors,ATVsandsimilarvehicles.

Itisonlysafetoshootfromavehicleifitisstationary,andthemuzzleofthegun isputoutsidethevehiclebeforeplacingaroundinthebreech.

Shootingoveranoccupiedvehicleispotentiallydangerous.Onlydoitifyouhaveagreedasafesystemofworkwithallconcerned.Youneedtomakesurethiseliminatesanypossibilityofpeopleenteringthefieldoffire.

HearingprotectionGunsproducepulsesofnoisewhicharecapableofcausinginstantaneousdamagetoyourhearing.Eveninfrequentusemaysoonleadtopermanent inabilitytounderstandspeech.Somepeoplearemorevulnerabletonoiseinduceddeafnessthanothers,soyoushouldalwayswearsuitablehearingprotection.Takeadvicefromanexpertbeforeselectingyourhearingprotection.Ifit isimportanttobeabletotalktofellowshooters,non-linearelectronicmuffsareavailablewhichallowthis.

ClaypigeonshootingItisessentialthatclaypigeonshootsareorganisedsothattheytakeintoaccountthesafetyofparticipants,spectatorsandtrapoperators.DetailedguidanceisavailablefromtheClayPigeonShootingAssociation.Itisimportantthatshootersandtrapoperatorswearsuitablehearingprotectionbecauseoftheprolongedandrepetitivenatureoftheshooting.Eyeprotectionisadvisabletoprotectagainstflyingpiecesofbrokenclay.

FurtherinformationThefollowingorganisationswillbeabletoprovideadviceonthesafeuseofgunsandhowtoobtainsuitableinstructionandtraining:BritishAssociationforShootingandConservation,MarfordMill,Rossett,WrexhamLL12OHL

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BritishDeerSociety,BurgateManor,Fordingbridge,HampshireSP61EFClayPigeonShootingAssociation,BisleyCamp,Brookwood,Woking,SurreyGU240NPHSEpricedandfreepublicationsareavailablebymailorderfromHSEBooks,POBox1999,Sudbury,SuffolkCO102WATel:01787881165 Fax:01787313995Website:www.hsebooks.co.uk(HSEpricedpublicationsarealsoavailablefrombookshopsandfree leafletscanbedownloadedfromHSEswebsite:www.hse.gov.uk.)ForinformationabouthealthandsafetyringHSEsInfolineTel:08453450055Fax:08454089566Textphone:08454089577e-mail:hse.infoline@natbrit.comorwritetoHSEInformationServices,CaerphillyBusinessPark,CaerphillyCF833GG.This leaflet contains notes on good practice which are not compulsory but

which you may find helpful in considering what you need to do.

Crown copyright Thispublicationmaybefreelyreproduced,exceptforadvertising,endorsementorcommercialpurposes.Firstpublished05/94.PleaseacknowledgethesourceasHSE.

PublishedbytheHealthandSafetyExecutive AS7(rev) 5of5pages