Editorial: Seven basic gun rules need heeding

Every time accidents happen gun safety organisations issue a reminder of the seven basic rules that should be in every shooter's mind when carrying a loaded rifle. Photo / iStock

The death of Reporoa boy Connor Phillips as a hunting party was unloading firearms in Kaingaroa Forest on Sunday is the fifth fatal accident with firearms in New Zealand this year. Joshua Hill, 21, died when his gun discharged accidentally as he was deer-stalking with friends on a farm near Raetihi. James Ross Bucko Johnston, 15, accidentally shot himself while duck shooting near Whakatane.

Also near Whakatane, Max Verschuuren was nearly killed when he was half way up a slope spotlighting, and a companion fired at him, hitting him in the back after mistaking his headlamp for the eyes of a deer. Samuel Long, 24, of Invercargill, was killed by his father who mistook him for a white-tailed deer during a hunting trip on Stewart Island. Near Dargaville in March, a firearms collector and instructor, Derek Kelly, died while unloading some sort of cannon at his home.

Every time these accidents happen gun safety organisations issue a reminder of the seven basic rules that should be in every shooter's mind when carrying a loaded rifle.

They sound fairly simple: 1. Treat every firearm as loaded. 2. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. 3. Load only when ready to fire. 4. Identify the target beyond all doubt. 5. Check what you might hit if you miss. 6. Store firearms, bolts and ammunition separately. 7. Avoid alcohol and drugs when handling firearms.

The most difficult of those will be identifying the target. Yet only one of the five fatalities this year, and the narrow escape of Mr Verschuuren, involved a mistaken target. The rest all occurred while the gun was being carried or handled while loaded. In some cases, those involved cannot have observed the rule to load only when ready to fire. That means the magazine should not be loaded until the party reaches the shooting area and the chamber should not be loaded until you are ready to shoot. How many hunters practise that precaution routinely?

Just as important, how many completely unload the gun before leaving the shooting area? Not enough, going by the number of accidents that have occurred as vehicles were being unloaded after a shooting expedition. But then, those might not have occurred if the first rule had been followed: treat every firearm as though it was loaded.

It is disturbing that two of the accidents this year have involved very experienced shooters. Derek Kelly was 74, a member of the Dargaville Pistol Club and a veteran of shooting competitions around Northland, where his reputation for safety was impeccable. He tutored others for their firearms licence. Stephen Long, 61, whose shot killed his son on Stewart Island, was a member of the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association.

Mr Long, who pleaded guilty to careless use, told the Invercargill District Court he had taken two or three minutes to check whether the movement he saw was a deer. He had been convinced it was a deer. That is what bush walkers fear whenever they meet a hunter in the area. The toll taken by gun enthusiasts this year is too high for anyone's comfort.