Let’s get the controversial stuff out of the way; I think the Four Rules are the worst thing to happen to gun safety.
I respect and understand Col. Coopers goal to boil firearm safety into four easy ,cogent rules. That said true safety in anything involving deadly risk -not just guns- is having a *mindset* of safety. Not just following a series of rules and labeling yourself safe.
Cultivating a mindset of safe handling and personal awareness of potential infallibility is where we should be as a gun safety culture,regardless of equipment or tactics.Instead what I see are people deciding the Four Rules are the end of the story, and then quibbling about the details. That view says you’re 100% safe as long as those Four Ironclad Rules are followed 100% of the time -which isn’t humanly possible. If you’re reading this and shoot more then once every six months,you’ve assuredly broken at least one of the Four Rules. Just because you may not humanly recall the instance doesn’t mean it didn’t happen; and yes there is research behind that statement.
My thinking is that true gun safety should be taught as being personally aware of the risk of handling guns first,with following the Four Rules being a result of that safety mindset. I’ll admit I don’t know how that could be effectively taught,especially within the context of a limited organizational budget; but what isn’t the answer to me is teaching 100% compliance with Four Rules and hoping for the best.