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Safety

Jacksonville Clay Target Sports Safety

The club takes shooter safety very seriously. At all times there are one to two range officers patrolling the club to ensure all shooters obey safety rules. To maintain a safe environment, we encourage each and every one of you to report any safety violations you observe to the club house staff or one the range officers on duty.

Please review and observe the following list of range safety rules:

  1. Keep the action of your gun open at all times except when standing on the shooting station ready to shoot. The only exception to this rule is for under and overs when they are standing in the gun rack however, close it only as you place it in the rack and re-open it immediately as you lift it out again.
  2. Never load your gun except when standing on the shooting station ready to shoot. Always unload your gun completely of both live and fired shells before turning around and walking off the shooting station. A gun is deemed to be loaded when it contains one or more shells in part of the mechanism including the breech, the magazine or anywhere else.
  3. Always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction. This includes even when it is unloaded and/or the action is open. A safe direction is one where even if it were to go off, it would not cause injury or damage. Common sense dictates what a safe direction is depending on different circumstances.
  4. Never load or fire a gun if there is any doubt about its ability to operate safely and/or reliably. A gun, like any other tool, requires regular cleaning and maintenance and occasional repair or readjustment. Always ensure that it receives maintenance or repair immediately if there is any question concerning its ability to function correctly.
  5. Never attempt to load or fire any gun unless you are familiar with its operation. With any new or strange gun, you should acquaint yourself with how it works and how to load and unload it safely before proceeding to use it on the shooting range with live ammo.
  6. Never use a shot size larger than #7-1/2. This means no shot with a pellet diameter larger than #7-1/2 or with a numerical value smaller than #7-1/2. Safe shot fall zones are calculated by this criteria and non-observance could cause injury to people or property that theoretically should not be in danger.
  7. Never rely on a safety catch. Safety catches are designed for hunting and defense weapons and have no practical use on a target gun. If the gun is loaded and closed, it should be considered ready to use and inherently dangerous if misused. Some target shooters have the safety removed or locked off to prevent misuse.
  8. Never mix your ammunition. As NSSA Skeet Rules prohibit configuring your gun to use two different gauges of shells at the same time, there is no reason to ever carry more than one gauge of shells. Both 20 ga and 28 ga shells will lodge into a chamber that is one size bigger in such a way as to obstruct it and yet allow the correct size shell to be loaded after it.
  9. Never use alcohol or drugs before or while shooting. This applies equally to medicinal drugs which might impair your reflexes or judgment. If in doubt, seek medical advice. If you have consumed alcohol or drugs, as with driving your car, do not handle your gun until the effects of these substances have diminished to an acceptable level.
  10. Always check your bore for obstructions. This mainly applies after you fire a shell with an abnormal report or after you trip or fall while carrying your gun or after your gun may have fallen. It is also a good idea to get into the habit of doing it every time you load your gun if you have not just fired it. This includes after you have just taken it from the rack and after you have just assembled it or taken it from the case.
Additionally, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducts Hunter Safety training at JCTS monthly. Registration and information on the FWC training courses is available at myFWC.com.