Part of the responsibility lies with those who do not immediately correct someone on the range for poor gun handling. Had an older shooter, with an auto, who considered it safe to carry his auto in a horizonal position, letting the muzzle swing throughout the squad and everyone else around the area. No one in his group said anything to him and the puller was a teenager without experience to intervene. I walked over from behind the range, called him aside and corrected him which was not taken kindly at all. He retorted the gun was unloaded with the action open. He persisted in this manner so I called in the range master and had him straighten up the issue. Don't tolerate indifferent gun handling or you become part of the problem.
Another common unsafe practice is the guy who loads up while approaching the shooting position at skeet or sporting clays, or having an unused round in his gun moves off the station before fully unloading. Rules are meant to protect us. Enforce them.
I think Jerry's post bears repeating. Sometimes we like to come in at the end of a long thread and skip reading some of the earlier posts. This terrible tragedy is the fault of unsafe gun handling, period. Not the fault of the gun action type or gauge. Please let it serve to remind us all to NOT ALLOW unsafe practices to go unchallenged. Most of us prefer to avoid confrontations. However, be the "bad guy" and let the violator know what he's doing wrong. You might just save someone's life. In most cases, the person you correct will know you were right and often come back and thank you, after his feathers lay back down. SAFETY IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS. BELIEVE IT AND LIVE IT.
