Safety first, last, and always!
You can't be too careful: never be complacent and never take anything for granted. Note the number of accidents that occur with "unloaded" firearms. All firearms should be treated as loaded, and no mechanical safety mechanism should ever be trusted.
Safety depends on procedure and vigilance. I have had people move into the line of fire in hunting and plinking situations as well as point truly loaded firearms at me at supervised ranges. I am particularly annoyed when people use their scoped rifles in place of a spotting scope or binoculars. It is aggravating to look through my binoculars and see someone looking back at me in this manner.
Also, recognize and fix a problem, don't ignore it and hope it doesn't happen again. A friend accidently put a .45 round from his old and trusty 1911 into the otherwise nice hardwood floor in the living room of my vacation home.
He convinced himself (and me) that he had caused the discharge and took no corrective action. Months later we were plinking at a local sand pit when the pistol performed its trick again: I saw that he was holding the pistol pointed at the ground between and in front of us with his finger outside the trigger guard when it fired. Very stupid, but fortunately no damage was done.
As before, you can't be too careful!
Bob
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