AhaBulbStuff Everyone Should Know
AhaBulb: Stuff Everyone Should Know · ahabulb.com/hunt-finger-off-trigger

When carrying a firearm, where should your trigger finger be?

Outside the trigger guard, until you are ready to shoot.

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  1. Outside the trigger guard ✔
  2. Resting lightly on the trigger
  3. Inside the guard, behind the trigger

Why: Keeping your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot is one of the four primary rules. A slip, stumble or branch can make a finger squeeze without meaning to. Outside the guard, it cannot.

Huh, didn't know that: The trigger guard is the protective ring around the trigger that keeps it from being bumped or touched by accident.

The dad joke
Why did the trigger guard get promoted? It was great at keeping things under control.
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References

Answer: Outside the trigger guard. Keeping your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot is one of the four primary rules. A slip, stumble or branch can make a finger squeeze without meaning to. Outside the guard, it cannot.

  1. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Hunting Safety tpwd.texas.gov/education/hunter-education/online-course/hunting-safety/hunting-safety
    Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until the instant you are ready to fire.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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Test yourself in the game

Hunting SafetyWhat is the trigger guard designed to protect against?Hunting SafetyUnder the primary rules of firearm safety, how should you treat every firearm?Hunting SafetyWhat is the right way to think about the safety on a gun?

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