The Rauch Rule
Gun writer and former Secret Service special agent Walter Rauch is credited with publicizing the importance of religiously checking the firing condition of your self-defense gun any time it has been out of your hands. I thought that this suggestion was so valuable that I printed up a pair of index cards with the reminder “Check Parts, Confirm Ammo.” Each double-sided card has a plastic hook attached to it. Every evening when I return home and secure my snubs and ammunition, I attach the hooks through the trigger guard and behind the trigger. In the morning when I retrieve the snubs, the hooks and cards remind me to “Check Parts, Confirm Ammo.” These cards are a simple device to help me develop the habit of reflexively checking my gun whenever it has been out of my hands or out of my sight.
