Sorry for misunderstanding.
I certainly didn't mean to imply you were unsafe, or pick apart your comments.
I tend to be a very literal person, sometimes to the dismay of others I work with.
And my point, which I failed to make, was that a
careful check for unloaded status is all that is necessary. Multiple checks may make a person feel good, but imply you can't trust your own actions. So, does doing something you don't trust several times make it trustworthy?
Slow down, do it right. Use a flashlight if it's dark. Use your pinkie if you don't have a flashlight. It isn't rocket science, but it has to be done correctly.
My concern was solely based on the impression of a casual approach to something which should not be casual in nature. If you aren't doing that, then my concerns are unfounded. Carry on...
The unloaded status check is the
only exception to Rule One. By Cooper's own statement (Cooper's Commentaries, vol. 6 no. 2) -
RULE 1
ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
The only exception to this occurs when one has a weapon in his hands and he has personally unloaded it for checking. As soon as he puts it down, Rule 1 applies again.
Many advocates of the Four Rules like to pretend he didn't say this, as it makes the "Always" so much easier to teach. But, without the exception, there isn't a logical transition to cleaning, etc.
I've actually had someone chide me for pointing a disassembled barrel at myself while cleaning. IMO, this is the Four Rules gone mad.
Cooper's Four Rules are simply the opposite approach from the old NRA approach. The NRA used to teach "keep all guns unloaded until ready to shoot", which was fine for range shooting. Shooters learned guns were, generally, unloaded.
Cooper ran into trouble with a hot range environment. He flipped it around and taught, essentially, "all guns are assumed to be loaded, unless you are cleaning them". Under Cooper, shooters learned guns were, generally, loaded.
Almost everyone agrees the Four Rules are safer. But there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about transitioning to unloaded status and what that now permits.