
Even with magazine out and no round in chamber, a firearm must always be considered as "loaded" and handled consequently. Let's brush up on the safety rules.
It has to be made clear, however, once and for all, that firearms are inanimate objects, and thus not dangerous per se. The danger is always all in he or she who’s handling them.
All manual or automatic safeties of a firearm are useless if the shooter is yet to master correct handling of the gun.
The lack of knowledge of firearms mechanics and operation increases the risk of making mistakes and causing accidents.

The first rule of gun safety must be taken literally even if you risk to look stupid. Of course, if the slide is held open, the chamber is visibly empty and the magazine is out, a firearm can not fire – but the rule is more about bad habits to get rid of than you may think. Repeated movements are unconsciously assimilated and then executed even when tired, unfocused, or under stress.
No distinction should be made between a loaded and “unloaded”. If a shooter tends to put his or her finger on the trigger of a firearm and “muzzle” accidentally people or objects when a gun is visibly unloaded and clear, those inappropriate movements can be repeated unwittingly – and dangerously so – when the gun is loaded.