Hunters Guide

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Firearm safety practice questions for British Columbia

By Hunters Guide. Last reviewed September 18, 2026.

These 4 firearm safety questions are drawn from the BC CORE Practice Exam. They are original practice items written from published Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education curriculum topics, with an explanation on every answer.

Firearm safety questions

  1. 1You reach your stand, unsling your rifle, and your partner walks up behind you. Which vital practice governs what happens next?

    1. Aim only at what you intend to shoot
    2. Controlling the muzzle direction at all times, regardless of whether the rifle is loaded
    3. Keeping the safety engaged
    4. Checking the magazine
    Show the answer

    Controlling the muzzle direction at all times, regardless of whether the rifle is loaded

    Muzzle control is the practice that does the work when someone moves unexpectedly. It is the one that holds even when every other assumption about the firearm turns out to be wrong.

  2. 2In the PROVE sequence, what does the E stand for?

    1. Examine the bore for obstructions
    2. Empty your pockets of ammunition
    3. Engage the safety catch
    4. Eject the magazine only
    Show the answer

    Examine the bore for obstructions

    PROVE is Point, Remove, Observe, Verify, Examine. The final step is examining the bore, because a clear chamber means nothing if the barrel is obstructed.

  3. 3Why are 20-gauge shotgun shells manufactured in yellow when other gauges are not?

    1. Yellow is easier to find if dropped
    2. Yellow marks them as low-recoil loads
    3. So they cannot be confused with other gauges, because a 20-gauge shell can slip past a 12-gauge chamber and lodge in the barrel
    4. It identifies steel shot
    Show the answer

    So they cannot be confused with other gauges, because a 20-gauge shell can slip past a 12-gauge chamber and lodge in the barrel

    The colour is a safety convention, not decoration. A 20-gauge shell dropped into a 12-gauge drops past the chamber and wedges out of sight, and the next 12-gauge round fired behind it can burst the barrel.

  4. 4Why is a squib load more dangerous than a round that fails to fire at all?

    1. It damages the firing pin
    2. Because it sounds and feels like a shot was fired, so the shooter is likely to chamber and fire again with the bore still obstructed
    3. It produces more recoil
    4. It cannot be cleared without a gunsmith
    Show the answer

    Because it sounds and feels like a shot was fired, so the shooter is likely to chamber and fire again with the bore still obstructed

    A dead round gives you an obvious problem. A squib gives you a quiet one, and the danger comes entirely from assuming the shot was normal and firing again behind a lodged projectile.

Ready for the full set? Take the BC CORE Practice Exam.