COPSTATION

Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.  Check.

Finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.  Check.

Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.  Check.

If you follow the four basic rules of firearm safety it is literally impossible for you to accidentally hurt someone or yourself, barring a malfunction so unusual it’s predicated on the gun literally exploding like a hand grenade.

The first rule of firearm safety is that you always treat a firearm as if it’s loaded. 

The second rule of firearm safety is that you never point it at anything you don’t want to put a serious and permanent hole into. 

The third rule of firearm safety is that you never have your finger on the trigger until you are sighted on your target.

The fourth rule of firearms safety is always be aware of what is beyond your target and between you and your target.

If you ONLY follow one of the safety rules, it should be #2; if you follow #2, even if the gun goes off on it’s own by some happenstance, you will be safe. I’d argue it’s the most important and fundamental of all the rules.