Jay Chambers
Are you preparing to purchase your first gun? It’s an important step for any shooter. You’re ready to fire a gun, and thus you can look for the first one you’ve ever owned. But do you know how to maintain safety while shooting?
As exciting as it may be for you to get a new gun and use it for certain activities, safety is something that should never be overlooked, no matter what. Your safety and the safety of those around you must be your first concern. Don’t forget that!
If you think you’re ready to own your first weapon, then start by reading the gun safety tips below.
- Wear Ear and Eye Protection
When shooting, especially when you’re a beginner, it’s important to feel as comfortable as possible and not hurt yourself in any way. Wearing eye and ear protection is one method to ensure safety.
Shooters should consider eye and ear protection because they protect your hearing and your eyes. Guns are loud and being constantly exposed to the loud bang could damage your hearing over time. You don’t want that, do you?
Aside from that, you will protect your eyes from solvents, springs, spring tension parts, and others.
- Unload the Gun when You’re Not Using It
You shouldn’t keep your gun loaded at all times. Now, when you’re shooting, of course, you need to load the gun, or else it won’t shoot. But when not in use, it’s important to remove all ammunition from it. A loaded gun could be dangerous, even when not in use. You may accidentally discharge it when you handle it next time and hurt yourself or someone else.
Keep the firearm and the ammunition separately, in a secure place. If you want extra safety options for keeping the gun hidden, you should look for a gun safe. Gun safes are specially made to store your guns and ammunition, and you’ll be the only one having access to the safe. A special locking mechanism will make sure nobody else can open it. Furthermore, it’s a good place where the gun can be kept in proper condition. There are also fireproof safes that will keep the gun and ammunition safe if a fire occurs. A good option would be a The Amsec BF7240 Gun Safe.
- Always Treat Your Gun as If It’s Loaded
It doesn’t matter if you think you unloaded the gun. You should still always handle the gun as if it’s loaded. This is because it’s very common for people to think their gun is unloaded, and then, accidents can occur. If you don’t want yourself or others to be hurt by a bullet, then definitely treat the gun like it’s still loaded.
- Don’t Keep the Finger on the Trigger when Not Firing
Another mistake you should avoid as a beginner is keeping your finger on the trigger even when you are not firing the gun. Keep your finger away from the trigger unless you intend to shoot at something. Otherwise, you risk having something else distracting you and it could cause you to clench the finger. You can imagine what would happen next.
- Only Point at Something You Want to Shoot
This is one of the golden rules when shooting – don’t point at something you’re not ready to shoot. Don’t play around with your friends and point as a joke. As mentioned earlier, you never know if the gun is actually loaded or not, and you should treat it as if it’s loaded. For the same reason, you should never aim at something you won’t shoot. Only aim the gun at something you want to pierce a hole through. Other than that, keep the barrel of the weapon pointed in a neutral position.
- Don’t Rely on the Gun’s Safety Too Much
You may be thinking “why should I follow so many rules if I have a gun safety?”. Well, even if you have an amazing gun safety system, that doesn’t mean it always works in perfect condition for everyone. While the safety mechanism can be a very nice and useful feature, relying on it entirely may come to be something you regret. If you try to fire as a joke or if you are accidentally discharging the weapon, it could still cause a tragedy. Just follow the safety rules and don’t think the gun safe will miraculously save you no matter what.
- Only Shoot Ammunition that Your Gun Can Handle
You may be tempted to use whatever ammunition you can find, but that doesn’t mean you should also do it. It’s crucial to only use ammunition that your gun was built to handle. Don’t experiment with different types of ammunition because you could either damage your firearm beyond repair or cause an injury.
- Look for Barrel Obstructions
It can happen for a barrel to have obstructions if you dropped the gun in the past or you’ve fallen while handling it. Obstructions could affect the gun’s ability to shoot and you should get rid of them immediately for everyone’s safety. Besides, nobody should agree to the thought of dirt inside their gun.
Before you fire the weapon, you should ensure there are no obstructions. Also, in case you have to wade through water, you should remember to drain the water out of the barrel before you fire. But especially if you’re going to wade through water a lot, you should add protection over your barrel – thus, you’ll prevent the water from making its way inside the barrel.
Final Thoughts
As a shooter, there’s nothing more important than staying safe and maintaining the safety of others. If you’re about to start your journey as a shooter, knowing some basic gun safety tips should help you avoid a risky situation that endangers your safety, or someone else’s. Make sure to follow these tips carefully.