With the unceasing news of gun accidents at home & supermarkets, checking out the safety tips for using a firearm becomes necessary.
Having a gun & some ammo when you’re out with family or friends, especially if you’re going hunting, can be truly exciting. However, as fun as it is, being able to safely use your weapon is essential so that you don’t end up compromising the safety of your mates. Or even yours. This is easy to do: all you need to do is keep to a set of rules which every gun owner should obey.
5 Safety Tips for Using a Firearm
If you have successfully mastered firearm safety fundamentals, you can be sure of using your guns without hurting others or causing accidents. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before you develop a more professional (James Bond-esque) style of shooting.
If you are like the 89% of gun buyers that skip safety glasses, this blog post contains everything you should know about using your gun safely. Remember, (even) you are not safe from the potential dangers of using a gun without keeping to safety measures.
Here we go.
Treat Every Gun as Loaded & Ready to Fire
For a start, you have to be 100% sure that your gun is not loaded if you’re teaching a beginner how to hunt. But despite this, you are advised to still see every gun as if it’s loaded. This is the safest possible option.
Never make an assumption when it comes to the loading status of a firearm. You may leave your gun unloaded & so expect to meet it that way. But what if you have a typically curious child who’s seen enough movies to know how to load a firearm? So, to be on the safe side, always check the chamber, magazine & receiver of your gun to be sure that no ammo is loaded.
What’s more, your firearm should be ready for action ONLY when you’re out in the field aiming at targets for target shooting. When giving a gun to a person, regardless of the relationship between you two, ensure that the gun is unloaded. In fact, I advise that you lock the cylinder in an open position so that no bullet is fired should the person pull the trigger.
If you have no intention of using your firearm for a while, make sure that it unloaded before putting it away. Some states even frown at carrying a loaded gun while traveling, so unload your weapon when on a journey to avoid legal implications.
Your Muzzle Must be Pointed in a Safe Direction
This tip is crucial & is, in fact, an established principle in military training settings. Simply put, always keep to it. If every firearm handler makes sure that his muzzle is pointed in a safe direction, gun accidents will not happen, and then we can be sure that all shootings are deliberate, but that’s by the way.
Now, there’s the important question: where’s the safe direction?
A safe direction points to a place where there will be no human casualty in case of an accidental discharge. This is a direction where no one is & no one is expected to appear suddenly in. When selecting a safe direction, remember that bullets penetrate ceilings & walls and may ricochet off hard surfaces.
Therefore, a golden rule is this: never point your muzzle at a person or object you don’t intend to shoot, notwithstanding if your gun is loaded or not.
If you keep to this rule, an accidental shot would mean nothing at all.
Keep Off the Trigger
Did You Know: Bond has a strict discipline with triggers?
Accidents are termed accidents, mostly because they are unexplainable. So, there’s never a guarantee of absolute safety when using your firearm. You must, therefore, be alert & conscious at all times to prevent accidents.
Accidental discharges are prevalent among gun owners. At first, this may seem difficult to prevent, but then what if your finger is kept off the trigger? Would there be a chance of an unintended shit happening? No. The military refers to this as “trigger discipline” & it is, in fact, the number one rule of firearm safety.
If you own a pistol, there’s an index point for you to rest your fingers on instead of the delicate trigger. If you own another gun type, you should keep your hands off the trigger too. Before you can pull the trigger, you should have aimed & pointed the muzzle directly in the target’s direction.
Note that keeping fingers off the trigger can be difficult for many since they are used to caressing it to feel in control. It will, therefore, take conscious efforts & persistence to start taking your fingers off the trigger.
Be Exact With Your Target & Everything Else Downrange
Before you pull your trigger, be exact with your target & everything else (including people) beyond the target. Know precisely where your bullet will hit before taking a shot & be sure that no one beyond your target will get injured. You should know now that the body of your target may not stop your bullet completely.
There are cases where the bullet passed through the target & hurt others beyond. So, be sure that there are no people, animals, or objects behind the target that can be injured if your bullet is not stopped by the target.
If you’re shooting with others, you all should be side by side to avoid taking shots at one another.
Wear Eye & Ear Protection
When you’re taking shots, be sure to wear the appropriate gear for your eyes & ears. A gunshot close to your ears can leave you permanently deaf, while your eyes can be injured by the shards of glass or other items that got broken.
These gear do not cost much, so buying them shouldn’t be any problem.
By the way, wearing eye & ear protection is not only for your safety but also for others. Holding a loaded gun with disturbances in your eyeballs will rarely end well. Think about it & prioritize safety.
Concluding The Safety Tips for Using a Firearm
Shooting has to be done with an eye on utmost safety. Take note of the above safety tips for using a firearm & see yourself become the safest gun handler that you know. Teach these tips to others, too & make the world a safer place without firearm accidents.