Regardless of where you are, looking after a gun and handling your gun the right way is important. In this article, we offer five tips to help you do just that.
Ensure the gun muzzle is pointed in a safe direction
This is one of the most general rules. If all individuals handled their firearms with the utmost care and made sure that the muzzle never pointed to something they had no intention to shoot, there would be zero firearm accidents. It’s that simple.
Don’t ever point your gun at something you have no intention to shoot. This is especially important when unloading or loading a firearm. If for some reason, an accidental discharge occurs, no harm will happen because the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction.
A safe direction refers to a direction in which a bullet won’t hit a person. You also need to consider that bullets can penetrate ceilings and walls. The safest direction could be “down” or in some situations “up,” but should never be at a person or anything intended as a target. This applies to when you are “dry firing” using an unloaded gun also
The bottom line is to make it habitual to know precisely where the muzzle of your gun is facing, all the time. Also make sure you’re in control of the direction that the muzzle is facing, so that if you stumble or fall you’ll be in a position to better control the firearm.
Your gun must be unloaded when not in use
You can use clp gun oil to clean your gun but also, more importantly, firearms must be loaded only when you intend to use them. When you don’t have the intention to use it, ammunition and firearms must be put in a safe place securely, separate from each other. Keeping unauthorized adults and kids from getting access to your ammunition and firearms is your responsibility.
All you need to do is unload your gun right after you are done. A gun that’s loaded has no place in a building, truck, or car. When you have finished shooting unload your gun immediately before you bring it into your home, camp, or car.
Whenever you hand a gun to someone or handle a gun, open the action immediately, also check the chamber, magazine, and receiver visually to make sure they don’t have any ammunition. When actions are not in use always keep them open.
Do the checking yourself, don’t ever assume the gun is unloaded. This is an attribute of a masterful gun handler! Make sure never to climb a tree, cross a fence, or do any strange action with a gun that is loaded.
Don’t depend on your gun’s safety
Handle every gun as if it will fire at any given time. A gun is a mechanical device that can become unfunctional at the worst time. Just like any other device if it’s not taken care of.
Depending on the gun’s safety you may think the gun is off when it’s on. The gun’s safety won’t serve as a substitute for common sense but does work as an addition to help you handle your gun correctly.
You must never handle a gun carelessly and think that the gun will not fire just because the safety function is on. Only touch the trigger of a firearm when you intend to fire a shot. Keep your fingers far from the trigger while unloading or loading. Make sure you never pull the trigger on any firearm with the safety function on or when the firearm is between the safe and fire options. At this point, it’s possible that the gun can fire at any given time, or even after you release the safety, without you needing to touch the trigger again.
Know your target and what’s beyond it
Once a shot is fired, you can’t call it back. In this process, you give all control over where it will go and where it will strike. So make sure you don’t strike unless you know precisely where your shot is going to hit.
Make sure that your bullet won’t hurt anything or anyone beyond your target. Aiming at a target that is moving or at a target where there’s noise without being sure what you are shooting will certainly put yourself and others at risk.
When shooting, wear protection for your eyes and ears
Anyone who carries a firearm must wear protective glasses and also put on some kind of hearing protectors while shooting. Being exposed to shooting noise can harm your ability to hear better. Apart from this sufficient vision protection is also critical.
Wearing shooting glasses protects you from clay target chips, twigs, and falling shots. Putting on eye protection while cleaning and disassembling any gun can help prevent solvents, spring tension parts, springs, and any other elements from reaching your eyes.
There exist many ear and eye protectors on the market. No hunter, plinker, or target shooter should be found without them.
Most safety shooting rules are meant to protect others around you and yourself from getting hurt, but this rule, in particular, is solely for your protection. In addition to this, having a hearing and eye protection aid will make you’re shooting a lot simpler and easier to execute and will also enhance your enjoyment of the shooting sport.
Lastly
Another good idea is to have your gun serviced often, also don’t ever modify or alter your gun. Guns are complex machines, engineered by experts to operate best in their original state. Any change or alteration made to a gun, firearm, or ammunition apart from changes made by the manufacturer can make the firearm more dangerous and will cause the gun to be void of any factory warranties.
So don’t put your safety in jeopardy or the safety of other people by doing your modifications on the trigger, or any other mechanism on the firearm. Also, don’t allow unauthorized personnel to modify or repair a gun. If you try this, you could just destroy a very expensive gun.
Your firearm is a mechanical device that won’t last forever because is subject to the elements. For this reason, it needs occasional adjustments, inspection, and service. If you don’t know when to do this, check with the firearm manufacturer so that you are aware of the recommended servicing.
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