So finally you’ve become a new gun owner (talking about handguns here). You decided to get that one gun statistically primarily for home protection, many for general self defense including concealed carry. Now on down the road, you may turn into a genuine shooter, but for now, you’ve got the gun and you’ve got to figure out what to do with it. What you do not want to do is buy a gun, load it and put it away to use only in case of an emergency. If you do not intend to familiarize yourself to automatically work the mechanisms of the gun and fire it regularly, you are better off without it. If you purchase, or have purchased a semi automatic pistol, as a new gun owner, your familiarization and practice with the pistol is significantly more important than with a revolver, though regular practice with both is critical. Where do you start and where do you get the instruction you need to shoot the gun proficiently?

Well, let’s start at the beginning. The owner’s manual. If you purchased a new gun it will include one. If you purchased a used gun, it may not have any instructions with it. In that case, first check online to see if you can find a manual from the gun’s manufacturer. Some major gun makers have their buyer’s guides and manuals online. FIRST BEFORE TAKING IT TO SHOOT IT: Learn to disassemble and clean the gun from the manual. Then do it. Before you shoot it. That’s right, most guns come with some oil and/or grit in the works that can significantly affect the operation of it. New guns come with some degree of grease and oil from the factory, and many have been test fired without cleaning afterward. So learn how to clean it first and do it.

By the way, before you begin to disassemble it, check it to see if it is loaded. Pull the slide back and check the chamber in a semi-auto, open the cylinder in a revolver and confirm that it is empty. After confirming an empty gun, point it in a safe direction and dry fire it to release the striker or hammer (semi auto only-not necessary with a revolver). Do this even if you’ve already done it several times and do it every time you handle the gun. Fail to do this and you will eventually shoot something you don’t mean to shoot, period. Don’t ever make it negotiable, just do it every time. Be sure doing all this, it is always pointed safely into an area that would contain a negligent discharge . Remember, just pointing it at a wall, you could be endangering somebody in the next room. A 5 gallon bucket filled with some kind of media or sand makes a good safe pointing device.

I recently asked a room full of guys who are long time experienced gun owners and shooters how many of them had ever shot something they didn’t mean to shoot. Every one of the twelve hands went up. It can happen to anyone at any time. Download and print the NRA’s safety rules. Memorize and practice them. One unintended shot can ruin your life.

The two primary rules of firearm safety I’ll print here:-Never point the firearm at anything you do not intend to destroy

-Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on an intended target.

Obey those two without exception and you will not shoot something you do not intend to shoot. Be lax with either of those and a tragedy is likely to occur.

Personal Safety