5 Gun Safety Rules & A little Extra

Guns can either be a safety tool or a medium of destruction, depending on how you use it. When it comes to keeping your house safe from burglary or trespassers, a firearm can be a very effective device. However, if you are not a safe gun user, it can also be quite risky to yourself and your family.

Owning a gun is a big responsibility. Remember, you are accountable for any form of violence or accident that occurs with your firearm. In the wrong hands, it can be a massive liability. If you own a gun, you need to learn all about gun safety rules so that your weapon does not cause any unfortunate accidents.

In this article, we will give you a thorough guideline on the essential five gun safety rules along with a few additional tips to ensure the security of yourself and the people around you.

The Five Gun Safety Rules

Let us start off with the basics. Any gun owner should know about the five golden rules of handling a gun. These rules are in place to minimize the chance of accidents and injuries that can happen with a firearm. A gun is, after all, a device that can fatally wound someone.

The five golden rules of gun safety are as follows:

There is no such thing as an unloaded gun.
Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
Keep your finger off the trigger unless intending to fire.
Do not fire unless you are sure of your target.
Always consider what lies behind your target and your line of fire.

There is no such thing as an unloaded gun

A firearm being such a destructive tool demands some form of respect from its wielder. Even if the magazine and the gun chamber is empty, you should always treat a gun as if it is fully loaded.

This means you should never keep it lying around on a table or somewhere others can access it. If you are not using your weapon, store it up in the gun safe or holster it away from sight.

Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

Secondly, you should never point the gun directly at someone, even as a joke. It is a bad practice to point even an unloaded gun at anything other than your target. Ideally, if you are holding your gun at rest, point it downwards.

Keep your finger off the trigger unless intending to fire.

Unless you are absolutely sure that you want to shoot, your trigger finger should always rest outside the trigger. Some weapon triggers are extra sensitive, and even a slight twitch of your finger can cause the weapon to fire.

To be safe, your finger should always be outside the trigger guard. You should get to the trigger only when you have the target in your sight and are fully prepared to fire your shot.

Do not fire unless you are sure of your target.

This rule is quite similar to the third rule. It just emphasizes the importance and gravity of controlling your urge to shoot. Before you have a clean shot to your target, you should never fire your weapon.

Always consider what lies behind your target and your line of fire.

Before you fire your shot, take a moment to consider your surrounding environment. Think about what lies beyond your target.

For instance, if there is an electric fuse box behind your target and your shot misses and hits the box, the whole area can go up in flames. An experienced shooter knows the importance of scanning the environment for fire hazards before firing a single shot.

Other Gun Safety Rules

With the five essential rules out of the way, there are a few extra tips that you should remember. These few rules are not optional in any ways and must be followed if you want to be a safe gun user.

Maintain your gun regularly

Guns require regular maintenance to keep them functioning at the optimal level. Without proper care and servicing, the accuracy of the gun will slowly decline. Besides, junk can easily get inside the barrel of your gun that can obstruct the path of a bullet when you fire your weapon.

By regularly servicing your weapon, you can eliminate any risk of misfiring. You will also be able to enjoy perfect accuracy and peak performance out of your weapon if you set apart a little bit of time for maintenance. However, if you are not comfortable servicing your gun, it is best to take it to a professional.

Always wear proper ear and eye protection

Guns can be quite loud, and you should not overlook the importance of wearing noise-canceling earphones when using a weapon. Eye protection is just as crucial as with each shot; there is a risk of tiny spring parts or solvents from the gun getting into your eyes.

Use the right ammunition

Make sure you are using the correct ammunition for your particular weapon. Using improper rounds can cause severe injury to yourself and can ruin your weapon entirely. So when loading up your gun, it is best to double-check if you have the right caliber of ammunition equipped.

Empty out the gun when not in use

Never leave a loaded gun out in the open. If you are done using your weapon, it is best to empty out the magazine and gun chamber. It is the same when you are storing your weapon in the gun safe; the best practice is to leave it empty.

Final Thoughts

One can never be too safe when it comes to handling a firearm. With the five gun safety rules, you can drastically reduce the chance of accidents with your weapon.

We hope our extensive guide on gun safety could benefit you and help you on your way to becoming a responsible gun owner.