7 Tips on Gun Safety ...

A clean gun is less likely to jam and misfire or injure you. Make sure the gun is unloaded before attempting to clean it. There are many types of gun cleaning kits that can be purchased for different styles of pistols, rifles, and various other guns. Cleaning your gun should take place after it has been used many times and before using it after it has been in storage for a length of time.

Ammunition is very clearly marked when you purchase it from a reliable source. It’s always good to check your ammunition against the gun it is going to be used in. Using the wrong size of ammo can cause the gun to jam more often, can cause the barrel to bulge, or the gun could even break. Double check the ammo you are purchasing to make sure it is the correct size for your particular gun.

This is meant mainly for range practice. Protective wear is usually worn during shooting practice because more shots are fired in a shorter period of time. Tinnitus can be caused by the sound of the shots being fired or debris can end up in the eyes. Protecting your eyes and ears is easy to do and doesn’t take much time away from shooting practice.

I’ve heard of plenty of horror stories where little kids have accidentally shot friends or themselves because a gun was put away loaded. I think guns should be locked away in a cabinet when there are small children living in the same house, but I know not everyone has a gun cabinet with a lock on it. Always double check your gun before putting it away to make sure that all bullets have been removed. Never assume it is empty!

Even though it may seem like an inconvenience, storing the bullets away from the guns is a great safety practice. This method of storing guns and ammo is so that if someone finds the guns or ammo, they don’t have immediate access to the other. People who are leery of intruders make sure to have the guns in one area of the house and the ammo tucked away in a completely different area.

The best way to handle a gun is to pretend that it is loaded, even when you know with absolute surety that it isn’t. Too many people have made the mistake of assuming a gun is empty and injuring or killing someone on accident.

Even if you know the gun is empty and have double checked to make sure that it is completely free of bullets, it’s best to keep the gun pointed away from you and others. I remember my little cousins getting in trouble when we were little for pointing their cap guns at each other. This was and probably still is considered to be an impolite gesture.

I hope these 7 tips on gun safety are useful. Do you have any additional gun safety tips that you’d like to share?

Top Photo Credit: Gregory Wild-Smith