Can you shoot a gun when you’re tired?
You can, but you shouldn’t.
All it takes is one night of sleep deprivation for our brains to start making decisions differently. If you aren’t feeling fully rested, wait. When your brain and body are recharged, then you can take on the responsibility of firing a gun.
Are you a new gun owner, looking for the best ways to stay safe? Then this article’s for you! This guide will go over the most important gun safety tips, so you can be a cautious shooter.
What’s the right way to handle a gun? Read on to find out!
1. Know Beyond Your Target
Before taking a shot, you have to know your target and beyond. Simply aiming for the bullseye won’t cut it. You also have to be aware of what lies behind your target, should you miss your shot.
For instance, let’s say you set up several targets in front of the woods. To your knowledge, there aren’t any hikers or hunters in your area. Even in this situation, you should avoid pulling the trigger until you know exactly what’s in the wood line behind you.
Are there any houses be on the trees? How do you know that there aren’t any pedestrians in danger of catching a stray bullet? Are you certain your friends haven’t wondered beyond the targets?
For the safest shooting practices, you can always stick to using a shooting range. The owners of the range will already have established safe shooting targets, including the area behind them.
2. Safe Shooting Zones
Are you planning on using a deer stand on your next hunting expedition?
Take into account what directions are completely safe to shoot and where you won’t shoot no matter what. Remember, hunters, are responsible for all of their shots, even when they don’t hit the target.
All of your shots should be falling within the safe areas and on the property that you have a hunting permit. Don’t let your brain play tricks on you, tempting you to shoot outside of the safety zone.
Even if you’re certain you have a clean shot for a doe or buck, you have to look beyond the animals.
3. Never Aim At People
Next, on our list of gun safety tips, you should never aim your gun at a person. It might seem like common sense to avoid aiming your gun at another person, but this mistake happens all the time.
A true gunman understands that your firearm has to always be pointed in a safe direction. You might believe that the gun is unloaded, yet it is actually chambering around. If you wind up pulling the trigger and the firearm goes off, you’ll be responsible for the consequences.
Alec Baldwin is a somber reminder of what happens when we point guns at people, even if we think they’re prop guns. Not only should you avoid pointing your firearm at people, but you should also avoid pointing it in an unsafe direction.
4. Moving With a Gun
You have to pay particularly close attention to the direction your gun is pointing whenever you’re moving around. For instance, if you’re climbing into a tree stand, or getting out of a boat, notice what your gun is doing.
Is the gun pointing up at your face or at other hunters? Are you remembering to keep your gun in a neutral position that won’t cause harm should it go off?
Finally, when it comes time to load or unload your firearms, we suggest standing back to back with your shooting partners. By standing back to back, both parties can be sure that they won’t point their guns at each other. Once the hunt is completely finished, unload your firearm before putting it back in your vehicle.
5. Know How To Handle a Gun
So far, we’ve been talking about where you can and can’t point your gun. However, the next step is learning all about handling a gun safely. The first step in learning how to handle a gun is memorizing the trigger rule.
A gun isn’t going to go off by itself. It takes a purposeful pull of the trigger for your firearm to shoot.
To avoid accidental shots going off, your finger should always rest outside of the trigger guard. That way, you don’t absent-mindedly pull the trigger when you’re not ready to take the shot.
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Remember, once you pull the trigger, there’s no going backward. You’ll have to live with whatever consequences result from the shot, even if they’re an accident.
Weapon Safety With Finger Discipline
Finger discipline is an important skill to learn both before and after the shot. Shooting instructors will typically use the word “finger quotation mark to remind you of your finger location.
As you continue practicing keeping your finger in the right position, it’ll become second nature. It also helps if you have the right AR-15 trigger to make things smooth.
6. Safe Firearm Storage
Did you just buy a gun for the first time, and you’re not sure how to store it? A lot of people found themselves purchasing a firearm in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Since these guns are typically purposed for the last-minute resort, they don’t get a lot of shooting action.
Instead, many Americans are storing away their firearms and hoping they never have to use them. Whatever the case may be for you, you should fully understand all of the best safe firearms storage options.
Portable Lock Box
If you plan on transporting your gun from point a to point b, then you’ll need to get a portable lockbox. Portable lockboxes are a great short-term storage solution, and they can even work for at-home storage.
Cases and Cabinets
Next, you could look into getting a soft or hard gun case. Soft cases are portable and lightweight, but hard cases are more durable.
Moving on, it’s always a good idea to look into getting a locking security cabinet. We suggest exploring lightweight steel security cabinets that won’t take up too much room. Of course, if you have the room, a full-size gun safe is always a smart choice.
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7. Check the Barrel
Moving on, sometimes debris falls into the barrel of the firearm. When debris clutters the barrel, it’s called an obstruction. Considering some bullets can travel as fast as 2600 ft per second, anything blocking it’s path can lead to disaster.
Even a tiny bit of snow or excess lubricating grease can make dangerous changes to the barrel’s pressures. Left unfixed, obstructions can cause the barrel to burst upon firing. Both you and any bystanders could be seriously hurt.
Keep It Clean
One of the best ways to avoid obstructions is by periodically checking and cleaning the barrel of the gun. However, before you can check the barrel, you’ll need to fully unload the firearm.
Next, we suggest purchasing a quality cleaning jag to make clearing the barrel easy. As far as checking the barrel goes, you should make it a practice to check the barrel before each shooting session.
Cartridge Choices
Finally, pay close attention to each cartridge you put in your firearm. Putting the wrong caliber cartridge into a gun can create obstructions as well. Wrong size cartridges can also make the barrel bulge or burst.
8. Wear the Right PPE
Lastly, one of the best ways to stay safe is by wearing the right personal protective equipment. Before shooting a gun, you should have the proper eye and ear protection. You’ll need to buy safety glasses that are designed to be used when shooting—trying to substitute construction-style safety glasses while shooting will cause all sorts of problems.
You’ll find that safety glasses for shooting have high quality lenses. You can also find customized lenses that will give you just the right amount of darkness or brightness.
Yellow Tints
Yellow eye protection lenses are a traditional approach. The yellow lens makes it easy for the Target to pop out against the backdrop.
The only drawback with yellow lenses is that they make everything else brighter. That means on a bright sunny day; things may be a little bit too illuminated. For bright weather, we suggest sticking with clear or smoke-colored lenses.
Ear Protection
When it comes to ear protection, you can go with earplugs or muffs. Earmuffs are better at blocking sound. However, inexpensive earplugs can be great for sweaty days.
Memorize These Gun Safety Tips
We hope that this article has reminded you of your responsibility as a gun owner. As you can see from these gun safety tips; the entire responsibility of safe shooting lies on you. There are no excuses in the world of firearm ownership, only safe solutions.
We suggest memorizing all of the tips from this article so that you can avoid hurting yourself or someone else. After memorizing these safety tips, share them with a fellow firearm owner. For more tips like these, check out the rest of our site.
