A lot of people have firearms in their home – it’s not out of the ordinary and many families feel safer knowing there’s a gun in the house. It’s important to follow certain basic safety rules if you have a gun in the house. Most of the rules are related to gun storage.
1. When the gun is out, make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction, meaning that if the gun were to accidentally fire, nobody would get hurt.
2. Never put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot the gun. When holding the gun, keep your finger on the outside of the trigger or even on the side of the gun.
3. Make sure that you know exactly how your gun operates. Read the manual and consider taking a gun safety course. You should know how to open and close the action and also how to remove ammunition from the gun.
4. When you’re not using the gun, make sure it’s unloaded. Even if it’s unloaded, you should still keep it pointed in a safe direction. First, you’ll get used to holding the gun like that, and secondly, if there’s something in the gun, even if it’s not ammunition, it could fire and hurt someone.
5. Always keep your guns in a safe place, like a cabinet, fault, or storage case that can be locked. The gun shouldn’t be handled by anyone other than the owner and it should never be accessible to children. Check this out if you want to look into the types of storage available for firearms.
6. The gun’s ammunition should also be kept in a locked storage unit, but in a separate one from the gun.
7. Use a gun lock that will keep the firearm in a locked position and inoperable when you’re not using it. This isn’t a replacement for locked storage, it’s just an additional precaution.
8. When you’re finished using the gun – like if you’ve spent some time at the shooting range – immediately unload it, clean it, and lock it up. Don’t let it sit out for every a few minutes before putting it away.
Most gun-related accidents can be prevented by following these guidelines. Firearms should be respected for what they are – dangerous, serious weapons that can provide protection when necessary but that can also turn deadly if not handled properly.