Handgun Safety Training

Handgun safety training is offered by a wide variety of institutions, and most prevalently by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Handgun safety training teaches you how to load and unload a gun, how to clean one, and how to handle and fire it safely and efficiently.

  1. Control the Gun

    • First and foremost, you need to assume that every gun you hold can go off without warning. This means that you need to control where it is pointing and always be aware of where a bullet would go if the gun is fired. The most logical place to be pointing the gun is generally at the ground, but you need to be aware and use your common sense.

    Fingers Off

    • Do not ever put your finger on the trigger unless you are about to shoot. When you are holding the gun at rest, you should rest your finger next to the trigger, but never on it.

    Loading and Unloading

    • Only load the gun when you are prepared to shoot it. You should never store the gun loaded. This is a good test as to whether you should be using the gun or not: if you cannot determine whether it is loaded or not, then you do not have enough training to be using it.

    Know Your Target

    • You need to think through every single shot. An important component of this process is not usually mentioned in movies or on television: the area behind your target. Bullets travel incredibly fast and with a large amount of force, so they can very easily go through your primary target and hit something (or someone) behind them.

    Know the Gun

    • You should understand how a gun works, what its components are, and how to check if it is loaded or if the safety device is on. Handgun safety training will teach you how to do this, and you should not be handling a gun prior to training. You should be aware of whether the gun is safe to operate or not. This means you need to be able to check if it is cleaned, unjammed, and generally ready to shoot. You also need to be able to clean the gun yourself. This will be taught in safety training.

    Correct Storage

    • You need to know how to store a gun. This means putting it in position where nobody unauthorized is going to be able to gain access to it. However, correct storage underscores knowledge of how to handle a gun--it does not replace it.