How to Properly Handle a Hand Gun
Most people are frightened by hand guns because they think so many individuals are shot by them every year. There are actually fewer shootings than people realize and more of them can be prevented with proper gun safety.
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Instructions
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Handle a gun you know how to use.
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Point the gun only at things you intend to shoot. Many accidents happen when someone is pointing a gun at another person and it accidentally goes off. At a firing range this also means keeping the barrel pointed toward the target area at all times.
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Handle any gun you touch as if it were loaded. This is done even if you just checked the gun for bullets and there are none in it or any magazines, which hold the bullets. Acting as if it's loaded will help keep you from pointing the gun at something you shouldn't shoot.
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Empty a firearm and its magazines until you are ready to use them.
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Open the slide of the gun to make sure there are no bullets in the gun. The slide is the part that slides back when the gun is fired. It pulls back to put another bullet in the chamber.
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Touch the trigger only when ready to fire it. Until that point, rest your finger on the outside of the gun along the body.
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Shoot at your target only when you are cleared to and know what is past the target. At a shooting range there will be a trap of some sort to catch the bullets so they do not travel farther. However, out on a farm or some other remote location, there could be a person walking you do not see and they could be hit from the bullet.
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Tips & Warnings
When purchasing a gun for the first time, have the salesman show you how it works.
Wear proper eye and hearing protection when shooting a gun. Bullets can jump straight back as the shells are ejected from the gun and burn you. The noise a gun makes is loud enough to damage your hearing without protection.
Make sure the safety is on when you are handling the gun prior to shooting it.
Take a safety class to familiarize yourself with proper gun handling techniques. You may also practice shooting a gun in the class so you know what that is like.
Not all guns have a safety on them. This is how they come from the factory.
