Beginner’s Guide to Basic Gun Safety: Tips Every Gun Owner Should Know

Being a responsible gun owner involves more than just owning a firearm. You need to know how to handle it, both when it’s in your hands and when it isn’t. A gun in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use it is dangerous for yourself and others.

As experienced gun owners ourselves, we want to pass on our knowledge to new shooters. Here are our top basic gun safety tips for beginners.

Tip #1: Follow the 4 Rules of Firearm Safety

The 4 rules of firearms safety are four basic gun safety rules that every gun owner should follow when handling their weapon. While we’ve written a whole article on what the 4 rules of gun safety are, here's a quick summary:

• Always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction: Regardless of whether your gun is loaded or not, it should never be pointed at you, others, or anything you don’t want a bullet hole through.
• Treat all guns as though they are loaded: This builds muscle memory for handling your gun when it is loaded.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot: Even if the safety is on or it has a built-in safety, keeping your finger on the trigger raises the chances of a misfire exponentially.
• Always be sure of your target and what’s behind it: If you don’t, there’s a high chance of hitting something (or someone) you never intended to.

Tip #2: Know How to Operate Your Gun

This basic gun safety tip might sound obvious, but if you don’t know your gun inside and out, your gun becomes a liability. You need to not only know how to shoot it, but also how to reload it, clear a malfunction, and do your own cleaning and maintenance. Every gun is different, so when you buy a new firearm, you should focus on getting to know every inch of it before using it.

Tip #3: Store Your Gun Securely

When you aren’t using your gun, you should keep it in a place that only you can access. Gun storage options range from gun safes for pistols to full-size lockers for rifles. Keep it in a place you can quickly access in an emergency, but not one others could. You should also keep your ammunition separate, ensuring that even if someone else gets your gun, they can’t fire it.

This is especially important if you have kids; a lot of firearm accidents happen when a child gets a hold of an unsecured gun. But just in case, you should teach them the rules of basic gun safety. That way, if they happen to get a hold of a gun, they know how to handle it with the respect a firearm deserves.

Tip #4: Never Use a Gun Under the Influence

Mixing guns with substances is never a good idea. Not only does it impair your balance and control of your gun, but it also affects your mental state.

Tip #5: Never Use a Gun While in Emotional Distress

Whether you’re angry or depressed, having a gun nearby is dangerous for both yourself and others. Too many gun injuries and deaths have happened when the shooter has been in a heightened emotional state. Our basic gun safety tip? If you’re partying, keep the gun safely stored.

Tip #6: Wear Eye and Ear Protection

When you fire your gun, it ignites the powder inside the loaded cartridge, producing hot pressurized gas that launches your bullet at supersonic speeds. Not only does that produce the deafening bang guns are known for, but it can also launch debris. Wearing hearing and eye protection like shooting earplugs and shooting glasses is an important basic safety measure during a shooting session to prevent you from losing either your hearing or sight.

Find Guides and Guns at Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore

Whether you’re learning more about handling firearms on our gun blog or looking for a new firearm in our gun store, Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore has everything a gun owner could need. We’ve been offering a wide range of guns and accessories since 2007 for everyone, from hunters to recreational shooters. So whether you’re shopping for firearm accessories or buying one of our AR-15 rifles, you can find what you need in our collection.

Have more questions about basic gun safety? Reach out to our in-house customer service for help. Ready to order? Find your next firearm today in the collection of guns for sale at Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore.