Basics of Firearm Safety for Newbie Hunters

Firearm safety basics are rules that ensure safety when using your rifle and also ensures that the rifle is kept in good condition for a long time. While you are at that shooting range or carrying your firearm, the basics that you have at your fingertips is what determines whether you will hit the target without harming yourself. Below are a few basics of firearm safety for newbie hunters.

Keeping the muzzle safe

Pointing your muzzle in a safe direction is the most basic safety rule of firearms. It’s advisable to never point your gun at something you didn’t intend to shoot, especially when loading or unloading the firearm. In case of accidental discharge, no injury will occur as long as the muzzle is in a safe direction.

Taking a hunter safety certification course will train you to keep your muzzle pointed in the safe direction and how to aim at the exact location you want to shoot. The Hunter-Ed hunter safety education courses are developed with state hunting safety agencies responsible for hunter education. They are also approved by the International Hunter Education Association.

Firearms unloading

Every firearm should be loaded only when in the field or on the target range and ready to shoot. When the firearm is not in use, the firearm and ammunition should be secured in different safe places. That is the first thing you should do as soon as you are done with the rifle. 

As the firearm owner, it’s your responsibility to keep out of reach of children when playing. Before you give the firearm to someone else, you open the action immediately. Then, you cross-check the receiver, chamber, and magazines to ensure they do not have any ammunition left in them.

Be sure of the target and what’s beyond it

You can never call a shot back. Once you fire the gun, you already have given up all control over what it will strike. That’s why it’s advisable not to shoot unless you know exactly what your bullet will strike. Are you sure that your bullet will not injure anyone or anything beyond it?

Firing your gun without being certain about what it’s going to hit is a dire disregard for the safety of others. Before you make up your mind to shoot any target, make a rough comparison of the distance between you and the object and consider the speed your bullet travels.

Use the correct ammunition

Different ammunitions sizes are available in the market, varying in size from one another with small differences. Being the owner of the rifle requires you to assume the total responsibility of using the correct ammunition even when you are in danger or in a rush to hit the target. 

Go through all instructions that are provided in the manuals and the ammunition boxes. Using the wrong ammunition can completely distort the gun and serious personal injury as it only takes one cartridge of improper caliber to wreck the gun.

Eye and ear protection 

You should always be on your protective shooting glasses and some form of hearing protectors while shooting. Most guns produced sharp and high-pitched, which can easily damage your eardrums. 

The shooting glasses protect your eyes against twigs, falling shots, clay target chips, and the rare occurrence of firearm malfunction. Moreover, wearing eye protection when cleaning your gun will protect you from harmful sprays, being hit by spring tension parts, and other solvent detergents used in the cleaning process.