Safety Tips for When You Have Firearms in Your Home

Many people feel the need to have firearms in their home for protection. However, it is just as important to make sure that you are protecting yourselves from the dangers of the gun itself. To ensure everyone in the home is perfectly safe, you will want to make use of the following firearm safety tips.

Use the Right Stuff for Your Gun

From cleaning it to storing it, you will need to make sure that you are using the items with the highest quality. For example, storing your handgun in a dresser drawer is not a safe thing to do. Sure, you can reach it quickly, but so can anyone else in the house, including children. Therefore, you will want to put the gun under cover in a locked gun safe or cabinet. When it comes to cleaning the guns, you will want to use cleaning kits that were designed for that specific purpose, to avoid damaging the gun.

Never Keep a Firearm Loaded

Even with a locking mechanism in place, you want to keep your gun unloaded. This is because you never know when the lock could malfunction, and then the gun could easily discharge if the trigger is pulled or even if it is accidentally dropped on the floor. As for the ammunition itself, you will also want to keep that in a locked box separate from the guns.

Do Not Touch the Trigger Unless You Are Ready to Shoot

Whether you have grabbed your gun because you heard what sounds like someone breaking in, or you are practicing at the gun range, you need to make sure that your finger is never touching the trigger. This means you cannot even just rest your finger on the trigger without putting any pressure on it. With some guns, it only takes the slightest bit of pressure for it to shoot. Therefore, you will need to keep your trigger finger alongside your other fingers and only move it into position when you intend to discharge the weapon.

Teach Every Household Member about Firearm Safety

Even though you may have a rule about no one being allowed to touch any firearms, you will still need to educate everyone in the house about firearm safety. This way, should they come into contact with one of your guns, or they stumble across one at a friend's house, they will know what to do. For example, teach them that they are to always assume that the gun is loaded, even if someone tells them that it isn't. This type of gun safety education can save lives.

To learn more, talk to companies like Sentry Products Group.