How is your confidence factor? Can you clean your handgun with your eyes closed? Are you a concealed carry mentor amongst friends? Are you certified, trained, practiced and have your mental game in order? I thought so.
It’s just when we think we’re safe from the complications of life that the simplest things come and mess with our day—a flat tire, a bee sting, burned dinner, an irritating coworker. Only when it comes to guns, the stakes are infinitely higher—the stakes are life and death.
That’s why we shouldn’t take the obvious for granted. Ignoring gun safety is an easy trap once you have some experience. I’ll use an another analogy. The sun shines every day. Farmers grow our food. Teachers teach our children. And yet, if these didn’t happen, the results would be drastic. So let’s not take gun safety measures for granted. Let’s not assume that we are automatically following protocol, that it is rote. Time for a check.
-Keep your gun pointed in a safe direction. Many of us learn this as kids. Heck, I wasn’t even allowed to point toy guns at animals because of the implication. And I grew up a rural, hunting, pro-Second Amendment family. And yet, I’ve seen seasoned gun owners do it time and time again. Please don’t do this. You’re a danger to society and you have no business owning a gun.
-Index. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Yes, people—this is Gun Safety 101. But too many people become complacent or overconfident. They are sure an accident can’t happen to them, so they keep their finger on the trigger. Any number of things can happen while you have your finger on the trigger. Play it safe.
-Clean your gun in a safe environment. An old adage is, “It takes three components for a shooting to occur: a gun, a shooter and ammunition. First we must eliminate the ammunition from the equation. Cleaning at the range is optimal. Make sure you have proper ventilation. If you’re new to cleaning your gun, get some help. If you’re old hat, remember the rules and go step by step to ensure you’re not overlooking safety measures.
-Do a safety check. When someone hands you a gun, always make sure you check the chamber or cylinder. They should check it before they hand it to you, and you should check it again when it’s in your possession.
Don’t let your confidence or years of experience lull you into false sense of security. The most basic of guidelines for not ignoring gun safety are often the most important.
