If you plan on buying your first gun, this guide can help you understand what not to do with it. Here are common gun owner mistakes and how to avoid them.

8 Common Gun Owner Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Finally ready to buy your first gun? Have you picked out the type and already bought a few accessories to go along with it?

Getting your own gun is exciting and simultaneously dangerous if you do not know how to handle it and gun ownership properly.

Knowing what gun ownership entails can save you a lot of hurt. Avoid these common gun owner mistakes and everyone, including yourself, will be safer.

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1. Poor Training

It’s a good idea to do some gun safety training before you even purchase a gun. You might like the idea of owning a gun, but using one can be complicated and has a lot of responsibility attached. You can attend gun training classes or go to a range several times to better understand how to use one.

But be sure you know how to handle a gun before you try and use the gun you purchased. A gun owner that isn’t properly trained could very easily harm themself or others. 

2. Wrong Gun

This might seem like a ridiculous mistake but you would be surprised how many people make it. Don’t buy the wrong gun. Educate yourself on the different types of guns and the kinds of maintenance needed to keep them in working order.

It’s a good idea to go to a range and try out a few guns before you decide which one to buy. You might have an idea of how it handles in your head, but without actually shooting with it, you won’t know the reality.

3. Wrong Parts

If you’re buying your first gun and want to buy all the accessories beforehand, be careful. While it’s possible to buy the wrong gun, it’s even easier to buy the wrong parts, including ammo, for your future firearm. Double-check your orders or with the salesperson working with you to ensure you’re getting the right size and fit for your gun.

Make sure you are purchase high-quality accessories and parts for your gun as well. Cheaper options might be tempting, but they could hurt your gun or cause it to malfunction in the future. Both this and the previous mistakes are easier to avoid if you have proper training and do the work of learning about guns before you buy them.

4. Mishandle to Misfire

When you own a gun you might choose to use it on your property, at an outdoor range, or an indoor one. If you’re simply at home cleaning and admiring your gun, it might be easy to ignore the rules you learned when first learning how to shoot.

Mishandling a gun is one of the ways someone could end up injured or dead, and it’s so easy to avoid. Remember all of the gun safety training and make sure to apply those rules whenever you are handling your gun, even to clean it or show it to someone else.

5. Improper Permits and Security

When you own a gun, you have to be aware of the gun laws in your area, and follow the proper laws. Better knowledge of the laws will help you avoid getting into trouble that could cost you monetarily and even take away your firearm. Check out a Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map to understand where you’re allowed to carry and in what capacity. 

Following the laws and norms of your area will also keep you and others safe. Understand defensive gun use and follow all of the safety instructions you would use at a range.

6. Unsuitable Storage

Storing your gun in a safe and secure place is crucial. Proper gun storage could save your love-ones life. Do not store your gun loaded, and always have it in a locked space that is not out in the open and readily accessible. 

The number of accidents in the home of a gun owner due to a curious child is too high. You could prevent that statistic from being a part of your history by following proper gun storage tips. 

7. Let’s Not Talk About It

When you own a gun, even when using proper gun storage, it’s important to talk to those you live with about it. You need to make people aware of the fact that there is a gun in the household. You don’t have to wave it around and advertise it, but having a simple conversation is important.

People are curious, especially kids, and the best way to prevent an accident is to educate. Teaching someone basic safety precautions could prevent them from hurting themselves if they were ever handling the gun, even momentarily.

8. Handing It Off

You may be tempted, especially when you first get your gun, to show it around and let other people take a look. Looking is fine, but this isn’t show and tell where you can hand it around the circle. You have no idea what someone else’s training is with a gun, so it’s best not to hand it off to people who may mishandle it. 

Even if the person asking to hold it is a trained gun owner, an accident could still occur. And since it’s your gun, you would likely be liable for any possible harm.

Avoid Common Gun Owner Mistakes

Some of these common gun owner mistakes may seem too obvious to make, but you would be surprised by the number of people who slip up, either by ordering the wrong ammo or not talking to their family about their gun. When you know about these mistakes, you can be more vigilant to avoid them and never have an accident happen with your gun. 

Enjoy your new firearm, be careful, and always maintain proper safety and regular gun maintenance. And if you found these tips helpful, keep reading for more.

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