Welcome

[BarryinIN]

I know there are a lot of you out there who recently became first time gun owners, and perhaps just found us here.

Welcome.

I'd also like to ask a favor or two. Please try to find some training. I realize you've already made a big step and spent a chunk of money, but it's safer and cheaper to get the training. One expert used to say that buying a gun no more made one armed than buying a piano made one a musician. He was right. It also saves money by preventing one from spending a lot of money on ammo and range fees doing it wrong.

Also, please store it responsibly. You've made the commitment; now commit. Don't buy it, bring it home, and put it in a drawer or on a closet shelf and go on with your life, locked or not. I understand buying a safe that is an ugly metal box that costs as much as the gun isn't easy, but at least break the gun down into two components (if possible with your gun) and store them separately. Truthfully, the safest way to store it is to carry it, but that only works well with handguns.

But again- Welcome. Look around. Stay a while.

[wwillson]

Good advice - thanks Barry

[Pablo]

Great suggestions.

Learn the basic gun safety rules. If you always follow them, there will be no accidents.

Be safe.

[Bill_in_Utah]

(Always late to the party)

Good advice!

One thing I would like to add, don't use a trigger lock if possible. We have seen many ADs due to them. If you want to lock up a weapon with out a case/safe then lock the action.

Trigger locks are NOT (IMO) safe.. Esp in a semi-auto.

Bill

[Pablo]

(Always late to the party)

Good advice!

One thing I would like to add, don't use a trigger lock if possible. We have seen many ADs due to them. If you want to lock up a weapon with out a case/safe then lock the action.

Trigger locks are NOT (IMO) safe.. Esp in a semi-auto.

Bill

I always wondered about those things. They seem inherently UN-safe!

[BarryinIN]

You reminded me: When I was in IL, there was a push to make trigger locks mandatory about 1990. The club I was in (Elgin Rifle Club) had a video made about the false safety trigger locks provide.

At the time, most trigger locks were the type having the same key- with two prongs that match up to two shallow holes in the lock to unscrew it. The video showed how common household items from needle nose pliers to open scissors could get that lock off. The same scissors were able to hack through part of the lock.

It also showed that many guns could be fired by manipulating the lock.

The point was- Don't put a lock on the gun and declare it inoperative so it could be treated as something other than a gun. That seemed to be the mentality of some in favor of the law. Even though the video was made to fend off pending state legislation, a legitimate concern of ours was that people would put a trigger lock on and decide they wouldn't have to do anything else. With the current internal/integral locks built into guns today, the locks have changed but the concern is still there.

Perhaps a good secondary rule to back up with The Four Rules like "All guns are always loaded" might be "All guns with a lock are still functional guns".