Starting with the basics
You know it’s funny everytime we learn something new that we sometimes develop this desire to get right to the “fun stuff” subsequently moving past all the “meat and potatoes”. Firearms is no exception to this theory, nor should it be. It’s important to find a firearms instructor that recognizes this and encourages it by ensuring students understand and demonstrate the foundational firearm skills to begin with.
Safe Handling of a firearm
The four rules of firearm safety are really the core foundational elements when handling a firearm. To me, they’re so important that I picture them written on a stone tablet like the 10 commandments.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. …
- Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. …
- Be certain of your target and what’s beyond it. …
- Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.
Even with magazine out and no round in chamber, a firearm must always be considered as “loaded” and handled consequently.
One of the most common mistakes is that the user incorrectly unloads a firearm out of sequence. Instead of the user removing the bulk of the ammo by removing the magazine first, they instead “rack” the slide, ejecting the round from the chamber while inserting a brand new round into the chamber because the magazine hadn’t been removed first. Don’t be this person! There’s a reason why I call them “no takebacks”, because once you pull that trigger, there’s no taking it back.
Practice, Practice, Practice
It’s your responsibility entirely to know how to be safe and efficient with your firearm. If you don’t feel comfortable practicing by yourself, use whatever resources available to equip yourself with the knowledge to be able to practice on your own. Yes, you’re hearing that correctly! You don’t need to hire a firearms instructor every single time you want to learn your firearm. In fact, foundational skills like stance, grip, holster draw, and sight alignment all can be done safely at your home once the ammunition has been separated and the firearm has been cleared and double checked.
Efficient and Effective
If you have to “re-learn” your firearm everytime you remove it from the safe, you haven’t spent nearly enough time “learning” it in the first place. How effective do you actually expect to be if you had to use it? In a life or death situation, your fight or flight response kicks in and your fine motor skills become severely diminished, do you honestly think you’d become efficient and effective? I don’t know where this fallacy is derived from, but a lot of firearms owners really think that they will just somehow know how to effectively handle their firearm when the time comes.
Start with the basics…
Instructor Derek is self-defense instructor located near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin just south of the Illinois border. You can learn more about Instructor Derek by visiting his website www.instructorderek.com
