Whether you are a new gun owner or an experienced gun owner, you always want to give importance to proper gun safety. Gun ownership is a right that we Americans are lucky to have, and one that should never get taken for granted.
A threat to gun ownership often comes after the irresponsible use of guns. That’s why it’s imperative to ensure gun safety at home and outside. Seasoned gun owners should always use guns responsibly and teach gun safety to newcomers.
But should you take professional gun safety courses?
A gun safety course instills discipline in both new and experienced gun owners. But let’s look deeper into their results, to see if they are for you.
Do I Need to Learn Gun Safety?
As of January 1st, 2020 only six states as well, as the District of Columbia, require gun owners to take a professional gun safety training course. Luckily, as of this writing, no such law exists in Texas.
However, you want to make sure that you keep an eye on such requirements in the future. You might already own several guns, but you might need to take a course to purchase another gun in the future.
If it appears that Texas might follow suit, you want to take a gun safety course as soon as you can. The sooner you take one, the sooner you’ll get permission to purchase your next gun.
But let’s say there’s no need to take such a course at all in the near future. Are there any benefits of taking gun safety courses?
Let’s look at gun safety courses and gun storage.
Storing Guns
One of the major precautions that come with gun ownership is on storing guns. Especially if you have children in the home, you want to make sure that no one can access your gun. Your gun should be kept in a place that you can easily access, but others cannot.
What do gun safety courses show us about storing guns? There was one study in a 1995 survey that showed gun owners were more likely to store their guns loaded and unlocked if they took such courses.
It was more likely that a gun owner would store their gun in a locker or safe box if they didn’t receive formal training. Often, these guns would also be unloaded.
Your decision on how you store your guns is up to you. You want to ensure that it’s in a place that you can access that others cannot. You want to think about the pros and cons of keeping it loaded based on what you feel you’ll need.
But what about responsible gun use? All gun owners want to prevent any unnecessary injuries/deaths.
Let’s see how gun safety courses tackle this issue.
Responsible Gun Use
So what relationship do gun safety courses have with responsible gun use? The biggest concern with firearms is of course the injuries and deaths they can cause. As of now, there hasn’t been conclusive evidence to show if such courses decrease the likelihood of such incidents.
It seems as if most gun safety courses don’t discuss such incidents at all. Most are focused on the basic rules of gun safety and gun storage.
However, if you do find a gun safety course that discusses such incidents then you might wish to consider it. Preventing an incident with a gun is rather complex. For example, storing a gun safely might prevent an accidental injury/death in the home.
On the other hand, if a gun gets stored away you might not be able to ward off a dangerous intruder when needed. You want to discuss such scenarios with your instructors. They might be able to advise you on what is the best course of action.
Types of Gun Safety Courses
You might have made up your mind on whether or not you should take gun safety courses. However, you want to look a bit deeper into the types of gun safety courses that get offered.
Even if you are an experienced shooter, these courses can offer the niche concentration you’ve been looking for.
Pistol Shooting
If you want to know the basics of shooting a handgun, then a pistol shooting course is best. Pistols are great for self-defense and for basic target practice.
This is a course that can benefit anyone, but it’s especially great for beginner gun owners.
Rifle Shooting
If you get interested in hunting or long-distance target practice, you want to master using a rifle. Rifles are more intricate and a gun safety course focused on rifles can teach you about their complexity.
You can learn about how and when to use a rifle scope, protecting yourself and others if shooting in a group, etc.
Shotgun Shooting
Shotguns are intimidating guns, for beginner and veteran shooters alike. These guns are great for target practice, but can also be crucial for saving your life. These are often a great complement to handguns at the home.
If you want to consider shooting a shotgun, you will get the best education from a gun safety course focused on them.
Self-Defense Courses
This will likely be one of the main reasons why you want to consider a gun safety course. These courses are intended to teach you how to use a gun when your life is in danger.
These courses can also help you prepare for when an intruder comes to your home or business. If you’ve never experienced such a situation, you might want to take such a course even if you have years of practice with firearms.
Keep Learning and Practicing
Now that you know the types of gun safety courses and their results, you can determine whether such courses are for you. We encourage you to take at least one gun safety course no matter what.
For beginners, they are a great way to learn how to shoot if you have no other means of learning. For seasoned shooters, you can learn niche skills and brush up on your practice.
If you do decide to take a gun safety course, make sure you check out the criteria that we recommend!
