BEGINNERS GUIDE FOR NEW HANDGUN OWNERS

The Beginners Guide for New Handgun Owners is an effort on our part to help educate and help provide useful tips for new gun owners. There are literally millions of new gun owners in the United States since the initial Covid-19 pandemonium began. The rush to purchase a firearm has only been compounded by the riots and civil unrest. 

New gun owners mean there are a lot more individuals who need to be educated on how to properly handle a firearm. Specifically, we’re focusing on handgun safety in this article. The goal of this series of videos is to provide a resource for new gun owners who are searching for some basics and fundamentals. This series is by no means the be all end all of for knowledge regarding handgun ownership, but it is a great introduction to the basics. We can provide the tool (handgun) but it’s your duty as a responsible gun owner to further your education and become a responsible and well-trained member of the 2A community. 

THE 4 BASICS OF FIREARMS SAFETY

1) Treat every firearm as if it was loaded

2) Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire

3) Muzzle awareness. Never point your firearm at anything you’re not willing to destroy.

4) Know your target and what is beyond/behind it.

PROPER GRIP

It is important to establish a proper grip on your handgun in order to maintain better control and manage the recoil of your pistol while shooting. 

PROPER STANCE

Now that you have your GRIP figured out, it’s time to work on your STANCE. The goal here is to put your body in a stable position where you are comfortable, relaxed, and have the proper weight distribution to help you absorb the recoil once you are ready to start shooting. 

PROPER SIGHT ALIGNMENT

Once you have your grip figured out, your next step is to understand how to properly align the sights on your handgun. Proper sight alignment is an extremely important aspect of accuracy. Where your sights line up is where your bullet will hit. If improperly aligned you will not hit your mark. 

PROPER SIGHT ALIGNMENT (RED DOT/OPTIC VERSION)

If you are not planning to shoot a Red Dot or Optic you can skip this video if you’d like. Shooting a handgun with a Red Dot/Optic mounted provides its own challenges. This is why we are addressing it separately from the Iron Sight Alignment video. When shooting with a Red Dot/Optic mounted to your handgun your bullet will hit where you see the dot. With Red Dot/Optic, you do not need to be concerned with lining up your iron sights AND your dot together. You only need to place the dot in your optic window on the target. 

PROPER TRIGGER PULL

OK… You have a good GRIP… You’re in a good stable STANCE… You have your SIGHTS ALIGNED… Now for the exciting part. The TRIGGER PULL. This is VERY important. A good trigger pull is essential when it comes to accuracy. If your sights are properly aligned and you “break” the trigger without moving your sights, your shot will hit the target in the spot where you are aiming. It sounds very easy but it WILL take some practice. 

DRY-FIRE PRACTICE

You now have the basics down. You won’t always be able to get to your local range to practice with live ammo but you can practice honing your skills in between trips to the range. One option is Dry-Fire Practice. The MOST IMPORTANT part of this exercise/practice is ensuring that your firearm is safe and unloaded. In fact, having your ammo locked in the safe during this exercise is advised.