People that have already been on the shooting range know how entertaining this can be. Trust us; when you first go there, you will barely wait to come again.
Yet, things are not as simple as you think. We understand that you can barely wait to try out your shooting skills. However, you also need to be careful. Before you go there, you need to educate yourself. Shooting is not a game. If you consider it only as an entertaining thing, then you might get hurt.
Fortunately, you found this article and you can improve your knowledge about safeness on the shooting range. We want to highlight some pieces of advice that will keep you protected. So, let’s get started.
Don’t Experiment Things!
Okay, we will start with one basic piece of advice. We all watch movies, don’t we? Well, forget about all the shooting scenes that you have seen in all the movies. Things are not going to be the same when you take a gun in your hands.
If you go to the shooting range for the first time, you mustn’t start shooting alone. Someone who has experience needs to be near you. You need to follow the instructions.
For example, there is a specific way of how you hold different types of guns. Most people think that they can hold the gun in one hand. Logically, they have seen that in movies. We do not want to say that you won’t be able to do that. Yet, you probably won’t be able to do that in the right way immediately.
There is one thing that we have seen often. Some people are trying to fire with a sideways grip. Well, that is something you should completely avoid. This is not Hollywood; this is reality. If you plan to do this, there is a big chance you will end up with hot brass casings ejecting into your face. Despite that, we can’t guarantee that your wrist is going to stay safe. The biomechanics of shooting will ensure that injury if you do not hold the gun in the right way.
Finally, the recoil always sends a firearm upward when shooting. When you shoot in this way, your hand will go on the left side. This is an extremely dangerous situation! Keep in mind that other shooters are around you.
The Gun Needs to Be Pointed in a Safe Direction
Okay, this is another basic safety rule. We can connect it with the previous one. Read the next sentence carefully.
The gun needs to be pointed in a safe direction, always!
Do not point a gun at anything that you do not tend to shoot. This especially counts when you plan to load or unload a firearm. We do not want to be negative here. Yet, different injuries and accidents can happen if you do that.
A safe direction is a direction in which a bullet can’t strike anyone, including you. We have noticed many times that people point the gun in their face. For example, they want to check if everything is okay with the gun. That’s not something you should ever do! In absolutely every moment, you need to control the direction of the gun.
Don’t Talk with Other Shooters
As we said, the concentration of each shooter needs to be on a high level. People come here for one simple reason – they want to practice their marksmanship. However, it seems that not all people come here for the same reason. That’s why you can hear some people talking about the movie, TV shows, and other things irrelevant at the moment.
There is enough time to talk about everything. If you come with someone, you talk with that person after you finish practicing. Besides that, you are not only disturbing yourself. You are distracting other shooters that are around you.
Despite that, we strongly recommend that you do not criticize or comment on the way others shoot. Do that only if you are a trained instructor that is paid by a client to give directions. We are sure that you do not have enough experience to be an instructor. With the comments that you give, you are putting the other shooter under pressure. Because of that, he can make some mistakes and those mistakes can lead to accidents.
Don’t Forget to Use Safe Equipment
This is quite important and we need to analyze it in detail. There are a couple of items that you need to have when going to the shooting range.
First of all, every shooter should wear protective shooting glasses. Your eyes need to be safe in absolutely every moment. These glasses will protect you from springs, spring tension parts, solvents, etc. This is also a piece of advice for hunters.
Despite that, you should have some form of hearing protectors while shooting. Well, if you have never been here, then you do not know how loud shooting can be. Believe it or not, the exposure to shooting noise can damage your hearing. We do not want to say that something like this is always going to happen. Yet, it is better to stay safe.
Finally, something that you should have is an armor carrier. Some people think that this piece of equipment is unnecessary. Yet, even on the shooting range, you need to protect your body. We are sure that not many people possess this piece of equipment at home. That’s why you should visit galls.com and check which product they offer.
Avoid Focusing on Speed
It is not the point to focus on speed. This is a piece of advice for all the shooters including the more experienced ones. If you are at the shooting range for the first time, then you should start slow. Rapid movements can cause some huge mistakes that will reduce the level of safety. You should rather choose to focus on the correct form. The speed of your shooting will improve over time. You do not need to act like you are a professional.
