Handgun Safety for Women
Before you run to the nearest gun shop, ask – and answer – a few questions.
“Am I comfortable with handguns?” Not every woman will be better off with a gun. In some cases, people – men AND women – are more dangerous than their would-be attackers. If you are extremely nervous around firearms, you should:
A)avoid them as much as possible. (This means no NRA picnics, unfortunately.)
B)spend time using them so that you can become more comfortable. This usually means going to shooting ranges and taking safety courses, both of which will require your time and dedication.
C)taking a self-defense course or learning how to use other tools or weapons.
“Will I have the time and finances necessary for this?” Let’s say that you decided to take up music. You bought a guitar. You paid a few hundred bucks for it, as well as a bit more for lessons. You were committed to it. You were going to learn how to rock out like the big stars.
But instead, you didn’t have time to practice outside of your half-hour lessons. You had other things to do. You had to work, care for the family, go to church, whatever. Eventually you didn’t even bother with lessons anymore, and the guitar moved into the storage closet on the second floor.
The guitar does you no good. Neither would a handgun if you treated it the same way. It would be a waste of money. While you CAN impress your friends by saying that you own a guitar, most peoples’ jaws aren’t going to hit the sidewalk when they hear that you have a gun.
“Is there another way of accomplishing the same thing?” You should think about other means of self-defense before you visit the shooting range or gun store. Even if you are completely committed to getting a gun, you should still consider alternatives. Why? Because a handgun might not be the ideal solution in every situation. Sometimes you might find that martial arts training works equally well, or even better. The bonus is that you get a little bit of a workout while you kick the snot out of that idiotic purse snatcher.
If you’ve decided that a gun is right for your needs, these tips will help you start a comfortable and safe journey to responsible gun ownership.
-Select a gun that you can hold and fire easily. Some models are designed specifically for women. They feature smaller handgrips for our smaller hands, for example. Some are also designed with enclosed or protected hammers, which makes it easier to retrieve these guns from purses or handbags without catching them on straps. Imagine how stupid you would look if that happened to you. Now imagine a purse snatcher seeing it live in action as he tries to get your cash. Okay, so maybe it’s good because he’ll be laughing too hard to continue the robbery, but it won’t make you feel any better.
One of the best ways to figure out which model works best is to visit shooting ranges. Many will rent or loan you different models so that you can test fire them until you find something that you like. You can also do this at a gun store, although the gun won’t be loaded when you do it.
-Take as many licensing, safety and instruction courses as possible. The NRA, among other organizations, can give you an abundance of information about these classes. Many are very affordable and are held in or near your area. The more you are taught by professionals, the more comfortable you will be when you are on your own.
These courses also give you plenty of chances to fire your gun in a controlled environment with professionals all around to give you pointers. Another advantage is that – lo and behold – you might actually LIKE your gun enough to begin competition shooting. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but there are plenty of people who shoot simply because they enjoy the competition. You’ll never know whether or not you fall into that category unless you give it a try.
-Even after the training is over, spend regular hours at the shooting range to stay in practice. Your schedule might not allow for weekly visits, but you can probably spend part of a day every month at the range. This practice will continue your familiarity with the weapon and make you an even better shot – both of which are vital if you want to remain safe.
-Practice safe carrying and handling. Your instructors will give you plenty of information on this. It might even be required before you can carry your handgun. One example of safe handling is to always treat the firearm as if it is fully loaded and ready to fire, even if it is sitting with its clip dropped and all safeties on. It is better to be safe than full of holes, after all.
-Maintain the firearm diligently. Regular cleaning and inspections will keep it in fine shape, which will maintain its safety. Dirty, mistreated guns are much more dangerous than clean, well-kept ones.
-Keep this firearm away from your children. The only possible exception is to allow them to accompany you to the firing range, where they can see exactly what it will do. This also lets them see all of the gun owners on the range practicing safe handling. It’s nothing like the movies, where the good AND bad guys run around with semi-automatics tucked into their waistbands or pointed at everyone they meet.
You should also instruct them to never touch it, or any other firearm, and to immediately tell an adult if they find one at a friend’s house. The more your children know about firearms, the less likely they will be to let curiosity get the best of them.
If your children are still curious – as many kids can be – enroll them in safety courses designed for their age groups. Their curiosity will be satisfied and nobody will be hurt.
-Make sure that all licensing and paperwork, including applicable registration, is in order at all times. Some paperwork must be renewed, so keep on top of it. The last thing that you want is to be caught carrying an unlicensed firearm that you thought was squared away.
-Know the laws on the federal, state and local level. As the gun owner and carrier, YOU are responsible for knowing and obeying any laws that apply to you.
-Do not put yourself in situations where you might be forced to use your handgun. The smartest, bravest and most intelligent thing that any human being, man or woman, can do is to think ahead and prevent as many bad situations as possible. Just because you have a .44 Magnum – a regular cannon of a gun – does not mean that you should walk into dark alleys, clutching hundred-dollar bills and screaming, “Go ahead and try to mug me, you punks!”
-Use your head. Common sense plays a very large part in gun safety of all types. Even the toughest, most macho hunters wear bright orange vests over their camouflage. Even the best competition shooters know better than to jokingly point their firearms at friends. If people who have enjoyed guns for years do these things, then so should you.
We all hope and pray that we never have to use handguns against other people, but many of us prepare ourselves for the possibility anyway. Fortunately, your intelligence and common sense – as well as your ability to plan ahead and think before you do something dangerous – will prevent many opportunities for would-be attackers.
