How to Safely Store a Firearm

Every single year, almost 500 Americans die in the aftermath of unintentional shootings. In at least some of these cases, these deaths occur after people failed to store a firearm properly.

If you’re going to keep a gun in your home, learning how to safely store a firearm will be of the utmost importance. When you take the time to safely store a firearm, it will eliminate the chances of an unintentional shooting ever happening in your home.

We’ve created a list of firearm storage tips that you should commit to memory if you’re a gun owner. It’ll help you with storing a firearm in a way that will be safe for both you and other people who live in your home.

Check out our firearm storage safety tips below.

Begin by Making Sure You Buy a Firearm From the Right Place

First things first: If you’re going to buy a gun, you shouldn’t choose to buy it from just anywhere. You want to know that you’re purchasing a legit firearm that is going to work the way it’s supposed to.

It would be worth exploring which gun shops in your area have an FFL, which is short for Federal Firearms License. These will be the shops that you can rely on to help you get your hands on a legit gun from the start.

Pick Up a Trigger Lock for a Gun While Buying It

While you’re at a gun shop looking into buying a gun, there will also be a few gun accessories that you’ll want to consider purchasing. A gun holster, for example, will allow you to carry your new firearm around safely.

But don’t stop there. You should also explore the possibility of purchasing a trigger lock for your new gun. This trigger lock can be used to make it impossible for someone else to fire your gun without you unlocking it.

Placing a trigger lock on a gun may prevent you from pulling it out and using it at a moment’s notice. But it’s a great safety tool to have around, especially if you have kids living in your home.

Invest in a Gun Safe for Your New Firearm

Buying a trigger lock for your new gun will be a great start when it comes to figuring out how to safely store a firearm. But ideally, you want to stop others from being able to get their hands on your gun at all.

To do this, you should invest in a gun safe that will make it difficult for others to access your gun. A gun safe will also make it impossible for someone to steal your gun if they happen to break into your home.

There are some gun safes that will require you to make a sizeable investment. But these gun safes will be well worth it in the end when you consider how much safer they will make your home.

Unload a Firearm Before Putting It Into Your Gun Safe

Since you’re going to be storing a firearm in a gun safe, you might not see the sense in unloading it before you put it inside. But it’s always a good idea to get yourself into the habit of unloading your gun prior to putting it away.

You never know when you might forget to lock your gun safe or lock it up in the wrong way. This could turn into a problem if someone comes along and tries to open it.

As long as you take the ammunition out of your gun before putting it into your safe, you won’t have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands and going off. It’s not going to cause any trouble without ammo in it.

Keep Your Firearm Locked Up in a Different Place Than Your Ammunition

While it’s smart to remove ammo from a firearm before locking it up, doing this isn’t going to do you much good if you lock ammo up with it. Someone could, in theory, come along and load your gun and try to use it when you’re not around.

For this reason, you should always keep your gun locked up in a different part of your home than where you keep your ammo. It’ll make it much harder for someone to find your unloaded gun and put ammo in it.

Speak With Your Fellow Family Members About Not Touching Your Gun

If you’re going to welcome a gun into your home, you shouldn’t keep it a secret. You should let others know that you’re going to have the gun around.

You should also discuss firearm safety with your other family members. You should tell them that they are not to touch your gun and answer any questions they might have about gun safety.

By taking these steps, you’ll keep your home as safe as it can be even though you have a firearm in it.

Knowing How to Safely Store a Firearm Is So Important

You shouldn’t buy a firearm if you aren’t going to take gun safety seriously. There are far too many people getting hurt during gun-related accidents for you to mess around when it comes to being safe with a firearm.

Now that you know a little bit more about how to safely store a firearm, you should take the tips we’ve provided here and put them to good use. It’ll cut down on the chances of a gun-related accident taking place in your home anytime soon.

Get more great tips on keeping your home safe by browsing through our other blog articles.