An Easy Guide To Safely Using Air Guns

If you are the proud owner of an air gun, you should read this brief guide for owning and using your gun safely. This is the best way to keep yourself safe, protect your gun and property from damage, and avoid accidents involving third parties. From choosing the right pellets to knowing how and where to store your gun and ammunition, these pieces of advice are potentially life-saving. Read on for some top tips for air gun safety.

Choose The Right Pellets

There is a wide array of different air pellets to choose from, ranging in caliber and shape. These differences offer pros and cons that you should consider based on your specific needs. It is easier to hit a target with a small .177 caliber pellet than a larger .22 caliber option, for instance. Moreover, if you are using your air gun for pest control, consider choosing domed pellets. These tend to have the best accuracy, and this is essential for a clean, ethical kill.

Depending on what you intend to do with your air gun, you can choose the pellets accordingly. Hollowpoint pellets are designed to spread on impact to cause more damage, while target pellets offer a clean punch through a paper target, making them great for target competitions. Check out these .177 caliber pellets to see the various options available to you. Do not forget to read all safety instructions when your pellets arrive so that you can practice safe shooting.

Always Treat An Air Gun As If It Were Loaded

The best way to ensure your safety and the well-being of those around you is to always act as though your air gun were loaded, even if you know that it is not. This will prevent accidents from happening, like accidentally shooting someone at close range, which could cause grave injury, or even death if the pellet were to hit the eye socket, for instance.

You should hold and carry your air gun with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times. This means you should never have your gun pointed at yourself, a friend, an animal, or a breakable object, even if you are confident it is not loaded. In fact, your air gun should never be loaded until you are about to use it. As well as this, the safety should be kept on the gun until you are about to shoot.

Keeping your finger out of the trigger guard until ready to shoot is another simple but super effective way of avoiding dangerous mistakes.

Proper Air Gun Storage and Transportation

Always keep control of your gun. This is the best way to avoid mishandling, accidental shootings, and damage. If you stash your gun between sofa cushions, show it to your friends, or keep it in your purse, which can be left lying around, you do not have control over who might handle the gun and what they could do with it. This includes children or elderly family members.

You should store your air gun in a locked cabinet or box, separate from the ammunition and power source. These measures will prevent it from being used by anyone who is not authorized to do so. Moreover, you should always transport your air gun in a gun case. Not only will this protect your air gun, but a gun case is the only way to legally transport it in many areas. 

Finally, never brandish or show your air gun in public, as this could be perceived as a threat, or cause an accidental shooting situation. Keep yourself and others safe and keep your gun in its case.

Safe Shooting Practices

As mentioned above, having the correct pellets is essential for safe air gun use. You should only ever shoot the correct caliber and type of ammunition that your gun was designed to shoot. You can check its manual to be certain. Never attempt to reuse fired, damaged, or deformed pellets, as they could lodge in the barrel.

When you have the correct pellets loaded in your gun, do not shoot them at a hard surface or the surface of the water as a ricochet may occur. Always be aware of what your target is and what is behind it. This will avoid rash shooting or unforeseen damage. Never attempt to use or handle your gun when intoxicated, as you will not have full control over your body and reactions, and you could be charged with breaking the law. Last but not least, perform regular maintenance on your air gun. 

Be Safe!

This has been a brief guide to owning, loading, storing, and shooting an air gun safely. If you follow the advice laid out here, you should find that you are keeping yourself and those around you safe from harm, while enjoying your air gun. Happy shooting, and remember to put safety first, always.

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