You just bought a gun, now what?

If you’re like five million other Americans, you bought your first gun this year. If you’re also like a lot of other first time gun owners, you’re wondering what you’re supposed to do now. How do I store it? How do I transport it? Can I carry it in public? How much ammo do I need? How do I learn how to use it? These are very common questions, especially for first-time gun owners.

Transporting a gun in a car

One of the first and most important aspects of owning a firearm is how to transport it. After all, the first thing you’ll be doing is taking it home from a gun store. A good rule of thumb is that if your gun is in some sort of container out of reach and separate from the ammo, you can drive pretty much anywhere in the country. There are some restrictions to this but odds are it won’t be a problem if you go straight from the store to your home. What about driving from home to the range or anywhere else? Well, the federal interstate transportation of firearms code states;

“Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.”

Basically, this means that if you keep the gun in a locked case, separate from the ammo, you can drive anywhere you want with a firearm in a car as long as you’re legally allowed to possess that firearm at your destination.

Storing a gun at home

Now that you’re home, how are you going to store it? This is a big question for folks who have children in the home or anyone else that you don’t want to access your gun. You see that cable lock that came with your new gun in the box? Throw that away. Trigger locks, cable locks, or any other lock that attaches to your gun are garbage and unsafe. If you do want to lock your gun away from others, you need to spend the money on a small gun safe. There are a lot of options but be aware that you get what you pay for. Cheaper safes may keep kids out but will do nothing to stop a thief who wants to get at your gun. Keep in mind that safes just buy you time. With enough time and tools, anyone can get into any safe. You also need to think about how quick the access to the safe is by you. Can you access it quickly in the dark in a highly stressful situation? There are some biometric safes that I’ve personally tested with impressive results but they are more expensive. The important thing is keeping the gun out of reach of people who shouldn’t have access. Everything after that should be about how quickly and easily you can access it when you need to.

How much ammo do I need for my gun?

Well, that depends. If you plan on getting training and practicing that training you’ll need a lot. Personally, I don’t buy less than 1000 rounds at a time but I do a lot of training. It’s not uncommon for me to use 500-1000 rounds in a single day of heavy training. If you only plan on going to the range every once in a while, you can get away with a couple hundred rounds to keep at home. If you’re planning on using your gun for home defense you need self-defense rounds. It’s important that you buy 2 boxes. Shoot one box through your gun to make sure it functions properly and keep the rest for home. Defensive rounds are extremely important to use in the home. The basic idea of defensive rounds is to dump all of the bullet’s energy into a target and to not over-penetrate. The last thing to want to do is stop a threat but have your bullet go through a threat and into another room where a family member is. Keep target ammo for the range and defensive ammo for defense.

Can I carry my gun in public?

That depends on your state laws. Every single state has some sort of carry option or permit. Some states are far more restrictive than others so be sure to look at the laws regarding your state’s carry options. If you’re allowed to carry on your person, be sure to get some sort of training on the best ways to carry and deploy a firearm from a holster. That sort of training could save your life or the life of someone you love.

How do I learn how to use my gun?

This is the last and most important question. If the gun store you’re buying from has a range, see if they can throw in a free lesson on how to properly handle, shoot, breakdown, and clean your new gun. If they don’t, be sure to look for local firearms trainers in your area that offer the same service. Just having a piano doesn’t make you Beethoven so just owning a gun doesn’t mean you’ll know how to use it. Once you’ve learned how to handle and shoot, get with a reputable trainer and learn the basics of self-defense with a gun. Just being able to shoot a gun is a small fraction of the information you’ll need to know in an actual life or death situation. You can look at videos all day long but unless you have a good trainer to spot your bad techniques, you’re just going to reinforce poor habits.

If you are a new gun owner I hope this article has helped just a little. You’ve already taken the first step in assuming responsibility for your own safety but you’ve got some more work to do.