How To Avoid Accidental Gun Injuries In Your Home
Posted on: 25 April 2017
Merely keeping your gun under lock and key isn't enough; people have found ways to break into "safe" locks, even kids. Therefore, you need other measures to ensure that your guns won't be stolen or cause injury in your home. These additional measures will help:
Unload the Guns
It's easier for a loaded gun to cause an accidental injury than an unloaded one. For example, even a toddler with a loaded gun can cause a fatal injury. Therefore, make sure your gun is stored in its unloaded state, and only load the gun when you wish to use it. That way you reduce the chances of the gun going off accidentally.
Store Ammunition Away from Guns
Even if the gun is unloaded, it is still dangerous if you store it in the same place with its ammunition. An authorized person who knows how to load a gun can still get both (gun and ammunition) and cause an injury. Store the two in different locations to make it difficult for an authorized person to get to both.
Use Trigger Locks
For added safety, lock up your gun's trigger so that it can't be accidentally or intentionally fired by an authorized user. If your gun didn't come with a trigger lot (some don't), you can get one from the dealer. There are different locks with different mechanisms, but they all perform the same function. For example, some locks clamp down on the trigger so that it can't be manipulated. Others disable the action of rifles and shotguns so that they can't be closed. A trigger lock may not be foolproof, but it's one more layer of safety for your stored guns.
Teach All Family Members About Gun Safety
Locking up your gun and its trigger is helpful and necessary, but human beings are ingenious and some of your family members may still find a way to get to and use the gun. Therefore, teach all your family members how to handle guns safely so that in case they do get their hands on your gun, they won't accidentally shoot people. Don't assume that since the gun is yours and it's constantly under lock and key, you are the only one who should know how to handle it.
Hopefully, your guns will be forever safe and you will never have an accidental shooting in your home. If such an accident does occur, however, know that home insurance typically covers accidental gun injuries at home. Of course, the coverage only applies if you weren't engaged in any criminal act at the time of the injury. For more information, contact a business such as Ronald H. Krupa Insurance Agency.
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