A 50-year-old man from Poland named Jan N. was visiting the U.S.
While in the country, he decided to go to The Training Range, which is a gun store located in Austintown, Ohio.
Gun ownership is not common in Poland, because to have firearms, they must first acquire a permit to do so.
While at the gun range, Jan was trying to clear the pistol’s chamber when he accidentally fired the gun.
The bullet struck another shooter in the foot, and Jan was charged with negligent assault for the shooting.
A local gun club president said, “The only reason the gun would go off is if you had that trigger pulled.”
This story highlights the reason you need to obviously be aware of other shooters at the range who might not follow the firearm safety rules.
Plus, it’s important to remember that there are shooters of all different experience levels at shooting ranges.
Now, aside from training, a big reason I think everyone should visit a gun range is to test out guns before buying them.
You see, the average gun costs between $400-$800, so you want to ensure it fits your hand well and you enjoy shooting it before shelling out the money.
This is why I think everyone should go to a gun shop and rent the gun they are looking to buy before purchasing it.
Considering this, here are a few things you should do at the gun range to test out a gun:
Weight:
One of the most important things when choosing a gun is the weight of the firearm and whether it’s too much.
I don’t mean just holding the gun in your hand.
Rather, you should put the gun in a holster on your hip or how you intend to carry it.
Decide if it’s too much weight or if you barely notice it.
Walk around and get a feel for it.
In addition, when on the range line you should extend out to your shooting position and hold the gun there.
For instance, if you were dealing with a threat and had to hold them at gunpoint until police arrived you want to make sure you can do it.
You will be surprised how quickly your arms get tired when you hold your gun for even just minutes.
Trigger:
Ask the gun shop if you can dry-fire the pistol that you rented.
You will learn a lot about the gun by doing a few minutes of dry fire practice.
You will get an idea if the trigger is smooth or if it’s terrible.
Another thing to feel for is how much slack there is in the trigger.
The feel of the trigger is a personal preference that everyone will have different preferences on.
Recoil:
The biggest reason you want to rent a gun before buying it is so that you can decide if it’s a weapon you can safely handle it.
If you fire the gun and the recoil is so strong that it flies back and hits you in the face, then it’s probably too much for you.
So, practice firing the gun, as well as follow-up shots to determine if you can manage the recoil and fire-accurate follow-up shots.
Magazine release/slide manipulation:
You want to ensure that your hands are big enough to manipulate the functions of the firearm.
For instance, you want to be able to comfortably reach the magazine release, that you can pull the slide back, etc.
The thing is, you want to make sure you can do these things with ease.
During a stressful situation, you don’t want to struggle to hit the mag release or to rack the slide.
Make sure you have the hand strength to pull the slide back and lock it in place.
Spend a good amount of time shooting and handling the weapon.
