5 Short Training Videos Every New Gun Owner Should Watch

First the good news during a tough time. As a result of the declaration of a national emergency, America now has thousands, maybe tens of thousands of new gun owners. Not just owners of new guns…people who are new to gun ownership.

Whether that translates into more support for gun rights down the road is a matter of debate (see this post if you want to discuss the point). We certainly hope so.

The bad news, though, is that very few of those new gun owners can get out to shoot their new guns at a range, let alone take a basic safety or marksmanship 101 type of class. Like most of us, they’re stuck at home for the foreseeable future.

That doesn’t mean, however, that they can’t do some things to prepare themselves for success before they ever fire a live round.

YouTube has thousands of training videos — some good, some not so much — that new gun owners can watch. There are also plenty of at-home drills (dry fire practice) to start learning the basics of safe gun handling, the proper grip and good trigger finger position.

Here are five short videos to get you started, beginning with the late, great R. Lee Ermey and Team GLOCK going over the Four Rules of Firearm Safety.

 

Once you have that down, you need to know how to properly grip your new handgun.

 

Getting the right grip on your gun is good, but trigger finger placement is important, too.

 

“Dry fire” practice is something every gun owner can do at home at any time. It costs nothing and is a great way to improve your shooting from the comfort of your own home.

 

Finally, here’s a dry fire drill you can do to improve your grip and trigger pull. If you can’t put an empty cartridge or a penny on your gun’s front site, try putting one on top of the slide.