There is nothing quite like a crisis to shock one into the realization that society is very very fragile and that your safety is ultimately your own. With that realization COVID-19 has produced a lot of new gun owners. I mean A LOT. NICS has been broken more than usual and stores are barren. The back stock of firearms isn’t gone… yet. It has been depleted significantly.
Reminds me of the Obama era panics… ah, those certainly were times.
(Above) Six minutes on handling the pistol overall. Thanks to Sig Sauer. Watch to completion please, you should have time at home.
Anyway for those newbies. Welcome! Now please, pay attention.
To start with, your semi-automatic pistol, Glock or otherwise, works in a manner similar to the video below. Handling it shouldn’t be a nerve wracking experience (although I know it will be for many, and that is okay) when you take it out of the box or get ready to shoot it for the first time.
Take all this available time and read that owners manual. Don’t open that box of ammunition or worry about the magazines or any of that stuffy until you do, please.
Take. Your. Time.
You may have bought a gun due to an emergency but learning about your newest tool is something to be paced calmly and as you understand any given topic.
I’m not going to hound the 4 safety rules here. They are all over everywhere else, including the literature that came with your pistol which you should also be reading.
Don’t rely on just your one friend who knows guns to tell you all about it either. They are, probably, not a professional firearms instructor. Regardless of how well meaning and enthusiastically helpful they wish to be take their advice with a trust but verify mentality. This is where YouTube becomes an asset, it is chalk full of real firearm instructors covering various topics. The danger is that it is chalk full of everyone else too, no matter how well meaning. Look for videos by or sponsored by groups like the NSSF and the professional firearm academies. Take your time and rewatch them. Ratings are another good gauge on whether or not a video has some information worth your time.
Allow me to simplify safety into ONE rule of overall attitude and thinking.
When you pull the trigger the gun IS going to fire.
If you keep that one concept in mind while you’re learning and beginning to adsorb the other information, you will do fine. Be patient with yourself.
Another function video of exceptional detail that covers the AR-15 and M16 specifically. The details are similar with most semi-automatic rifles, minus the automatic fire parts. It will give you an excellent place to orient yourself on the various parts in any semi-automatic just as the Glock animation gives you a reference for most semi-auto pistols.
Firearms aren’t the same, but they are similar. With a knowledge base and a little GoogleFu you can probably figure out the differences between these two specific examples and your own.
Again, welcome new owners. Please take your time and ask questions, be patient, and if someone is not being patient with you ask somebody else.
