What Does the Red Dot Mean?
All our lives we are taught that red means “STOP”. Red stop signs tell us to stop and look before entering the intersection. Traffic lights have red, yellow and green. Green means go. Yellow means caution, and slow down. Red means to stop. On a firearm, there is a red dot. What does the red dot mean?
When it comes to firearms, red means, ready to fire. Your firearm should have a safety that locks the firearm from being able to fire. When the safety is on you cannot see the red dot. When the safety is taken off there is a red dot, which means the firearm is now ready to fire.
Once a firearm’s red dot is exposed it should be handled with even more care. Even if you are not sure if the firearm is loaded or not, you must treat it as though it is. To be extra cautious any gun you find should be treated as though it is loaded.
Treating a Firearm as if Loaded
Unless you are the person who unloaded the firearm you should not “trust” that it is. Why is it important to treat a firearm as if it loaded? The answer to that is simple because you do not want to be responsible for accidentally firing the gun and possibly injuring or killing someone.
Educating Everyone in the House
It hopefully makes sense that the person who owns the firearm should know how to fire it, take care of it and be safe with the firearm. However, what some people forget or don’t realize is that everyone in the house should be educated on what do if the firearm is accidentally left out.
Taking Care of your Firearm
A firearm is a tool, and just like any tool, it can malfunction. Understanding how your firearm works is essential to keeping you and your family safe. Also, be sure to keep your firearm cleaned. Just like maintaining your vehicle, if you don’t it starts to break down and not work properly.
Separate Ammunition and the Firearm
When storing your firearm it is important to store your firearm and ammunition in different locations. It is also essential to put each in a locked container. This is a safety measure so that if by some chance the firearm storage box is opened there is no way to fire the firearm.
Being a firearm owner is not something to be taken lightly. It is a big responsibility. Being sure that when you do store your firearm, the safety is on, hiding the red dot, and that it is stored by itself. Being sure that the firearm is not stored with the ammunition is a key piece to keeping everyone in your home safe.
Firearms, by themselves, are not dangerous. They become dangerous when they are not stored properly, not unloaded properly or not maintained properly. They can also be dangerous if left out around people who do not know and have not been educated about how to handle firearms. Being an educated, smart firearm owner can keep accidents from happening.