Firearms Safety Course

* What are the most common types of accidents?

Accidents are classified into various categories, which are generally determined by the cause and the persons or things involved in the occurrence. Some of the most common types of accidents are:

- Home accidents

- Highway accidents involving vehicles

- Workplace accidents

According to one study, 40 % of accidents take place at home, particularly for child-related injuries.

* Where do most accidents occur?

Most home accidents occur in living or dining rooms. These are the places where children spend most of their time. On the other hand, the kitchen is also a common place for accidents at home because of sharp objects and hot surfaces. Slipping cases typically occur on stairs.

* What is the most common childhood accident and what can I do to prevent it?

Collision of the child with an object at home is one of the most common types of accidents for children. Often, they are hit with a falling object because they didn’t see it coming, or they collide with something when they fall. Another common childhood accident is swallowing a foreign object.

Keeping your toddlers away from objects larger than they are is one of the best ways to prevent childhood accidents. Also, keeping small, swallowable objects away from them is wise.

* How can I make my bathroom safer?

Bathrooms are tough because of their hard, slippery tiles and wet surfaces. Accidents like slipping can be a common problem. Safety should be prioritized for your bathrooms; here are some tips for you:

- Install at least one grab bar in your bath tub and one in your shower.

You may be a hunter traveling to Canada – especially Northern Canada for the hunting vacation of your dreams. You may be a simple tourist on a holiday “Up There” to the North to visit Canada. You may of heard of Canada’s gun laws and not now or be confused of the rules in regards to bringing in firearms into Canada as an American visiting Canada.

First and foremost – if you are unsure of the rules ask. Simple as that. In this day and age it is more than to simple to find out and enquire what the rules are in terms of bringing a gun into Canada – even if it is only for a vacation or hunting trip. You can visit websites – Canada and U.S. Customs, you can write or email. You can always phone Canada – be it Canada’s capital Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal of Vancouver.

In dealing with legalities and customs people it is always best to be on the safe side.

Of course that if possible printed documentation is always the best.

First as a basis, Canadian’s are not anywhere near as open in regards to guns and firearms as Americans both in terms of their culture and the law – both the general law and the laws in regards to customs. As always ignorance of the law is no excuse. Still if you follow the law, and stay with you will have no trouble. Your hunting trip at that pristine lodge in Northern Canada will remain the trip of your dreams and memories. Hopefully you will repeat your trip and return again and again.

Canada has introduced new firearms laws over the last number of years. These are intended to make Canada safer for both residents and visitors. No matter what you have to declare all firearms and weapons at Canada Customs when you enter Canada on your way up. To not declare the firearms, is considered a serious matter – then the firearms can indeed be seized and the holder may even face criminal charges. Along with your declaration of ownership of the firearms you may need the documents and documentation to prove that you are entitled to possess a firearm in Canada. In addition you will have to show that you can transport the weapons or firearms safely. Check the category and classification of your firearms. It is not always the same as at home. Some will fall into admissible categories some not. Remember that it the rule of the land of the law that matters- in this case you are in Canada, not the good old U.S.A.

Visitors to Canada can import non- restricted firearms for legitimate purposes such as sporting or hunting use during the hunting season , for use in competitions, in transit movements ( for example moving in a most possible direct transport route from point A to point B), and for personal protection against wildlife in remote areas of Canada. In all the cases above the firearms must be declared in writing. In the case of personal protection against wildlife, the Canada Customs officer must be satisfied that the circumstances warrant the firearm being imported.

I have to say I started all wrong. On my first real date with my wife, I took her out to go shooting. Now my wife did not know where we were going and had not really seen me since I had left for the Marines. We dated a few times in high school but never really hit it off. Imagine how she felt when I surprised her by pulling into the local gravel pit and pulling out a trunk full of guns, literally!

She took it pretty well, especially how I kept giving her new guns to shoot with many “tips” on why she was not hitting anything and amazingly enough, we later married. I took some courses to learn how to teach and not just shoot. Unfortunately, my wife was still not very comfortable with me having or carrying guns. It was not until an incident at the local Wal-Mart, where my wife felt we were being followed by a guy that had paid just a little too much attention to our kid that she started to think maybe carrying guns wasn’t such a bad idea.

I convinced her to give me another chance at the range, and we tried again. This time I looked at it from a new perspective, and not only did my wife do well, she actually enjoyed her time on the range. From this experience, I have created a set of guidelines to use when teaching someone how to shoot.

1. Do not pressure her. This is not boot camp; you will find that high-pressure tactics are counterproductive. Trying to pressure your wife to do something she does not want to do will only ensure she will never accept it.

2. Have the appropriate safety gear. Having eye and ear protection ready and explaining their use will help allay any fears. Also, before the firearms are introduced, go over the four basic firearm safety rules:

a. Every handgun is loaded, even if it is disassembled.
b. Never point your handgun at anything you do not intend to destroy.
c. Keep your handgun on safe until you are ready to fire.
d. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.

3. Start with a simple, small caliber firearm. Explain and show the basic operating principles of the firearm you use. For teaching long guns, I like either a .22 semi auto like a Ruger 10/22, or a single shot break action .410. If I am teaching pistol use I prefer a .22 or a .38 revolver. Make sure that if you start with a magazine fed firearm, you keep a ready supply of loaded magazines.

4. Do not use humanoid targets. If it’s an outdoor range and we are using long guns, I like stale cookies. They break in a satisfying way and are biodegradable. For pistols, a regular target turned around with a paper plate stapled to the center gives a large non-threatening target.

During the turbulent birth of our country, our forefathers gave us the right to bear arms via the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. There are many ongoing debates, pro & con on this topic.

I for one, am grateful for the 2nd Amendment. Having worked in the law enforcement field for several years, I fully understand that most often, police respond to a call well after the crime has been committed. Crime prevention is relinquished to the individual.

In those States that offers the privilege of offering conceal carry licenses, the crime rates have shown to be substantially less than those States with stringent gun control. New York & Washington D.C. Are prime example of States with strict anti-gun laws, yet their crime rates are well above average. Would you dare to stroll Central Park in the dark hours? One thing is for certain, Criminals will never have shortage of guns, no matter what State they happen to be in, and very often their firepower exceed those of our law enforcement agencies, we are however making great progress in that aspect.

Long ago, I made the decision that my home and family would be protected via firearms. This is a decision that may not be viable for all. Believing that brandishing a weapon toward an intruder will be all that is needed to safeguard your family, could be a fatal error! Protecting with a firearm requires a mind set of being able to use that firearm, to pull the trigger if the situation requires it, and continue to do so until the threat has been dealt with. This may sound harsh, but seasoned criminals will often be able to tell if home owner is using his weapon for show or is actually serious about using it.

There have been many instances where a home owner did not have the mind set to actually use his/her weapon, only to have it snatched by the intruder and get injured or killed by their own gun.

In my case, should an intruder invade my home and poses a threat to myself or loved ones, I will not hesitate to shoot him/her until the threat has been dealt with. My aim will be for center of mass, a double tap will be fired (2 shots), then I will evaluate the situation and if the threat persists will again fire until there is no more threats and the intruder if able follows my instructions. If a member of my family has not called 911 by that time, a call will be made for police help & medical services for the intruder.

All those living under my roof, have received training in the use of firearms and are quite proficient in their use. Having firearms in the home also requires extensive precautions in terms of safety. All my weapons are kept in either my large gun safe or in handgun safe boxes, out of reach from little fingers as well as out of sight. Only at bed time will I have handguns/shotgun out by our bed, a charged cell phone is also next to our bed during that time.

For many years, firearms have been considered effective defensive weapons. If you think things through you will realize that due to the deadly potential of guns they are really a poor choice for personal protection for the vast majority of people.

The use of firearms is unwarranted in most circumstances. Their use in any situation can have grave consequences. The use of a gun in defending one from an assault could be considered “excessive force” in many jurisdictions. It would be up to the victim to prove that a life-threatening situation occurred and deadly force had to be used. Please bear in mind that nearly 80% of all the assaults in our country are committed without weapons of any type. Increasingly it is taking place that even when the victim is not charged of a crime for using a licensed gun they could find themselves on the losing end of a civil lawsuit.

The intent of personal protection devices is to only distract and disable the attacker and be able to escape to get help. It is also known that most people using a gun for defense don’t know when to pull the trigger and when not to pull the trigger. Professional law enforcers have to go through intensive training in shoot and no shoot scenarios and yet they still sometimes get caught up in legal problems.

Believe it or not, using a handgun can actually be less effective at stopping an attacker than using self-defense devices such as defensive pepper spray or O C spray. Besides, assailants have been known to kill or seriously injure someone in a matter of minutes after they had been shot defensively, even many hours after being shot with so-called man stopper ammunition.

A firearm used defensively can be taken away from the intended victim and used against them. Even though it is a fact that defensive technology devises could be used by an assailant in the same manor against the victim, the consequences are not as potentially lethal.

Sometimes the emotional trauma and psychological effects of a victim shooting another person can be devastating. Even veteran law enforcement officers are many times affected, especially if the perpetrator is killed. Many victims are unprepared for the intense emotional aftermath of killing someone [even in self-defense] and whose agenda was to only protect him or herself. This scenario is a very real possibility when firearms are used.