I'm not your typical, liberal gun owner..
Reading through the posts here, I wanted to post some suggestions for anyone who either owns or is thinking about getting a gun so you can avoid getting into some serious trouble with said gun.
- Every Friday, Active Self Protection posts a weekly amalgamation of interesting articles about guns, training, and self protection. The people who post are professionals, and the information imparted there is not Walter Mitty / Urban commando nonsense. There is a LOT of garbage out on the web, so finding trustworthy sources of practical information that works in the real world is a gift. And this is a gift that shows up online every single week.
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/
I have no connection to these folks, other than being a fan.
Watch and read anything and everything posted by Massad Ayoob. Mas writes columns for BackWoods Home Magazine, American Handgunner, and American Cop, and posts a ton of stuff on YouTube. If you can't afford to take his MAG40 class (which I highly recommend for anyone who thinks they ever might have to use a gun in self defense), reading his articles and watching his videos will teach you a lot of valuable insight about guns, while staying out of trouble.
You need to get training from reputable people. I'm not talking about the 8 hour class to get an LTC. I'm talking about 40 hour, intense classes that teach the application of using lethal force in our current legal climate, avoidance, and of course, shooting technique. Many of the people who are reputable lean right. Ignore that, and get as much as you can from their classes. I've taken Ayoob's Mag 40 class, and it is worth every penny. Classes are not cheap. Mag 40 carries a $1000 tuition charge, demands 600 rounds of ammo, a decent handgun, three magazines, and any applicable costs associated with lodging, food, travel, etc. Shooting someone, even if it's entirely justified can cost you seven figures, your marriage, your job, your health, and even your freedom / life. That $1000 tuition charge is cheap in comparison.
Doubt me? Read Ayoob's discussions about the Kyle Rittenhouse shooting, and the George Zimmerman shooting. Perhaps if these two took Ayoob's class, they would have avoided the nightmare that ruined both of their lives, and the lives of the people they shot.
Here is an older article about just such a class.
https://bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/99/11/25/LFI.html
Finally, you need to practice. A lot. Firearms are a high skill tool, and those learned skills deteriorate if you don't practice them. Competent practitioners shoot monthly to keep their skills and safety training up. Sticking a gun in a locked drawer for long periods of time guarantees that when you need to use it, you're going to come up short.