Lesson 3. PISTOL OPERATION, SAFETY RULES and CLEANING GUIDELINES

Safety must be the first concern when handling a pistol or any types of firearm. The need for caution exists wherever guns are located – at home, on the shooting range, or in the field.

Most gun accidents are caused by ignorance and carelessness. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge about how to safely handle a gun. Carelessness is, knowing the gun safety rules and how to properly operate a gun, but being careless in properly applying this knowledge.

There are three fundamental rules of gun safety must always be applied when handling or using a gun:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction – This rule means that a gun must always be pointed so that even if it were unintentionally discharged, it won’t cause injury or damage.

ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot – When holding a gun, a person has a natural tendency to place the index finger on the trigger. DON’T DO IT! Instead, while pointing the gun in a safe direction, rest your finger along the side of the gun. Never touch the trigger until actually ready to fire the gun.

ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use – Whenever picking up a gun, keep it pointed in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger, and immediately open the action and look into the chamber to be sure that it is empty. For semi-automatics, remove the magazine before opening the action.

How to safely operate a Revolver:

To load:

1. Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and with the trigger finger off the trigger, use shooing hand place the pistol in the support hand.
2. Release the cylinder latch with the shooting hand thumb, and push the cylinder out with the two middle fingers of the support hand.
3. Continuing to hold the pistol in the support hand, point the muzzle in a safe direction and use the shooting hand to load the cartridges into the chambers of the cylinder.
4. Re-grip the pistol with the shooting hand, and use the support hand to push the cylinder closed.

To Cock:

1. Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and with the trigger finger off the trigger, grip the gun with the shooting hand.
2. Using the thumb of the support hand pull the hammer all the way to the rear until it locks in place.

To Uncock:

1. Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and with the trigger finger off the trigger, place the support thumb between the hammer and the frame.
2. Place the thumb of the shooting hand firmly on the cocked hammer. While controlling the hammer, pull the trigger to release the hammer; use the thumb of the shooting hand gently lower the hammer against the thumb of the support hand.
3. While continuing to control the hammer with the shooting hand thumb, carefully remove the support hand thumb form the under the hammer, and use the shooing hand thumb to slowly lower the hammer completely.

To Unload:

1. Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and with the trigger finger off the trigger, use shooing hand place the pistol in the support hand.
2. Release the cylinder latch with the shooting hand thumb, and push the cylinder out with the support hand.
3. Place the thumb of the support hand on the ejector rod.
4. Elevate the muzzle in a safe direction. Use the support hand thumb firmly push the ejector rod completely to the rear; the loaded cartridges (or empty cartridge cases) will be pushed out of the chambers by the action of the ejector rod. Use the right hand to catch the ejected cartridges.
5. Inspect the chambers to be sure that they are empty.
6. Gently close the empty cylinder. (Never roughly open or close the cylinder, it can damage the cylinder, or the cylinder latch.)

How to safely operate a Semi-Automatic:

To load:

1. Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and the trigger finger off the trigger, hold the pistol in the shooing hand.
2. Inspect the pistol to be sure that the magazine has been removed. (If the magazine is still in the pistol, remove it by activating the magazine release.)
3. Use the left hand to move the slide to the rear. If the pistol has a slide stop, use it to keep the slide open.
4. Inspect the chamber to be sure that it is empty, and lay the pistol down with the muzzle pointing in a safe direction.
5. Hold the magazine in the support hand, and load the magazine by pushing the cartridges down into and toward the rear of the magazine. When finished, lay the magazine down in a secure place.
6. Pick up the pistol with the shooting hand, being sure to keep the pistol pointed in a safe direction and the trigger finger off the trigger.
7. Use the support hand insert the loaded magazine into the pistol until it is locked into place.
8. Use the support hand grasp the rear portion of the slide and move the slide completely to the rear, and then release the slide so that is can move forward, and load the first cartridge from the top of the magazine into the chamber.
9. The pistol is now loaded, cocked and ready to fire.

To uncock:

As mentioned earlier, because of the large number of different mechanical designs, semi-automatic pistols vary greatly in operation. The many different methods, of uncocking all of these various models are too numerous to describe here, Therefore, the best source of information for detailed instructions is the instruction manual for the pistol or a knowledgeable firearm instructor.

To Unload:

1. Keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and the trigger finger off the trigger, hold the pistol in the shooing hand.
2. Push the magazine release, and remove the magazine from the pistol.
3. Grasp the rear portion of the slide with the left hand and move the slide completely to the rear, ejecting the cartridge from the chamber.
4. Visually and physically inspect the chamber to be sure that it is empty.

Pistol cleaning

A pistol is a valuable piece of precision equipment. It must be given proper care to ensure proper and reliable operation. A pistol should be cleaned every time that it is used. If a pistol is stored for a long period of time, it should be carefully cleaned before it s fired. Dirt and moisture can accumulate in the pistol and may cause it to malfunction.

The following items are requited for proper cleaning a pistol:Soft cloth

• Cloth patches
• Cleaning rod
• Cleaning rod attachments: Bore brush (must use the correct caliber size), Cloth patch holder.
• Small brush (an old toothbrush would be perfect)
• Bore cleaning solvent
• Gun lubricating oil

CLEANING GUIDELINES

IMPORTANT!! Before starting to clean a pistol, be absolutely certain that the pistol is unloaded and the action is open. No ammunition should be present while cleaning a pistol.

1. Attach the bore brush to the cleaning rod and dip the brush in bore cleaning solvent.
2. Run the brush through the bore of the pistol barrel 8-10 times. Be careful not to damage the barrel.
3. Remove the bore brush and attaché the cloth patch holder to the cleaning rod. Attached a cloth patch to it and dip the cloth patch in the bore cleaning solvent and run it through the bore several times.
4. Remove the dirty cloth patch form the rod. Attach a clean, fry patch to the rod tip and run it through the bore several times. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 until the dry patch comes out clean.
5. When satisfied with the appearance of the dry patch, run a lightly-oiled patch through the bore. (The pistol bore should never be overly oiled. The excessive oil can penetrate a cartridge and cause the primer or the powder to deteriorate and result in cartridge malfunctions.)
6. If cleaning a revolver, repeat Steps 1 through 5 for each of the cylinder chambers.
7. Wipe the outside of the pistol with a soft clean cloth and a light coat of gun oil.