As a gun owner, it is your responsibility and, moreover, your duty to educate not only yourself and your loved ones but also to your fellow Texans.

Here are some important tips to ensure you are as responsible as you can be when owning a firearm.

Respect Your Firearm

You should never point a gun at anything you do not want to destroy and essentially you should always treat your firearm as if it were loaded, even if you know it is not. As a standard, you should always ensure your finger is never on the trigger except in the immediate few seconds before you intend to fire. Tragically, this standard is all too often not upheld and even the slightest nudge or misstep can result in an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal accident.

Banned Weapons

The state of Texas has explicitly banned the use and possession of the following weapons:

• Any automatic firing weapon including machine guns
• Hand grenades and any other explosive devices
• Brass Knuckles
• Improvised handguns (“zip guns”)
• Shotguns with a barrel less than 18 inches long
• Rifles with a barrel less than 16 inches long
• Any firearm whose barrel has been shortened to 26 inches or less

License to Carry

Part of becoming a responsible firearm owner is the seeking of a Texas License to Carry Course, known more commonly as an LTC.

The LTC license is essentially two separate elements. After completing the online course, you will receive an LTC-101 certificate that you will then take to the in-person test which is to demonstrate sufficient shooting proficiency. Once you have successfully passed the in-person test, your instructor will complete the LTC-101 certificate for your LTC application.

Firearm Maintenance

It is also your responsibility to ensure your firearm is maintained to the highest standard possible.

Upon the purchase of a new firearm, it is crucial to read the accompanying manual and guide thoroughly from cover to cover. Every individual firearm is unique and each gun is assembled and dissembled in different ways and in a different order. Hopefully an automatic step to most, it is vital that you unload your gun when it is not in use. If you have an LTC, it would also be pertinent to change the magazine every four to six months, regardless.

The external elements of your gun need proper and thorough maintenance just as the internal parts do and wiping down the outside of your gun is significantly simpler. Some good quality oil on an old rag can do wonders to remove and control any rust and other wear-and-tear signs on the paintwork. Additionally, as you are cleaning your gun, be sure to check thoroughly for any loose stocks and screws.

Firearms that spend most of their time stored away safely in a holster are extremely susceptible to becoming clogged down with debris, and as a result such guns should be thoroughly checked at the end of every day.

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