With so much upheaval and uncertainty in the world today, it is often comforting to own a firearm. However, there have been over 2 million first-time gun owners in the first half of 2020, which means that there is an increased need for an understanding of gun safety and security!

At Shooters Depot, we believe that firearms can be used to keep our homes secure and protecting our family, but we also know that it’s so important to keep firearm safety in mind. Here are a few resources that we think may be helpful to first-time gun owners:

  1. NSSF - The Firearm Industry and Trade Association’s 10 Rules of Safe Gun Handling
  2. A Girl & A Gun’s 4 Rules of Gun Safety
  3. Gun certification courses to train on how to safely use your firearm - Shooters Depot offers a variety of certification courses, from basic to advanced
  4. Range time is key to practice your skills - Shooters Depot has the Chattanooga area’s premier gun range
  5. Purchasing the correct firearm and ammunition for your needs - Check out Shooters Depot online store for a range of firearms and ammunition to fit your needs or stop by our brick-and-mortar store for a consultation with one of our experts

We hope that these resources help you to better understand what it means to be a first-time gun owner and how to be safe with a firearm. 

In our last blog, we talked about the unprecedented increase> in firearm and ammunition sales across the country. With these record sales of guns and ammo over the past two months, 75-80% of these purchases were made by new gun owners.

With so many purchases made by people new to guns and shooting sports, Shooters Depot is recommending that the new gun owners take a basic safety class, so they are more comfortable with handling and shooting their new firearm. 

Our Basic Pistol Certification class is 1.5-2 hours. It is required to bring a semi-automatic or revolver handgun, 50rounds of ammunition, targets, eye and ear protection (rentals are available). This course teaches the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude for owning and operating a handgun safely. It is perfect for new gun owners or gun owners that have recently purchased a new type of gun or have never received formal training, especially gun owners interested in self-protection. In this class, an NRA-certified instructor will teach the rules for safe firearm handling, parts and operation, ammunition, shooting fundamentals, sight acquisition, loading and unloading, range rules, shooting from the bench rest position, firearm cleaning, conceal carry and carry laws, and overall skill development.

Once new gun owners have completed the basic pistol certification course, they will know how to handle their gun safely, as well as break it down, clean their firearm, and then put it back together.

We also offer advanced classes including pistol certification, defensive shooting, and tactical carbine training. 

If you are interested in attending one of our courses, you can call Shooters Depot to get on the roster for one of our classes. We can schedule classes Monday through Saturday, so you can come to learn more about your new firearm at your convenience. We hope to see you soon!

You may have noticed if you’ve come into our brick and mortar store since March that our shelves are looking a bit bare. While our online store has still had a wide inventory, our store off of I-75 has been an in-person example of what is being experienced around the country over the past few months, since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Firearm retailers, like Shooters Depot, have been experiencing record sales during COVID-19.

According to the FBI, over 3.5 MILLION background checks took place in March. While this statistic isn’t directly correlated with gun sales, it does tell us that more guns were sold in March than ever before going back to 1998, when the background check system was put in place.

According to USA Today, gun sales revenue in the United States is up 309%. However, the other statistic worth noting is that crime rates have also gone down. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, arrests have gone down 47% across the country, when compared to the previous month. We are grateful that the crime rates have not gone up alongside the increased firearms sales rates. While we have appreciated the influx of business, from new and returning customers, we want to remind all gun owners of the importance of gun safety and firearm storage. It is vital to store your gun locked up, with ammunition stored and locked separately.

We appreciate your patience with us as our inventory has not been as full as normal. We have been working hard to track down specific firearms and ammunition as customers have reached out with requests, and our online store has been seeing record traffic. Thank you for your continued support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we look forward to seeing you at the range!