First time gun owner, getting over fears

I grew up viewing guns as these scary things. It wasn’t until I was in college and went shooting with some friends that I gained some minor experience with guns. I was still kinda afraid of them at this point.

About a year later I went dispersed camping with a friend deep in the woods. Being in the dark with nobody around you for miles makes you question how fragile your own safety really is.

The way I got over my fear was a combination of reading about safe gun handling practices and getting experience shooting it. When I got my first gun, I practiced loading and unloading with dummy rounds until I was comfortable with that procedure.

The most important thing I can say about gun safety is to never get complacent. Always check to see if it’s unloaded before handling it. Most accidents I’ve read about are because of complacency.

If your brother or any friends are experienced, I suggest you ask them about their individual experiences. Nothing beats individual training from someone you know.

/r/liberalgunowners Thread