How to Know if a Semi-Automatic Handgun is Loaded

Hunting and target shooting are popular activities involving the use of guns. Knowing how to safely handle a gun is essential to the enjoyment of these popular activities. The first rule of gun safety is to treat every gun as if it is loaded. Special care must be taken with a semi-automatic handgun to make certain it is unloaded.

Instructions

• 1

  Pick up the gun and hold it in one hand. Point the semi-automatic handgun in a safe direction. Keep your finger outside the trigger guard to avoid accidentally depressing the trigger. Activate the safety mechanism. If you do not know how to do this, refer to the owner's manual that came with the gun.

• 2

  Remove the magazine containing the bullets using your free hand. Refer to the owner's manual that came with the gun to locate the magazine release for your handgun. Set the magazine aside.

• 3

  Grasp the slide and move it completely to the rear. The slide is the top portion of a semi-automatic that moves toward the rear as the gun is fired. This motion causes the shell from the bullet that was just fired to be ejected. As the shell is ejected, a bullet moves up from the magazine and is pushed into the chamber as the slide moves forward. Removing the magazine before moving the slide avoids having a new bullet loaded into the chamber.

• 4

  Lock the slide as far to the rear of the gun as it will go. Look into the chamber toward the front of the gun. The chamber will be clear. If there is still a bullet in the chamber, return the slide to the forward position and then pull it to the rear again to eject the remaining bullet. Visually reinspect the chamber to make certain it is empty.

• 5

  Continue to exercise proper gun safety. Even though you have taken the steps to verify that the gun is empty, continue to keep your index finger on the outside of the trigger guard. Always keep the gun, whether empty or loaded, pointed in a safe direction.