An Indiana teen is now dead because of an accidental gun shooting. Fifthteen year-old Ramandeep Singh was posing with his father’s .32 caliber pistol when he accidently pulled the trigger.
Sadly, accidental shootings happen more often now.
With the number of accidental shootings in the United States adding up to 821 in 2016 alone, the importance of understanding how to use a firearm safely has never been so important.
“It doesn’t matter what gun you have, as long as you know how to use, clean, and store it properly,” said Kaleb Wadsworth, an employee at Davenport Guns and Shooting Club.
Wadsworth is from a military family, and was raised around guns.  He shot his first gun at the age of 5 years old.
“I was trained in the military, so I train people with the same fundamentals as I was taught,” Wadsworth said.
With 85 mass shootings having already occurred in the United States, the question of owning a firearm has entered many people’s minds.
“More people have been coming into the shop with little to no knowledge of guns because of the events that have been occurring lately,” Wadsworth said. “We teach them how to shoot safely.”
Jacob Spellious is the assistant manager at Shooting Sports in Moline. Like Wadsworth, he started shooting at a young age and grew up with a pro gun family. Spellious’ father is an avid hunter and his mother is a manager at John Deere. They both encouraged him to shoot at a young age.
“Learning how to use a firearm is important because it is a form of self-defense,” Spellious said. “Not everyone can do martial arts; sometimes firearms appeals more to people.”
There is a process that goes into owning a firearm. According to Davenport Guns and Shooting range website, the minimum requirement to purchase a gun is you must be 21 years old, you must be a United States Citizen, you may not have any felony convictions, and you must not be the defendant in a protection order for domestic violence.
Both Wadsworth and Spellious highly recommend having a handgun for safety and self-defense.
“If people obey gun laws and the opinions of others, there is no reason why people shouldn’t have a gun for self-defense purposes,” said Spellious.
Wadsworth thinks it is important that people learn how to shoot a firearm because if they don’t, they will most likely hurt themselves or others.
“I think it’s important to learn how to shoot a firearm so people don’t hurt themselves or others while attempting to use one,” Wadsworth said. “I would rather someone not buy a gun unless they know how to use it properly.”
Basic training lessons cover the very basics to shooting a gun such as basic safety rules such as sight alignment, sight picture, and trigger control.
Davenport Guns and Shooting Range and Shooting Sports both offer safety courses and training sessions.