Handgun Etiquette

You know how it goes, you meet some fella and inadvertently mention your 'passing' interest in replica firearms and the next thing you know, you've arranged a time and a date for him to pop round and take a look at your cherished collection, who could blame you ? It's a great collection and well worth showing off to any interested party, but the problem is, is he actually okay around guns ? He could be an experienced collector (like yourself) and you really don't want to show yourself up, not with a lack of knowledge but actually in handling them and passing them over to him. He could be a complete newbie or an ex full bore British pistol champion ? Who know's and more importantly it's a bit of a worry that you may make a serious safety 'faux pas' during this socially important event. Or it could just be the other way round, where somebody else is actually showing you their prize collection of replica handguns and you really don't want to seem rude and treat his possessions in a contemptuous or dangerous manner. So how do we go about it ?

Well let's take it a step at a time, we really don't know their level of expertise, so we need to tread carefully. You don't want to be handing over your pride and joy for them to have them be repeatedly pulling the trigger on it, pointing it here, there & everywhere and shouting "peew, peew", as that's going to be one of those moments when you realise the enormity of the mistake you've just made (normally at the very same time that he tries his hand at gun spinning for the very first time) but by the same token, you don't want to be just passing over a gun to this guy who very warily takes it from you and then sets about going through all the proper safety checks of handling a loaded weapon and all the while you're stood their thinking,'Damn, that's what I should've done before giving it to him !' Nobody wants to look like a fool, especially a dangerous fool. So here is the Forum's guide to gun etiquette but far more importantly, the safest way to do it.


First things first

You never just open up a gun case and hand over a gun to someone, it has to be 'made safe' first. There's a series of things that need to be done in a correct order prior to handing any gun over to another person. Below you'll find sections on the two main types of handgun and the appropriate measures needed to be taken to do this correctly. After the gun has been inspected and made safe it can be handed over. NEVER point a gun at the person you're handing it to, it should be handed either butt first or by the slide (in the case of an auto) or by the top strap (in the case of a revolver). Once both parties have been assured of it's safe condition it can then be handled freely by each of you but no gun, whether loaded or not, should ever be pointed at anyone, with a loaded gun it's very dangerous and with an unloaded gun it's just plain rude and shows a careless disregard for firearm safety.

Only take out ONE gun at a time, don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you've put it down that he won't just pick it up again. It's far easier to keep control of a firearm if it's the only one out, as really you don't want him to be ham-fistedly field stripping your classic 1911 down as you hurriedly try to put one of your other guns away. So once you've finished with one gun, carefully re-check it and place it back in it's case before even thinking about what gun to take out next.

If you're lucky enough to be shown someone else's collection and their's is beautifully displayed on a wall, don't just grab whatever takes your fancy. Show an interest in a piece and wait for the owner to take it down and pass it to you and once you've finished with it pass it back to him so that he can return it to it's rightful place. It would be the very height of rudeness to start helping yourself to another man's collection and then carelessly dropping them as you tried to put them back.


Autos

With an auto you should remove the magazine first (if it was indeed stored in the gun, tsk, tsk), pull the slide all the way back and engage the slide stop MANUALLY, make sure the slide is locked properly, then tip the gun to one side to visually inspect the breech, make sure it's clear, NOTHING at all should be in the breech.


Above - How an auto should look prior to be handed over.

Now you can safely hand the gun over for inspection, that's when you can take a moment to inspect the magazine BEFORE handing that over too. Make sure that there is no CO2 or BBs/pellets loaded, if it's loaded (tsk, tsk) then DO NOT hand the magazine over to the guy with the gun !

Now's your best opportunity to gauge the guys familiarity with firearms, a good chance to study him as he inspects your gun ! If he doesn't do a visual check into the breech then you know you're above his level of competence, if he drops the slide stop 'Kerchunk!' and then starts manually racking the slide and snapping the trigger then you should be wary and likewise, if he gently pulls the slide back and allows it to slide forward slowly under his control then thumbs the hammer gently forward as he pulls on the trigger, you then know that you've got someone who is very familiar with firearms, someone you can trust to handle your beloved collection with all the care and attention that you would give them yourself.

It's exactly the same when handling someone else's auto, even if you saw them visually inspect the breech, once they've handed it over to you, you should double check the breech, just to make sure. Even though the CO2 has normally been removed along with the magazine, there are those autos where the CO2 is housed in the grip (CP88, Beretta 92fs, etc.), so it's best to make doubly sure. You should, as a matter of polite formality ask before dropping the slide or pulling the trigger, after all it is their gun and there might be problems. Some guys might just say,"Oh yeah, go ahead, that's fine" but they'll be impressed that you asked and thankful if there is an issue with that actual gun. Be prepared for them to say no though, some of us are funny about our guns and you shouldn't be offended if that is their reply.

If you get handed the magazine for the gun remember to inspect it prior to loading it into the gun, don't just assume that it's unloaded, the guy could be handing it to you without checking it properly as his focus maybe drawn on to what gun to show you next.

Guns to watch out for.
The Luger can be a difficult gun to make safe but it can be done, firstly remove the magazine and check it's empty of BBs and CO2, then re-insert it and pull the toggle action up, it should lock up (as in it's empty), remove the magazine and then inspect the breech, after that you're safe to hand it over.


Revolvers

I've broken the revolver section down into two sub-sections (DA/SA & SA only), as there are quite a few differences between them but there are a few grey areas in between the two groups which I will try to cover as well.


DA/SA modern revolvers

The proper way to hand over this type of revolver is with the shells removed, the cylinder fully opened, the breech checked and CO2 removed, if there is a CO2 cap' still in the gun (again, tsk, tsk) then it should be made clearly known to the guy and a warning that it will fire if the trigger is pulled. Personally I would never hand over a gun that way, I would remove the CO2 first and then hand it over.

Things to watch for, if he 'Cowboys' the cylinder back into the frame (a sideways flip with the gun that slams the cylinder back into the frame) then take the gun off him and try not to slap him too hard ! That's a no-no with real revolvers let alone CO2 replicas, the damage can be catastrophic (a bent crane arm which fails to time the cylinder correctly in rotation) and should never, under any circumstances, be done. If you did that in a US Gun shop you would be immediately and unceremoniously be escorted from the premises ! That's one of my ultimate 'pet hates' and guaranteed to rub me up the wrong way.


Above - How a DA revolver should look prior to be handed over.

If you've just been handed the gun then after checking the cylinder for shells, inspecting the breech and finding it clear you should slowly but firmly close the cylinder using the cylinder release catch to ease it into the frame, obviously politely ask if it's okay to do that first. When cocking the gun in single action, do not fire it ! You can use your thumb to lower the hammer as you squeeze the trigger, if you want to fire it in double action then you will need to ask first and then it's totally at the discretion of the owner. Personally I would never argue the point with the owner, it's his gun and you should treat it with the respect the owner requires and anyway, arguing will only lower the tone of the whole experience as it is guaranteed to annoy him.

Guns to watch out for.
The Nagant - Although this is a true DA/SA revolver it doesn't have a swing out cylinder and as such should be treated like a 'SA only' gun.
The Webley mkVI - This break barrel revolver can be 'broken' open and the cylinder aligned with the forcing cone to check that it is clear before handing over. When closing the action take care to depress the break latch to allow the frame to 'click' gently back together.


SA only

Now, Single Action guns can be more of a pain to check and obviously make safe prior to handing over to someone. Firstly, put the hammer on 'half cock', open the loading gate, cycle through the cylinder removing any shells (tsk, tsk) and leave the loading gate open, you can't visually check the breech with a fixed cylinder although there are certain guns (the Remington 1875 & the Nagant 1895) where the cylinder can quite easily be removed and the breech can be inspected but I'll leave that to your own discretion as to whether you want to go down that route. If the guy starts trying to twirl your gun then it's time to bring the evening to a close and retrieve your gun as quickly as possible either from him or from the floor, depending on how quickly you react.


Above - How a SA revolver should look prior to be handed over.

If handed to you then you should obviously check the same things mentioned above, feel free to close the loading gate after satisfying yourself that it is unloaded and remember that when you're counting cylinders is only good on six shot revolvers, the Nagant is a seven shot revolver and doesn't need to be put into half cock to rotate the cylinder, so bear this in mind when checking cylinders. Ask before cocking and unless otherwise instructed lower the hammer with your thumb as you squeeze the trigger. Gun twirling is something you should only do with your own gun unless the owner explicitly states that it's okay to do so. Stripping the cylinder out of the gun is unnecessary and should only ever be done after consent is given by the owner.

Guns to watch for.
S&W Schofield - This break barrel SA revolver is far superior to make safe than a Colt or a Remington, the forcing cone can be visibly checked with careful cylinder alignment, the gun should be handed over in it's 'broken' open position. When closing the action up, great care should be taken to lift the latch so that it gently 'clicks' back together.


Finished ?

By now you've gone through your complete collection or very close to it but more importantly, you've now got the full measure of the guy. Hopefully he's fully conversant with handgun etiquette and it's been a genuine pleasure to show him your collection, if that's the case then it's time for even more fun. Now you can pull out multiple guns that fall under collective headings (the guns of WWI, the guns of WWII, guns from the wild west, modern autos, military sidearms, modern 20th century revolvers, European autos, the list is endless), it's always nice to compare differing guns from the same era and now that they've all been inspected and are obviously safe to handle there's nothing wrong with just opening the cases and pulling them out, as you are both aware that they are safe to handle. This aspect is great for some serious conversations, it's amazing how much information can be shared in such situations and how many stories can be told. It's at this point that field stripping some of the guns can be done, which is another great conversational point especially with those Military based handguns.

If the 'guy' has turned out to be a right idiot then unfortunately it's time to keep the guns in their cases and make a quick excuse to move on (fancy a cuppa ? Have you seen my new conservatory ? etc.), or maybe you could use this moment to educate the guy on safe gun handling in both a practical and friendly manner, but that's your call and should be weighed up as and when the situation arises.


And finally....

Showing your highly prized collection of firearms is something that all collectors love to do, it gives us the chance to expound our views and knowledge to someone who is also genuinely interested in the subject, but remember that not everyone shares your passion entirely. Sometimes it's better to follow your visitor's preference rather than bombard them with yours, if they have a 'thing' for Military sidearms then indulge them, as they will enjoy that far more than than you 'banging' on about the developmental history of the magnum cartridge and it's subsequent use in modern day revolvers ! 

Hopefully this article will have been of some educational and practical value, none of us want to look like a fool when showing our collection and we especially don't want to be seen as a 'Dangerous Dan' when being shown other people's collections either. Safety is always of paramount importance when dealing with firearms and should always be considered first before anything else. Those are all good habits to pick up anyway; the safe storage of firearms to start with and followed by safe handling. Nobody is ever going to think of you as an idiot just because you're a safe shooter and/or collector, in fact everybody will think the complete opposite.


NOTES:

1. The 'tsk tsk' comments are there to subtly point out unsafe firearm practises. No gun should be stored loaded with either pellets, BBs, CO2, magazine or Cartridges.
2. The use of a very small pencil light will help tremendously when checking the breech as you can shine it from the muzzle end of the barrel and if light can be seen at the breech/forcing cone end of the barrel then you know that there's no obstruction inside the barrel at any point along it's length. It's also of great help for peering inside autos when checking if good lighting is unavailable.
3. Some guns have a delicate finish to them (the BLUED Colt SAA springs to mind), so be prepared to give it a wipe over with a cloth before putting it back into it's case.