Passing a Handgun to another Person
This is a fundamental handgun handling skill that you should master. Of course, when passing a gun, both people should obey all rules of gun safety.
The person passing the gun should always pass the gun unloaded. If it is a revolver, pass it with the cylinder open. If it is a semi-automatic, pass it with the slide locked open, if possible. The idea is that the person you are passing the gun to should be able to see it is unloaded. Follow these rules to pass a gun from one person to another.
- The gun should be passed grip first. The passing party should hold the gun so the receiving party can take the grip freely.
- The receiving party should take the gun with a proper one-handed grip.
- Both parties should make eye contact when passing the gun.
- The receiving party should let the passing party know when they have the gun with a phrase like: “I’ve got it,” or “Thank you.” The passing party should not let go of the gun until they have received that acknowledgment.
- The receiving party should not take the gun if he or she cannot plot a safe muzzle trajectory for the received gun that gets the receiving party to a spot where they can make sure the gun is unloaded.
- The person receiving the gun should assume it is loaded, even if the other person tells them it isn’t. The first thing the receiving person should do, receiving the gun, is make sure the gun is unloaded.