Gun safety for situations where firearms are not in use are intended to prevent access to and subsequent discharge of a firearm. Preventing access to firearms serves a double purpose in that it also protects the firearm from theft.

At home
An effective method of preventing access to a functioning firearm is to store it disassembled and to keep the parts separated. If a certain part of a firearm is required for it to fire, the handler may remove that part from the firearm and keep it in a separate location. Ammunition may also be stored away from the firearm.

Sometimes this rule is codified in law. For example, Swedish law requires owners of firearms to store the firearms either with the "vital piece" locked up in a safe place or put the entire gun in a safe or lockable gun rack.

A lock that prevents motion of the trigger, blocks the chamber or in any other way prevents the firearm from being discharged may be used for additional safety. This also makes the firearm less useful to thieves as the firearm cannot be used unless the lock is removed. Such locks are commonly designed so that they cannot be forcibly removed without permanently disabling the firearm. This method is considered less effective than keeping firearms locked in a safe or a gun cabinet since locks are more easily defeated than approved safes.

Most firearm experts do not promote the use of trigger locks. In most cases, the firearm can still be loaded and a round chambered with the lock in place. In some cases, the firearm can even be fired with a trigger lock secured around the trigger guard.

If a firearm is intended to be used for self defense at home, special-purpose locking devices exist that allow the owner to store the fully loaded firearm in a safe manner while still providing quick access to it. However, keeping a firearm in a continuous state of readiness to be fired presents certain operational problems as previously described, especially if children can gain access to the firearm. Therefore the owner should always consider taking further precautions from an early age in addition to the use of locking storage containers, such as teaching children gun safety as described herein from an early age.

Environments requiring standardized protocols for weapons-check at the door
The following environments generally have standardized protocols in place for weapons-check at the door:

• Courthouses
• Jails
• Prisons

For the following environments, it is sensible to develop simple protocols in which a security guard could accept weapons and keep them in a gun safe until pickup:

• Hospital emergency departments
• Outpatient MRI sites

Protective gear and health issues
When discharged a firearm emits a very loud noise, typically close to the handler's ears. Over time this can cause hearing damage such as tinnitus. Hearing protection is recommended to prevent this.

Firearms emit hot gases, powder, and other debris when fired. Some weapons, such as semi-automatic and fully automatic firearms, typically eject spent cartridge casings at high speed. Ejected casings are also commonly very hot from the discharge. Any of these may hurt the handler through burning or impact damage. Eyes are particularly vulnerable to this type of damage. Therefore eye protection is recommended.

Hearing and eye protection can also be used to protect observers, bystanders, team members or others that may be close to the handler.

Another problem, highlighted in more recent years, is that of toxic effects from ammunition or cleaning agents. Lead bullets can release lead vapour when fired, and older ammunition may have mercury-based primers. Lead accumulates in shooting range backstops, often as fine powder which is easily inhaled, and ranges must be carefully decontaminated. Indoor ranges require good ventilation to remove pollutants. Ranges always require extensive decontamination if they are to be decommissioned.

Lead, copper and other metals will also be released when a firearm is handled and cleaned. Highly aggressive solvents and other agents used to remove lead and powder fouling may present a hazard to health. Good ventilation, washing oneself and cleaning the space where the gun was handled lessens the risk of unnecessary exposure.

Impairment
Since handling a firearm is a complex task, with possible fatal outcomes if done wrong, gun safety dictates that a firearm should never be handled while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, even legal prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Since such substances may affect a person's judgement already after consuming relatively small amounts, zero tolerance is advocated by gun safety teachers.

Correct ammunition
The handler must be certain the firearm is loaded only with ammunition that is approved for use with that particular firearm. Using ammunition of wrong caliber, or using an ammunition type for which the firearm is not intended to be used with, may result in the firearm malfunctioning or becoming damaged. This may cause the firearm to explode, resulting in severe or even fatal injury to the handler.

Ammunition may be manufactured manually, so called "hand-loading". It may be very difficult for an inexperienced or unskilled handler to discern what is the equivalent ammunition type for hand-loaded ammunition. As such, using hand-loaded ammunition without being experienced in that field presents an elevated risk of a firearm-ammunition mismatch, with possible consequences as mentioned above.

Construction, modification and general condition of firearms
Modifying firearms to better fit their intended purpose is a fairly common practice, but not without its pitfalls. Firearms of any sort operate briefly at enormous pressure during firing, and enormous loads are placed on the pressure-bearing parts. If these parts are weakened by modifications or adaptations (such as drilling to fit telescope mounts, slings etc) there is a real risk of explosion. Similarly, if safety devices or mechanism parts such as sear engagement points, safety catches, de-cockers or trigger interrupters are modified or poorly adapted, great risks become apparent. Semi-automatic rifles may fire from an unlocked breech, allowing a case explosion next to the face of the firer; a handgun may fire unexpectedly or even "burst-fire" like a machine-gun. The potential for harm is obvious, along with the legal implications for those who modify firearms without a great deal of training and expertise.

Even without "metalwork" modifications a gun can still be rendered unsafe. A great deal of design effort goes into making sure a firearm can only be assembled one way, as it was intended to be, but occasionally it is found to be possible to assemble a firearm in such a manner as to render it unsafe. This knowledge is often only brought to light following a tragedy resulting from it. Therefore, anything more than routine field-stripping requires great care and preferably instruction from somebody competent in such practices.

The overall condition of a firearm is equally important. Rusted, heavily fouled or blocked barrels may bulge or explode (especially in shotguns), and mechanisms may fail due to contamination or corrosion. Any firearm should be kept clean and thoroughly checked for proper functionality before live-firing. If there is any doubt as to its condition, it should not be used until it has been properly repaired.

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