Learning how to properly use a gun is important to those who plan on purchasing a weapon.

While pulling a trigger may seem straight forward, there is a wealth of information those who choose to arm themselves would benefit from learning.

Steven Snow teaches one eight-hour gun safety and licensing course a month. The class for March was held Saturday and started at the Vicksburg Masonic Lodge on Cain Ridge Road before the group traveled to a private residence in Bovina to practice shooting.

“I teach the NRA [National Rife Association] basic pistol course, which meets the requirement for Mississippi Enhanced Carry (permit),” said Snow, a former law enforcement officer in Vicksburg.

He said the focus of the course is handgun safety.

Participant Vernon Martin said the class learned the fundamentals of using a handgun. In addition to learning about safety, the class learned the parts of the gun, how to take care of the gun and spent one hour learning state law alone.

A 50-question test is given at the end of the classroom portion of the course. The test comprises a mixture of true false, multiple choice and fill in the black questions.

“It’s a pretty tough test,” Martin said. “Very thorough on how you use a handgun, the safety of a handgun, how to shoot a handgun and how to care for your handgun.”

After the test, the instructors then teach a practical portion of the course making sure the class learns how to load and unload a firearm. Snow teaches anywhere from beginners to advanced shooters.

“We put them through the practical course of actually hitting the target,” Snow said.

He usually doesn’t take more than 30 students at the monthly course and there are typically three instructors. During the target-shooting portion of the class he likes for six students to shoot at a time so that he has one instructor for every two students.

“This is a fairly large class,” Snow said referring to Saturday’s class of over 20. “Typically I run about 10 or 12.” He thought the current events in Vicksburg probably had the numbers up with citizens concerned about staying safe.

Martin said he took the class with his wife Cheryl because they are joining a safety team at their church, Emanuel Baptist, which requires them to have a permit.

“I think most of the women here are taking it for personal safety reasons and just basic learning about your gun,” Cheryl Martin said, referring to the women in a nearly even ratio man to woman class.

Carla Koestler said she and her husband Michael chose to take the class to learn how to use a gun for protection if the need ever arises.

“I’ve always been around guns too so we need to make sure we know how to handle them,” Carla Koestler said.

She said one of the main things she took away for the course was about the laws and what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to the use of guns, and also learning how to handle a gun properly.

“We think we know, but I think when you go through a class like this when you have a lot more people, it makes you much more aware of how you should handle it, and be careful, and that it’s not something just to use — you got to think about what you’re doing,” Carla Koestler said.

The course is offered once a month from March through November with a break December through February. The date for April’s course has not been set depending on the availability of the possible venue. For more information, call 601-415-7691.