Men like to play. And that’s a fact as real as atoms. They crave for toys that give them that adrenalin rush, playthings that give them sense of adventure.

A visit at Hahn at the upper ground floor of SM City-Cebu, people will finally found men’s playthings.

A gun shopping and safety guide by Hahn:

In buying a gun, whether for self-defense or recreation, know the basics.

Before anything else, ask yourself what do you need the gun for. Some get themselves a weapon for home protection; others, for shooting games or recreation.

Of course, for self-defense, handguns are primarily the type of gun used. If you’re not familiar with the types and features of various handguns, consult with a dealer in your area or anyone you know who owns one. Or else, if you know of indoor fire ranges nearby, try shooting various gun models to get a better picture of how comfortable these weapons are. Try several for-rent firearm models if you can afford it.

Gunsmiths can also help by giving advice on the safety aspects, reliability, maintenance and maybe, customization to fit your needs. In Cebu alone, Danao is known to manufacture guns. For sure, there are a number of gunsmiths in the place to ask around for help and recommendations.

The most important thing when purchasing your first firearm is that you feel comfortable with it. This comfort factor is important to the safe handling, and make pleasure of shooting. If you are not comfortable with your firearm, make it such that you’ll learn to be comfortable with it, or don’t use it.

Be well familiar with your firearm, and know its safety features and precautions. This can save lives.

Based on a little survey we did, most women prefer revolvers over other pistols because of the unwanted brass ejecting from the barrel after each shot. An important safety tactic to know about revolvers is that it’s much safer to use it as “double action” only. Which means, the hammer is down and you pull trigger to cock the hammer back and let it fall. “Single action” means cocking first the hammer back with your thumb (or other), then pulling the trigger and the hammer falls. The concept here is that we want to avoid the commitment of firing a round off just from being startled or any other false reason.

And with any firearm, in practice, keep your trigger finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger until you make the final commitment to fire.

With automatic firearms in the household, never take chances, especially if there are children around. Remember to keep the firearm and the magazine separately. This can prevent mishaps from children who may find the firearm. Keep the firearm in a locked box, hidden, but easily accessed. Straight-forward instruction to your children about a household firearm can be very valuable in preventing accidents.

As a general rule for safety, always assume that your firearm is loaded. Carefully check that the chamber is empty and the magazine is removed. And, this is really very important; pointing one’s firearm at anyone or anything causes most gun accidents. So, never dry fire your gun at someone else.

Hahn is selling 22 rifle mag type, Crossman C40 Air Pistol, Para Ordinance and Beretta 92FS as big boys’ toys.

- Jules Inocando