First Time gun owner Help?

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if the gun I bought is a good gun

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Sure.

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where do I start learning (the right way ) how to handle and shoot the gun?

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Probably some classes from local instructors.

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If anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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Magazine-fed weapon:dropping the mag, there is still one on the pipe. Always rack it back and check. Al-fricking-ways.

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The very first thing you need to do is learn the firearm safety rules.

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This

Act like there is a lazer beam coming out of the barrel. Anything it touches will be cut in half.

And make sure it's unloaded unless your ready to shoot something. I put my rifle up the other day after cleaning it. I checked it at least ten times to make sure.

- If you haven't done so already, I would read the owner's manual LINK.

- Get familiar with your state and local gun laws.

- As others have already said, the more you practice shooting it, the more comfortable you'll be handling it.

Muzzle awareness and finger off the trigger. Work out from there. With a modern firearm, if you do EVERYTHING wrong, but remember to keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction (i.e. not at anyone or something it can penetrate and hit anyone), everyone probably goes home alive (although a richochet always has the possibility of causing unpredictable mayhem).

If you keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction AND finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire, the chances of unpleasant consequences drop to near statistical insignificance. There is always the possibility of malfunction of weapon or ammunition that will cause injury, but, again, these are relatively rare.

Most ADs (accidental discharges) are by children and adults with too much familiarity with weapons, rather than newbies who are much like yourselves, tentative at best. All the stories about "gun discharged while cleaning" are usually not that. They were preparing to clean it, and didn't clear it properly. NO weapon can be considered clear unless you personally cleared it - verified and reverified. The absolute best policy is to secure the weapon where it is stored, remove all magazines right there (unless fixed), open and lock the action (clear, and verify, reverify), LEAVE ALL AMMUNITION THERE, and take it to a separate location to clean and maintain, which you will again, clear, verify and reverify before proceeding. If the weapon is to be reloaded before storage, do that at the storage location.

Function checks are another concern. After reassembly (after you field strip and clean), follow the manufacturer's instructions on your function check - if this requires you to pull the trigger (many do, some don't), you follow your basic rules again - clear, verify, re-verify, no magazines around, no ammunition around, muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

If you will use snap caps for either trigger familiarity or function checks, I strongly recommend you take a spare magazine and paint it red. Only EVER load it with snap caps, and only use it for those purposes. Even when using snap caps for function checks or trigger training - follow your muzzle awareness and general safety rules. Again, if the muzzle remains oriented in a safe direction, even if you do everything else wrong, everyone is likely to go home alive. It is too much familiarity that gets people accidentally shot.