Anytime you are handling a firearm, you must follow the 4 Rules of Gun Safety with great care.
When you’re at a range, it’s very clear what is down range, but what if you are at your home, a hotel, a classroom, or somewhere else where you have to manipulate your firearm? Rounds go through walls and can leave houses and buildings. If you’re not in a place with a proper backstop, you must establish what is a safe direction that can minimize damage if a round was accidentally discharged.
Create a safe direction by using a sandbag, shelf with books or magazines, a small Kevlar plate, or a ballistic material called “Safe Direction.” Kathy Jackson of The Cornered Cat says, “You must be certain that an unintended shοt could not do any possible harm other than minor property damage (and embarrassment). What will stop a handgun bullet in the home? Not an interior wall. Not a standard exterior wall unless it is made from solid brick. Not the couch, not the TV, not the front door.”
Kathy offers several options of how you can create safe direction in your home:
• Brick fireplace, but ricochet potential
• Cement basement wall, but ricochet potential
• Full bookshelf if you fire from the side
• Bullet-resistant vest hung on the wall
• “Safe Direction” practice pad
• 5-gallon bucket of sand, which could be disguised inside a decorative basket with a plant or hidden with other decor.
Always follow the 4 Rules of Gun Safety. Always = always.
SOURCE ARTICLE: https://www.agirlandagun.org/establish-safe-direction/
