Safe muzzle direction when chambering.

[Bardo]

Not 100% sure this is the right forum for this, if not, feel free to move it. My question concerns what is considered a 'safe' direction to point the muzzle when chambering a round.

I live in a two story house and the room I keep my gun in is directly over my family room. When chambering a round, I'd like to be especially careful to keep the muzzle pointed in an safe direction since there's a higher risk of unintentional discharge during such handling.

Pointing down would put the round through the floor into my family room. Pointing at any wall could go through the outer wall of my house and into the neighbors' houses.

So I got to thinking, what about pointing straight up?

I recognize that there's an urban myth that bullets fired straight up can kill when they come back down, but mythbusters actually proved this only occurs if the trajectory is at an angle, not straight up. Would this be a viable 'safe' direction?

And if not, anyone have any better suggestions?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ANGLICO]

Anywhere but your foot. Because that is too funny and way too hard to explain!

[ArmyMan]

Not 100% sure this is the right forum for this, if not, feel free to move it. My question concerns what is considered a 'safe' direction to point the muzzle when chambering a round.

I live in a two story house and the room I keep my gun in is directly over my family room. When chambering a round, I'd like to be especially careful to keep the muzzle pointed in an safe direction since there's a higher risk of unintentional discharge during such handling.

Pointing down would put the round through the floor into my family room. Pointing at any wall could go through the outer wall of my house and into the neighbors' houses.

So I got to thinking, what about pointing straight up?

I recognize that there's an urban myth that bullets fired straight up can kill when they come back down, but mythbusters actually proved this only occurs if the trajectory is at an angle, not straight up. Would this be a viable 'safe' direction?

And if not, anyone have any better suggestions?

You're thoughtful and responsible for keeping muzzle awarness in mind here and for that I applaud you.

In the service we use a clearing box.....it's basically a box with a small opening on one side, usually filled with rubber balls, specifically made for being fired into.

That would be my suggestion.



No spell-checker with Tapatalk, sorry.

[QKShooter]

A decent size cardboard box packed tight with old phone books will do the trick. You should be able to collect a pile of those for free from relatives and neighbors.

[ccw9mm]

My question concerns what is considered a 'safe' direction to point the muzzle when chambering a round.

Same as always: away from anything you're not prepared to shoot.

I live in a two story house and the room I keep my gun in is directly over my family room.

Pointing down would put the round through the floor into my family room. Pointing at any wall could go through the outer wall of my house and into the neighbors' houses.

A 5gal paint bucket full of sand can do, for a make-shift backstop. Or, there are some commercially sold items available that are designed for this purpose, allowing you to more-safely check a firearm while indoors where innocents are nearby.

You could always have your "check" area be downstairs (or basement). Or, have the muzzle pointed toward a wall at an angle where the line of sight would go over any nearby home. Ain't nothin' for certain, short of enclosing yourself in a vault prior to handling.

Kudos on thinking about it. Many don't.

[Zac25]

Just leave one in the pipe all the time... I consider it a lot safer than loading and unloading all the time.

[Brad426]

Same as always: away from anything you're not prepared to shoot.



A 5gal paint bucket full of sand can do, for a make-shift backstop. Or, there are some commercially sold items available that are designed for this purpose, allowing you to more-safely check a firearm while indoors where innocents are nearby.

You could always have your "check" area be downstairs (or basement). Or, have the muzzle pointed toward a wall at an angle where the line of sight would go over any nearby home. Ain't nothin' for certain, short of enclosing yourself in a vault prior to handling.

Kudos on thinking about it. Many don't.

Now all I have to do is convince my wife that a 5 gallon bucket of sand in the bedroom goes with the decor...

Nah, I'll just leave a round chambered.

[QKShooter]

Now all I have to do is convince my wife that a 5 gallon bucket of sand in the bedroom goes with the decor...

You buy a big giant artificial palm tree and put that in a 10 gallon pail of sand. Put your Bobble Head favorite baseball players on the mantle and a Day-Glo painting on black velvet of Elvis on the wall right next to the Wife's Pom Poms from High School and your vintage Hula Hoop collection...and you're good to go.

[ArmyMan]

LAW ENFORCEMENT FIREARMS SAFETY



You could mount it on a shelf in the closet, it would be out of sight, out of the way, and unlike a cardboard box full of phone books or a bucket full of sand, it will actually work when you need it to.

[blitzburgh]

What about doing so outside (backyard, maybe?) ... pointed in a safe direction of course, like the grass,etc.

[tacman605]

Harryball and I were discussing something like this the other night.

Once I initally load my firearm it stays loaded all the time. When I get up in the morning I drop the mag and do a chamber check, reinsert the mag and holster my weapon. I know the weapon is still loaded but simply do a chamber check for my own piece of mind. In your case if you could not do that the easiest thing would be to do the phone book/newpapers in the bottom of the closet idea if you feel that it is needed.

As long as you don't pull the bang switch normally the weapon will not go off by itself but you need to do what is comfortable for you.

[gasmitty]

A decent size cardboard box packed tight with old phone books will do the trick. You should be able to collect a pile of those for free from relatives and neighbors.

That's what I use. If your stack is at least a foot thick, it should stop just about any defensive handgun round. Old magazines (the periodical kind) will do as well, but I'd opt for a taller stack since they're ultimately not as densely packed as phone books.

[mlr1m]

:SNIP:A 5gal paint bucket full of sand can do, for a make-shift backstop. Or, there are some commercially sold items available that are designed for this purpose, allowing you to more-safely check a firearm while indoors where innocents are nearby.
:SNIP:

Cat owners might want to make sure to keep the sand bucket covered when not in use.

Michael

[babarock]

LAW ENFORCEMENT FIREARMS SAFETY



You could mount it on a shelf in the closet, it would be out of sight, out of the way, and unlike a cardboard box full of phone books or a bucket full of sand, it will actually work when you need it to.

That is nice but a bit expensive for me. The phone books would be cheap and effective. You could also look at Safe Direction Firearm Safety Targets and Training and Dry Fire 2: Further Thoughts… | Utah Concealed Carry and Ongoing Personal Protection Education and Training

[Adrenaline]

Holy phone books batman. Those buggers cost a small fortune. Good call on the phone books.