What does “point in a safe direction” Mean?

Have you ever seen a movie where a person is holding a firearm and turns to talk to a group of people and they all ducked down low? The person has no intention of shooting anyone but they are still ducking, why? Unless a firearm has no ammunition and has a safety lock on it there is no guarantees it won’t accidentally discharge.

When holding a loaded firearm it is essential that a person points the firearm in a safe direction. What does that mean?

• The firearm should not be pointed at anyone
• The firearm should not be pointed at anything, but the ground
• The firearm should not be able to harm anyone or anything if it accidentally fires
• The firearm should have its safety on, if the person is not firing at that moment

It is also important to be aware of what is beyond the target. Bullets have certain trajectories and if a person misses the target the bullet has to go somewhere.  As the responsible firearm owner, it is that person’s job to know where and how far that bullet could go.

If the person knows where the bullet could go he or she can make sure their firearm is pointed in a direction that avoids hitting anything and/or anyone. Pointing a firearm in a safe direction is all about making sure that no one gets injured and nothing gets damaged.

Even though shooting ranges are designed to have plenty of room should a person missed their target it is still the firearm owner’s responsibility to look and make sure there is nothing in their way. It is also still essential that the person holding the firearm points that firearm in a safe direction.

Shooting ranges have very specific steps that must be followed when shooting a firearm. There is a lot of communication that must take place and anyone participating must follow those rules, so that everyone stays safe.

Be aware, that just because a firearm is pointed downward does not make that a safe direction. Bullets can ricochet off of things and if there is anything on the ground that the bullet could hit it could ricochet and injure someone.

Much like being a responsible driver a person who is holding a firearm should never take their concentration away from the fact that he or she is holding a deadly weapon in their hands. A firearm needs to be respected at all times, meaning it should be pointed in a safe direction, when it is not being fired the safety should be on and the person holding it should be aware at all times who is around them and where those people are.

Firearms by themselves are not necessarily dangerous, it is adding the element of human error that can make a firearm dangerous and possibly deadly. However, one big safety step is learning how to point a firearm in a safe direction. If the firearm is pointed in a safe direction then even if human error comes into play no one and nothing should get injured or damaged.