quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Nothing in particular, just be sure to point in a safe direction.

If you do want a "clearing barrel", a 5-gallon bucket filled with sand ought to contain an unintended handgun bullet. Put the lid on so the sand doesn't splatter all over.

Just make sure the muzzle is pointed straight down at the bottom of the bucket so that the full column of sand is available to absorb a bullet. Don't want to angle it towards the sides.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Nope, never even a thought.

x2

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
Either a water brick in the basement or towards the ground out an open basement window.

Always when the wife isn't home, because her wrath at an ND would be the worst part of it.

For sure. And fixing it without detection, lots of strategic planning required.

I point the gun at the floor. Because it's carpeted and a hardwood floor to the carpet would catch the splinters. As for in the basement it might hit the water heater, which is roughly a 900 dollar replacement.

Because I am concerned about the noise and damage to the water heater I do practice "due Care" and I have at least 60 years of being discharge free.

I also have stopped carrying my 45 ACP 1911 because the effort require to manipulate the slide is high enough that I would prefer to do that at a proper gun range. Just checked with Snap caps and I can still wrack the slide well but I just don't have the confidence in my grip with sweaty hands that I had about 10 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
I also have stopped carrying my 45 ACP 1911 because the effort require to manipulate the slide is high enough that I would prefer to do that at a proper gun range. Just checked with Snap caps and I can still wrack the slide well but I just don't have the confidence in my grip with sweaty hands that I had about 10 years ago.

I've got aging hands too. What is the concern here - assuming I had a round loaded, drop the magazine, is racking the slide the issue that could cause an ND?

I'm much more worried about my way younger/dumber self trying to ride the hammer down on a live round.

As we get older it can get harder to manipulate harder-sprung guns, so a small tabletop or small floor standing gun clearing trap could be handy:

https://www.range-systems.com/.../gun-clearing-traps/

That little guy in the link, "Guardian Compact", for $199, is 13 lbs, just shy of 12" long, and can mount on a gun bench tabletop or vertically on the leg of the same table.

I'd say that's a fair price to pay for clearing, loading, and unloading pistols in your house, particularly for busy two story homes, preventing any unwanted "holes" anywhere, bypassing any damage to electrical, plumbing, hvac and the like, completely containing a bullet in the off chance of a negligent or a defective mechanically-induced discharge.

Also, if your wife hears a shot, you can tell her you were just function testing your pistol for safe operation after working on it. She won't like that, but it's better than a hole in the floor or your AC or main drain from your toilet bowl.

I think I'm gonna research that unit.

Be careful if you watch the videos of yahoos using those small units for function testing their guns at home, which is pretty stupid since these units are for safer clearing, loading, and unloading operations in restricted space, not for trapping bullets used for ongoing function testing in a gunsmith shop, those units are a different type of device altogether.

Here's an AI summary:

The Guardian Compact Clearing Trap is designed for safely clearing firearms and is made of ¼ inch AR500 steel with a Dura-Bloc ballistic rubber interior, making it effective for containing accidental discharges. It is lightweight, portable, and can be mounted virtually anywhere, which sets it apart from other clearing devices that may be bulkier or less versatile.

The manufacturer says it can go up to 44 mag.

You can pick it up and transport it to your range and place it on the tailgate of your truck, for final gun prep for transport home etc.

The sales product sheet:

https://www.range-systems.com/...Guardian-Compact.pdf