"Shooting in the air vs. shooting into the ground-Neither is safe. What goes up does come down, but you were in a sparsely populated area it sounds like. If you shoot into the ground you stand a decent chance of a riccochet. Even with a heavy, relatively slow .45 round. I think in the situation, up in the air was a better choice especially if light conditions were bad."

I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. I am not a big fan of warning shots of any sort. Nevertheless, if you are going to fire one, or fire a gun at all for that matter, you MUST be sure of your backstop. Yes, ricochets are a threat but I would still prefer to fire into the ground over up in the air.

I do agree that neither one constitutes safe gunhandling.


Regards, Vince