(I wasn't quite sure which forum to post this in so please know it won't bother me a bit if it's moved to the right place. It's an importantant enough topic that anyone who fires a gun of any type needs to read it and to be aware of where their bullets are going. )
In Ohio recently a man decided to unload his muzzleloader by firing it into the air.
Not only an extremely foolish thing to do but it ended in the death of a 15 year old Amish girl whom the bullet came down and killed!
On many "Break Open" muzzleloaders such as mine and my son's Optimas, and many in-lines in general, it is very easy to simply pull the breech plug and push the load on through with the ramrod. The advantages are many; foremost it's SAFE! Also, the bore remains clean, as it hasn't been fired, and you can reuse the pellets and bullet so no waste! With the breech plug removed the pellets will usualy just drop right out, you only need to push the bullet through.
Even if the rifle has been fired, and reloaded, it's still by far the safest way to unload.
Firing a gun in the air is equivilant to just closing your eyes, pointing it in a random direction and pulling the trigger! It's every bit as dangerous!
Firing into the ground isn't realy safe either. You may just hit something other than just dirt. We found that out years ago when the fired bullet came flying back hitting a friend square in the chest. Luckily it had lost steam, only left a bruise, but it was a serious awakening and a lesson learned and never to be forgot! On traditional muzzleloaders, I know it's more complicated to unload, I simply shoot into a target I KNOW is safe!
Bullets don't have brains folks and unfortunately people don't always use their's. Think before pulling the trigger. You'll not likely regret it that you did.
Prayers go out to the poor girl and her family and to the man who fired the shot. He has to live with it the rest of his life, and rightly so!
