3.  Be sure of your target and what is in front of and beyond your target.
Know what is in front of and behind your target. Determine that you have a safe backstop or background.
4.  Handle the firearms and ammunition carefully.
Avoid horseplay with firearms. Never face or look down the barrel from the muzzle end. Be sure the ammunition you intend to shoot correctly matches the gauge or caliber you are shooting. Always carry handguns with hammers over an empty chamber or cylinder. If you fall, be sure to disassemble the gun and check the barrel from the breech end for obstructions.
5.  Know your safe zone-of-fire and stick to it.
Your safe zone-of-fire is that area or direction in which you can safely fire a shot. It is "down range" at a shooting facility. Be sure you know where your companions are at all times. Never swing your gun out of your safe zone-of-fire.
6.  Wear hearing and eye protection.
While shooting, you must wear hearing and eye protection at all times. Firearms are loud and can create noises which are damaging to a person's hearing. There can be a gradual loss of hearing due to outbursts of noise over many years. The damage could also be immediate, especially if your ears are next to a muzzle blast. Vibrations from the blast are enough to create loss of hearing. Wear glasses to protect your eyes from escaping gases, burnt powder (especially in black powder shooting), and other debris.
7.  Don't drink alcohol or take drugs before or while handling firearms.

Shooters and bystanders must wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

Always maintain a minimum shooting distance of 25 yards (100 yards for rifle caliber shooting)!

SHOOTING SAFELY
Always obey Firearms Safety Rules.
Always wear ANSI approved safety glasses with side shields or wrap-around protection to protect your eyes.
Always wear properly rated hearing protection.
Always wear proper shooting attire such as a hat, long sleeves and pants to protect yourself from hot ejected brass, jacket articles, and lead fragments.
Spectators should always stand 10-15 yards behind the shooter.
Bullet splatter creates a splash zone of fragments and these fragments can travel 20 yds. or more with handguns and 75 yds. or more with rifles. Frangible ammunition can reduce potential injury causing particles substantially. Always test fire frangible ammunition to ensure it does not damage your target, and that it pulverizes upon impact.
Patriot Products Services, LLC’s targets are designed to produce consistent splatter zones. Targets should be placed with a 36” lateral and 36” vertical spacing between them to produce a consistent reliable splatter zone and reduce fragments from coming back up-range.
The surfaces the targets sit upon should be loose soil, sand, pea-gravel or similar to absorb fragments and reduce ricochet. Never place steel targets on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt. Rifle ammunition muzzle velocity should not exceed 3,000 feet per second on non-rated targets. Never shoot Armor Piercing (AP), steel core or hardened type ammunition at any steel target not specifically rated for this purpose. Never shoot closer than 100 yds!
Never shoot shotgun slugs at properly rated targets any closer than 100 yds. We recommend never shooting shotgun slugs at steel targets. Serious personal injury or death can result. Immediately cease the use of any close range (less than 75 yards) steel target that has surface pitting, damage, or  craters caused by wear or improper ammunition use on the steel target impact area. The steel target impact surface must be smooth and flat to safely use steel targets less than 75 yards.
Always inspect the targets for damage, pitting, cratering or other damage before use. Do not use if damaged.
Maintain a minimum of 10-15 yards from targets when shooting handguns.
Use only properly constructed firing range with adequate backstop height of 20-25 ft and a safety danger zone clearly marked off behind it.
These targets are intended for specific use as part of an inherently dangerous activity. Use only in the intended manner in compliance with these recommendations. Even so, serious injury or death may occur due to the inherently dangerous activity shooting at steel targets. The shooter assumes all risk and liability in the use of these targets.
Due to the inherently dangerous nature of this activity, no warranty of these products is given other than stated. Any alteration or misuse of these products shall void all warranties expressed or implied. Other than stated, there are no warranties or guarantees given, nor any liability assumed by the manufacturer in the use of these products.