I have now witnessed two negligent discharges in two gunshops, and I don't spend very much time in gunshops.
The first was a counter person demonstrating the qualities of a magazine disconnect on his loaded Smith 639 9mm, I was standing a few feet away when the salesman fired the pistol between the faces of the customer and himself. I foolishly had my back turned and had to look down and check for hits. Fortunately the round went into a wall.
Yesterday was a real crowd pleaser, a person behind the counter was for some reason handling his loaded FN SCAR rifle, from ten feet away I watched him cycle the bolt and then pull the trigger. This is a very nice old line shop with almost every type of fine firearm in stock. Most of the staff are very knowledgeable.
There were about ten people in the shop and the line of the muzzle was just a foot behind two and pointed in the general direction of three at the far end of the shop. The only thing that saved lives was at the last second he elevated the muzzle towards the ceiling.
The blast and concussion in that small space was terrific, I found myself in a low crouch with my eyes just over the counter before I could fully understand what had happened.
Please follow the four rules at all times:
The rules of gun safety follow from this mindset. There are many variations, and one of them is the Four Rules introduced by Colonel Jeff Cooper, which are:
1.All guns are always loaded.
2.Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3.Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4.Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
—Jeff Cooper
The first was a counter person demonstrating the qualities of a magazine disconnect on his loaded Smith 639 9mm, I was standing a few feet away when the salesman fired the pistol between the faces of the customer and himself. I foolishly had my back turned and had to look down and check for hits. Fortunately the round went into a wall.
Yesterday was a real crowd pleaser, a person behind the counter was for some reason handling his loaded FN SCAR rifle, from ten feet away I watched him cycle the bolt and then pull the trigger. This is a very nice old line shop with almost every type of fine firearm in stock. Most of the staff are very knowledgeable.
There were about ten people in the shop and the line of the muzzle was just a foot behind two and pointed in the general direction of three at the far end of the shop. The only thing that saved lives was at the last second he elevated the muzzle towards the ceiling.
The blast and concussion in that small space was terrific, I found myself in a low crouch with my eyes just over the counter before I could fully understand what had happened.
Please follow the four rules at all times:
The rules of gun safety follow from this mindset. There are many variations, and one of them is the Four Rules introduced by Colonel Jeff Cooper, which are:
1.All guns are always loaded.
2.Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3.Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4.Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
—Jeff Cooper
