In my training. . . .

When I saw this I remember thinking how lucky he was that this happened after his retirement... Even though it was his left hand, it couldn't have been good for his game.

I still don't understand how people do this.

Even if you think it's unloaded...what would possess you to point it at yourself and pull the trigger?

To quote that great philosopher, Forrest Gump, "stupid is as stupid does".

No pity. Ignore the rules and pay the price. I don't even like the frame of my pistols pointed at a body part when I am cleaning it. Can't imagine what would possess him to shoot his own finger off.

Guys... that particular fellow has been mis-behaving down here in paradise for a lot of years (and that's all I'll say about that...).

In all the years I was a cop down here in Jose land.... nothing I was ever involved in was accurately reported (and I don't mean they screwed up and didn't get the names right...).

Lastly, why oh why would anyone believe that a gunshot wound (supposedly self-inflicted) actually went down as reported by the victim. As far as that sort of stuff goes if I ever knew someone actually told the truth, I'm not sure whether I'd laugh immediately or wait until after a cold, adult beverage after work....

I'll stop now before telling any war stories... but the few times I ever was told that a minor wound was "self-inflicted" there were usually circumstances that indicated a serious lack of truthfulness from the "victim".....

Cleaning, clearing guns....

ADs and NDs are common.
I read a news article about how the police chief of Portland ME got a new duty pistol(Glock .45acp) & apparently shot himself.
The PD chief explained how he started to field strip the pistol to clean it & didn't see the round in the chamber.
From reports I've seen, including Jose on Inside Edition saying he took the magazine out not thinking a round was chambered.

This why I encourage the "up-down" method. Look in the mag well and the barrel-action. Sometimes a case can be "hiding" in the chamber.
I had that occur once in the 1990s with my Beretta 96D .40 pistol. I pulled the loaded mag out inspected the pistol then as I pulled the DA only trigger I said; "let me check it again" & saw the loaded barrel.

I'd add that any gun owner, new or old always read the owner's manual. Loaded chamber indicators & magazine safety designs help prevent ADs.

Id also suggest the "SAS" method. It's safe, fast & you can do it in low light(darkness).

There is no question that the four safety rules should always be followed. That being said, in my humble opinion, this is just one more example of why having to pull the trigger before you can field strip a pistol is a design flaw. Sig and Springfield (in the XDm line) have figured out how to eliminate this potentially deadly step, why can't others?

It's happened here too. 62 year old man dies on shooting range. http://www.wistv.com/story/20223342/police-investigate-shooting-at-gun-range

Plan2Live said:

There is no question that the four safety rules should always be followed. That being said, in my humble opinion, this is just one more example of why having to pull the trigger before you can field strip a pistol is a design flaw. Sig and Springfield (in the XDm line) have figured out how to eliminate this potentially deadly step, why can't others?

It's happened here too. 62 year old man dies on shooting range. http://www.wistv.com/story/20223342/police-investigate-shooting-at-gun-range

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So, he pointed the gun at his chest and then intentionally pulled the trigger? While it was pointed at his chest?

Is there really any helping somebody who is capable of intentionally pulling the trigger on a gun that is pointed at their chest?

I wonder how many of the "I was just cleaning it and it went off" stories are just people covering up obviously stupid things with a made up story that they think sounds better.

Years ago a friend of mine was cleaning a .44 mag revolver and it "just went off". went through his bedroom wall and out the living room wall roughly a foot away from where his dad was sitting in his recliner. I don't get it either.

I can top this: Had a young lady come to work for me back in the late 60s/early 70s. She was the widow of a Chicago police officer who was killed while he and his partner were cleaning their weapons at the kitchen table. One of the guns went off.....

al

Ragnar Danneskjold said:

I wonder how many of the "I was just cleaning it and it went off" stories are just people covering up obviously stupid things with a made up story that they think sounds better.

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My money is on "all of them." I assist with an NRA basic pistol class. I handed a student an unloaded slide locked SIG and asked him to verify it was empty (standard procedure to have one or more people check.) He looked in the mag well, then down the ejection port, then turned the pistol and looked down the barrel. Said, "Yes, it's empty." We had a serious conversation about the first rule of gun safety. He had the temerity to argue with me. "Well, I couldn't see the chamber from the back."

He should have squeezed the trigger to be sure. That's safe, it is the required last step in the military when "clearing" a weapon, so it must be...

My Sig is defective, I can see (and feel) the chamber from the rear, I must be doing it wrong?





P.S. Dear interwebs, this post is sarcasm, please don't look down barrels and squeeze triggers...eeze not safe.

Shot while cleaning his firearm is a polite way of saying suicide.
How does one clean a revolver that is ready to fire?

It's so annoying that my generation (the current college one...) doesn't respect anything, much less guns. A roommate walked in to the room and picked up my AR from where it was leaned and promptly pulled the trigger. I flipped out and went on a way tooo profane tirade I can't repeat, and shouldn't have in the first place, but it's like, really dude? He's an army brat too, you'd think his parents (both service members, God bless 'em) would have taught him a little better.

Thankfully the gun was on safety and unchambered although the magazine was in as I'd only recently returned to the house. Ugh...keep your hands off things you don't understand!

thewillweeks said:

It's so annoying that my generation (the current college one...) doesn't respect anything, much less guns. A roommate walked in to the room and picked up my AR from where it was leaned and promptly pulled the trigger. I flipped out and went on a way tooo profane tirade I can't repeat, and shouldn't have in the first place, but it's like, really dude? He's an army brat too, you'd think his parents (both service members, God bless 'em) would have taught him a little better.

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That can happen at any age group. A friend of my wife's is in his 30s (older than I) and was in the Air Force. One night he asked to see my carry firearm. I unloaded it in another room and handed it to him. Pulled the trigger without even checking. Wouldn't let him touch any of my firearms after that.

herrwalther said:

That can happen at any age group. A friend of my wife's is in his 30s (older than I) and was in the Air Force. One night he asked to see my carry firearm. I unloaded it in another room and handed it to him. Pulled the trigger without even checking. Wouldn't let him touch any of my firearms after that.

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That reminds me of when one of my professors was showing of his $30,000 gun collection to me. He handed me a hand gun and said it was "unloaded" and I could do as I pleased. Thank goodness my father taught me to check guns and never trust someone's word because it was very much chambered (empty mag though, he was guessing from weight I guess) and his wife would have killed us if we'd punched a .45 through the wall. At least it was still in a safe direction the whole time... Needless to say, when we shot together in the future I was a little more careful when he finished a mag and said his gun was "empty".

I have gotten into such a habit of "status checking" my carry guns immediately before holstering and right before they are put away, that the habit has extended itself to any time I pick up any firearm. I do a chamber check, followed by a mag check then another chamber check.
Might seem redundant but the habit is personally very comforting.

Firearms safety. That's one thing it's good to be OCD about. Hopefully these unfortunate incidents can remind the rest of us never to get complacent. I follow the 4 basic rules, and any time I'm gonna dry fire a firearm, I unload it, look and make sure it's unloaded, then feel inside the chamber with my finger to make sure it's unloaded. Then point in a safe direction and put my finger on the trigger and squeeze. If I set the gun down or start to do something else, I start that process over.

I am inclined to not believe that,,,

I am inclined to not believe that,,,
It's like that statement,,,
"It just went off."

I think he was playing with the gun and shot himself.

In about 50 years of being a shooter,,,
I have seen friends have unintentional discharges,,,
They have never occurred during the gun cleaning process.

The few I have seen, witnessed, or been told about,,,
Were always a result of "playing" with the gun.

So when I hear/read: "I was cleaning it and it just went off.",,,
I assume they are lying to cover their mistake/stupidity.

Aarond

.

Makes as much sense as "I was washing my car, and it fell on me."

Warp said:

So, he pointed the gun at his chest and then intentionally pulled the trigger? While it was pointed at his chest?

Is there really any helping somebody who is capable of intentionally pulling the trigger on a gun that is pointed at their chest?

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I've personally seen people turning Glocks in odd directions while they fumble with the two slide release thingys. It's easy to imagine the guy fumbling with the slide release turning the gun this way and that then realizing he never pulled the trigger and bang.

I suppose there is a reason the NRA teaches students to unload their guns in one room then move to another room to clean the gun. It more fully emphasizes the unloading process which should include a visual and tactile chamber check.

Long ago in the middle of the last century, grand pa taught me to clear the weapon, check again THEN, verbally ask the person to confirm clear before you hand it to them.