wiski
Member.
A long time ago, I made the habit of personally checking the chamber (and cylinder) of any firearm I handled. I do this even when the person that just checked to see if the gun is unloaded and handed it directly to me is within arms reach and I just watched them do the procedure. Most times I can see what they see, and pretty much know that it is unloaded… I check again anyway.
I always do this… until last week. I was traveling, and stopped into a small gun shop to nose around. The nice old gentleman that ran the place asked what I was looking for, and I told him “used S&W revolvers”. He pulled out a very nice 686 (from under the counter, not in a display case. Later said that it was one of his shop guns) and proceeded to unload it on the top of the counter in front of me. I saw him eject the rounds into his hand, close the cylinder and safely hand it to me.
The handgun was tastefully factory engraved, which I guess distracted me for not more than 20sec as I turned the gun over in my hands to check out the artwork. I then opened the cylinder and discovered a cartridge was left in the cylinder. The shop owner was right in front of me, and needless to say, we were both very surprised. All the other safe gun handling rules were followed (muzzle direction, finger off the trigger, etc) so there was no real danger to either of us, but the shop could have gotten a ventilation hole, and our hearing would have take another blow. Next steps for me in evaluating the condition of a revolver would be to check for “tightness”, end-shake, cylinder/barrel gap, etc. All or most require me to pull the hammer back and squeeze the trigger while easing the hammer back down. If I am serious about the gun, I will also ask to dry fire in both SA and DA. That is the scarry part.
Who is to blame? ME!
I have learned a lesson that will stick with me for a very long time, or possibly forever, and have gotten off rather cheaply compared to some of the stories I have read on this forum and others… negligently shooting refrigerators, cars, etc. I will be "double" checking guns for a long time I suspect.
Be safe.
I always do this… until last week. I was traveling, and stopped into a small gun shop to nose around. The nice old gentleman that ran the place asked what I was looking for, and I told him “used S&W revolvers”. He pulled out a very nice 686 (from under the counter, not in a display case. Later said that it was one of his shop guns) and proceeded to unload it on the top of the counter in front of me. I saw him eject the rounds into his hand, close the cylinder and safely hand it to me.
The handgun was tastefully factory engraved, which I guess distracted me for not more than 20sec as I turned the gun over in my hands to check out the artwork. I then opened the cylinder and discovered a cartridge was left in the cylinder. The shop owner was right in front of me, and needless to say, we were both very surprised. All the other safe gun handling rules were followed (muzzle direction, finger off the trigger, etc) so there was no real danger to either of us, but the shop could have gotten a ventilation hole, and our hearing would have take another blow. Next steps for me in evaluating the condition of a revolver would be to check for “tightness”, end-shake, cylinder/barrel gap, etc. All or most require me to pull the hammer back and squeeze the trigger while easing the hammer back down. If I am serious about the gun, I will also ask to dry fire in both SA and DA. That is the scarry part.
Who is to blame? ME!
I have learned a lesson that will stick with me for a very long time, or possibly forever, and have gotten off rather cheaply compared to some of the stories I have read on this forum and others… negligently shooting refrigerators, cars, etc. I will be "double" checking guns for a long time I suspect.
Be safe.