Anyone point an "unloaded" gun at you?

[cambeul41]

When I was an undergrad at Kansas State in the early 60s, there was a university quick-draw club. On the days when the club met, students could be seen on campus openly carrying their guns to class and around the campus. I assume that most of them were unloaded; I do not assume that all were.

One day, in the student union, a group of us were discussing martial arts. A pistol packing quick-draw artist, approached us and asked something like, "You think that stuff is so good; now what are you going to do?" as he drew on me.

What I did was disarm him. The panicked look on his face was vastly amusing! Then someone had to show me how to verify that the gun really was empty before we returned it.

 

[Pyzon]

That is one of the most annoying problems at gun shows, followed by idiots standing in the middle of the already crowded aisles, shooting the breeze or making deals with other private buyers/sellers making it impossible to get around them.

 

[Shadow 7D]

When I was a kid, a friend of a friend had his single shot .22 out when we were messing around in the Christmas Tree field next to our houses. After him shooting over the dog etc. I got tired of it and decided to go home. He said something, and I returned with something similarly rude. He then pointed his rifle at me, I responded by telling him to drop the rifle before I come over there and shoved it up his *butt*, his reply was something to the effect that he would could just shoot me then. I dropped my hand to the paki bowie knife I kept strapped to my back and told him he would be dead before he reloaded.

My what I remember was one of my neighbors grabbed the gun (looking back maybe the safest) as they both were yelling to drop the gun, he's going to kill you. He tried to make a joke of it 'it's not loaded'
but see. it was, and I knew it.

Not a high point in my life, but I did walk away.

 

[brj3car]

When I was a kid I was visiting my cousins in another state. I wasn't raised around guns but my Uncle Bill and his two boys were hunters, the boys having started hunting at a very young age.

It may have been around Halloween or something but one of the boys was showing off his Superman costume. You know the drill...chest out, flexing his muscles, ect. The other boy pointed a BB gun at his chest as a joke, and we all laughed. At that moment Uncle Bill walked in.

Bill was one of the kindest, gentlest, souls you would ever want to meet. But his reaction to one of his sons pointing a gun at the other was epic. Both of my cousins received a serious whipping that day. I was just a bystander but it truly scared the heck out of me.

My Uncle Bill is long gone now but his lesson remains with me. I sometimes wonder if my cousins remember that incident as well as I do.

 

[foghornl]

Nushif, I was not the only one that had informed said party to keep the muzzle pointed downrange...

Range master was already moving to the line before I spoke...and he had also given notice to the ahhhhh "chuckle-head" about muzzle control

 

[DAP90]

A few years ago in Germany, a private was running a clearing check outside a dining facility, and he stopped a lieutenant and told him he needed to clear his pistol. The LT yelled at him, put the muzzle on his sternum, and said, "It isn't loaded, see?!"; pulled the trigger, and blew out the kid's spine, dead instantly. My soldiers know I will counsel them if they don't control their muzzles.

I have a similar, far less tragic story. Back from the range in Basic we were turning our weapons after the inevitable cleaning. The lieutenant in the armory accepts my weapon, turns it around, puts the muzzle in my stomach and pulls the trigger saying “This is how we’re clearing weapons today”.

I had just cleaned it myself so I knew it was empty but he’d done it to the guy in front of me and presumably everyone else as well. We’d had accidental discharges with blanks when turning in weapons so I knew it was a possibility that not all weapons were empty.

That’s another thing I kick myself for. I’d watched him do it to the guy in front of me, knew it was wrong and still let him do it to me. Guess they’d had me pretty well indoctrinated by that point. Now that I’m not an inexperienced 18 year old kid I’d be a little more … upset… if I saw that.

 

[wallerus]

"Buddy" of mine came out out to where we were shooting drunk off his ass. pulled his 357 out starts waving it around and points it at me. On purpose. After i got up off the ground he's laughing and puts it down. I still don't think he knows I hit him with a 2x4. Took his gun and we all left him there with no gun and no keys.

 

[mgregg85]

Oh boy, I've got a story for you. It involves a friend of mine (who is actually a member of this forum). I can tell you the story from what he told me, but maybe he'll come along to fill in the details.
He was at work (a small machine shop) when somehow they all got to talking about guns. One of his coworkers pulled out a pen-gun to show everyone. My friend (Fulleffect1911) asked to see the pen-gun and asked if it was loaded. His coworker pointed the gun at him, cocked it, and pulled the trigger. "See, not loaded" he said. Fulleffect1911 told me he was so shocked by the stupidity of the act that he was speechless. I also know the guy he's talking about, and though he's a nice guy, he is amazingly careless with a gun in his hand.

That warrants a punch in the face, nice guy or not, idiots should get what they deserve.

I've had a couple of people point guns at me in gun shops, just looking down the sights when checking the gun out but blatantly aiming at me. I always move out of the way and tell them that if they keep pointing a gun at me I'll point my CCW gun at them.

 

[Mrcymstr]

I've been swept on multiple occasions but never directly targeted. God be with the one who ever pulls that stunt! However a slightly less serious offence but still irritated me I had just bought my Mosin Nagant and was showing it off to all who might care. I had cleared it probably 6 times in ten minutes but when I handed it to my stepdad (who had NOT seen me clear said rifle even once) he simply asked "is it loaded and took my word for it instead of checking.... I made sure to inform him sternly to clear next time before he swings it around his bedroom

 

[Jonah71]

Yes. I never shot with him or stepped foot on his property again. That was in 1987.

 

[doc540]

Last weekend while I was alone shooting in a five lane, indoor range, I noticed a young couple outside the viewing window behind me.

(I always look over each shoulder to make sure I'm clear when doing the "walk and shoot" practice thing.)

This range offers full auto machine gun shooting for the public.

The range owner was instructing them how it operated.

They had is shouldered and were sweeping back and forth through the glass.

I stopped, exited the range, sat down and started reading a gun magazine.

No way was I going to be inside that cinderblock box with Johnny Junior and his little wife enjoying their first time with a machine gun.

 

[kingcheese]

isnt having a gun in general enough of a reason to justify lethal selfdefense

yeah, i have a freind that thinks its funny to grab a gun and imediatly point it at me, he keeps most of his long guns loaded, like a complete idot, in a closet, and unlocked

he makes me very uncomfortable, and i told him if it happens again i will indeed beat the crap out of him

 

[MtnSpur]

I grew up in a gun free environment as my folks had no inkling about them nor wanted to. Enter military school and boy was I taught proper weapon handling, care and safety. We were issued M1 Garands for drills, parades and yes, disassembly/reassembly instruction. All weapons were without firing pins but this did not deter our ROTC MSGT from taking every possible opportunity to drill into our adolescent heads that you NEVER point a weapon at another person unless you had the intention of shooting them, PERIOD.


I can't recall the number of times over the years, whether at ranges, gun shows, shops or hunting when I haven't seen a muzzle staring at me and my instant reaction is always swift and decisive: "Point that weapon down NOW"

I survived Viet Nam, I'll be damned if some inconsiderate or uneducated gun handler is gonna accidently take me out.

Can't say it enough: "Every weapon is loaded and even when you know it's not treat it like it is".

Stay safe friends, it's a crazy world we live in.

 

[android]

All guns are loaded.

No, they are not.

Perpetuating this lie causes people to question your credibility and then treat loaded and unloaded guns differently.

Basically you can't lie to yourself and get away with. Your mind knows better and will eventually create an internal inconsistency that will bite you at the wrong time.

"Treat all guns as if they were loaded" is not a lie and is the procedure that should be consistently followed.

 

[txgunsuscg]

not unloaded....

Was at the range and a man and his son two lanes over were shooting. I could tell it was their first time, so I cleared my .22 converted 1911, took it over, and offered to let them shoot it. After I handed it to them, the dad picked up the pistol his son had been shooting and was showing it to me, pointing it all over the place (thankfully his finger was off the trigger). Since I hadn't seen him clear it, I actually had my hands up at waist level ready to grab the gun if it went near me or his son (he did actually point it at his own stomach once). He then offered to let me shoot it. First thing I did was check its condition before I moved lanes. The whole time he had been talking to me the mag was inserted, a round was in the chamber, and the hammer was cocked....

 

[straybullet]

I was over at my aging Father-in-laws visiting and he was excited to show me an old .32 pocket pistol, as he was turning it in his hand the muzzle kept sweeping in my direction, I leaned as far away as possible and was about to ask him to point it the other direction when it fired. The bullet gouged a three inch strip out of his oak coffee table in front of him before becoming lodged in the wall I was sitting in front of. I will no longer let him show me any of his firearms without me checking and clearing them first.

 

[middleground]

Back in 01-02 I was out late at night in the wrong part of town in Belize City Belize. A guy rode up on a bicycle, pointed a silver automatic handgun at me, and demanded my money. Another guy was with me, and the mugger kept changing his point of aim from me to the other guy and back.

I don't know the caliber of the handgun, but when it was pointed at me the barrel looked as big as a manhole cover.

I can vouch for what people say about tunnel vision, time slowing down, and it taking several seconds to realize that the things have truly gone wrong.

 

[straybullet]

I know what you mean middleground, it's sorta like deer and headlights

 

[gathert]

Fight or flight kinda thing can happen, I only hope mine is fight when it really matters and the other guy is slow and untrained. I would think most petty criminals arent trained and I know I can out shoot some wanna-be gang bangers any day. Stress and adrenaline makes most things go out the window in those types of situations though.

 

[middleground]

Looking back at the original topic, i realize that my post does not involve an "unloaded gun," so I apologize for the tangent.

Regarding the deer in the head lights syndrome...As the attempted mugging unfolded, I very disticntly remember thinking to myself "I don't like this TV show, I'm going to change the channel." As rediculous as that sounds now, that is what when through my head. I guess it just took my brain a few seconds to get up to speed.

In my case this situation turned into a fight. A shot was fired but no one lost their life. In retrospect...it was very stupid to fight. If I could do it over I think I would comply with the mugger or run.

Bringing fists to a gun fight, and then dieing over the money in your pocket is not cool.

 

[mgmorden]

Yes, it does occasionally happen. I do question the wisdom of some of you talking about grabbing the barrels and such though. Assuming that the situation truly does look accidental and you're not being held up, anyone likely to sweep or point a gun at you is likely also making the rookie mistake of putting their finger in the trigger guard. Grabbing the gun increases the likelihood of them pulling that trigger TREMENDOUSLY.

All in all, you'd do much better to remind them firmly but calmly to point the weapon in a safe direction.

 

[twofifty]

^^^ Good point.

Grabbing the gun or the person's hand or arm could well lead to the gun going off. Yelling could startle the dofus into pulling the trigger, or turning & sweeping someone else like your kid or wife.

I've noticed the chest thumpers on this thread are content with posturing and threats, while staying firmly rooted to the proverbial 'X'. It is so much more satisfying, isn't it, to threaten to beat up or draw on the idiot while remaining in the line of fire.

Seems to me like:
1. sidestepping, then
2. immobilizing the gun or arm provided there is no one else in the line of fire,
3. or seizing the gun or arm and deflecting it in a safe direction,
4. followed by a direct order such as "Don't ever point a gun at someone else"
would most likely lead to a safe and constructive outcome.

Decide if your priority is to not get shot, then act accordingly. You can stroke your righteous ego later once that gun is no longer a danger to you or others.

 

[straybullet]

A tad bit off topic but I was lost in Google and came upon a product that made me immediatly remember this thread. The product is listed as a "Maglite flashlight gun". Holding the flashlight as a person holds a flashlight will have a chambered .410 shell pointed at you whenever in use.

 

[bigggbbruce]

In my thirty plus years as a gun owner, I have been in the sights many times.... On a couple of occasions I have ducked for cover. Other times I have grabbed the barrel and ducked...

At the gun range I am always looking left and right to see who is on the firing line and if they are competent... Many times I have simply packed up and left...

This is a dangerous sport. And some really should never been sold a gun....

 

[Onward Allusion]

Newbie shooter friend at range says to me... "Hey, wanna try my XDM?.....WHAT?! It isn't loaded!!!"