Do you make dangerous mistakes when shooting or handling you pistols?

[Jeb Stuart]

Lol, There is a lot of truth in the adage."Wise old Buck".

 

[straightshooterjake]

I think by "overlap" y'al are referring to the redundancy of safety rules, right? How one safety rules is kind of a fail safe in case you break another? One of my trainers said - if you could be 100% certain you would never break rule #3, you could disregard rules 1&2 and still never have an tragic accident. It made sense but who's 100%? So, like the overlap

The overlap in the safety rules is important, and it is true that most injuries occur from violating every safety rule at the same time, but this is not always the case. In rare cases, mechanical failure can cause a firearm to discharge when the trigger is not touched. In these cases, rule 3, which states to keep your finger off the trigger, is not sufficient. Cases of mechanical failure where the trigger was not touched are the only times when I would use the term "accidental discharge" rather than "negligent discharge." And while these cases are exceedingly rare, they can happen during any type of manipulation of the firearm, such as when the safety is disengaged, the bolt is closed, or the decocker is activated.

For this reason, the most critical safety rule is to always keep the muzzle in a safe direction. If this rule was never violated, there could never be an injury. As a Range Safety Officer, I emphasize to people the importance of controlling the muzzle, and I especially mention the importance of controlling the muzzle when the gun is UNLOADED. As several honest people have admitted on this thread, even very careful people can momentarily forget that a gun is loaded. It is critical to habitually control the muzzle at all times, whether loaded or unloaded. Ingraining proper habits makes a huge difference in case there is a momentary lapse of the conscious mind. I always keep in mind that most accidents happen with "unloaded" guns.

Despite the critical importance of keeping the muzzle in a safe direction, no safety rule is actually "the most" important. All of the safety rules overlap and work together to create multiple layers of safety. And because humans are not perfect, layered safety is critically important. As I mentioned earlier, in most cases of injury, every safety rule was violated simultaneously. By maintaining a good focus on following all the safety rules, a momentary mental lapse in one area should not even come close to causing an injury. It should, however, be a learning experience and a time to review procedures. Perfection is a tough standard, but it should always be the goal.

 

[Hokkmike]

The problem is that an error with guns can have life-long and life-ending consequences. Be deliberate, go slow, think, and follow the basic safety rules. Put the chance of error on the lowest possible side of the probability curve. If something does happen, learn from it and take corrective measures to avoid repetition. If problems are recurrent, minimize contact with firearms.

 

[someguy2800]

I just remembered this. I shoot an action pistol league at an indoor shooting range. They have a rule that no firearms can be out of the holster unless you are up to shoot, or at a table they have placed against the wall, facing toward the wall. If you need to do any testing or fixing on your gun you need to do so at this table against the wall. After you shoot your match the range officer asks you to drop the mag, rack the slide, and pull the trigger pointed at the backstop to be certain your clear. Well last week he threw a curve ball at us where he wanted us to shoot the last round one handed so several people were going to the wall to practice dry firing one handed before they shot. I went up to do so and cocked the hammer and dry fired and even though there was nothing in the chamber I suddenly alarm bells went off in my head when I realized that I had forgot to check the chamber before doing so. So there was a potential there for a negligent discharge into the wall which would have been very embarrassing, unsafe, and probably would have gotten me kicked out. Its ingrained in my brain to check the chamber on every gun I ever pick up but for some reason it just lapsed that moment. I even check the chamber when a clerk hands me a gun at the gun store.

Whats interesting is that all of my moments of unsafe gun handling have been in the past few years, and I've been shooting for 20 years. Perhaps I am getting too comfortable.

 

[primalmu]

I have to be careful when I'm at the range. I have small hands, and my thumb is not long enough on most handguns to lock the slide back comfortably while pointing down range. At home, when I don't have anyone to my left, I will turn the gun left in my hand (pointing the muzzle to the left) so I can reach the slide. I find at the range I have to turn my body to the left so I can keep the muzzle pointed down range to lock the slide back.

 

[Jim NE]

One thing to remember is to deal properly with a carry weapon in an IWB holster while removing clothing. I was using the restroom the other day and the revolver I was carrying fell out of the holster and onto the floor. It was a good quality gun - S&W model 36 - so it wasn't going to accidentally discharge, but I felt dumb for not removing the gun and holster first.

Of course, when you remove the gun and holster, don't leave it in the restroom like Mitt Romney's Secret Service agent did. That's worse than having the gun fall out of the holster.

 

[BobWright]

I can truthfully say I've never done anything dangerous in gun handling. I went through the stages as a youngster from BB gun, .22 rifle, then .45 Revolver. My mother was totally against my having guns, while my Dad was O.K. with it. I knew that Dad's influence would be over ruled if I ever experienced any accidental firing and my privilege of gun ownership would vanish should that happen. I learned how to open and inspect every type of firearm and clear it before handling any further, including that Japanese Nambu that would fire by pressing on the side of the frame! I made it a habit of checking each gun every time I picked it up. (This practice has saved me embarrassment on two occasions.) I learned gun handling first from the Daisy Red Ryder Handbook, then from other books and magazines. I was on the ROTC rifle team one year in high school, several pistol teams afterwards, both civilian and Army. Gun safety has been drilled into my head such that it is second nature, but never routine, with me.

In over sixty years of shooting, I have had exactly one accidental discharge, and that of no consequence as I had maintained the position of having the muzzle in a safe direction. This accidental discharge happened when I was first introduced to the Thompson Contender pistol.

I was being led through the various barrels, beginning with the .30-30 and working up to the .45-70. When I was on the .35 Remington, I squeezed off a round, only to feel the trigger break but the hammer didn't fall. I held the gun on target for about one minute, finger out of the trigger guard. As I brought the pistol back to the ready position, at about 45 degrees, the pistol fired. The muzzle whipped back and caught me just under my right cheek bone and cutting a slight gash. But I had held the pistol downrange so no harm was done. These guns had been fired extensively with very heavy loads and their innards were pretty burred up, and that is what caused the hang fire.


Bob Wright