Gander Mountain "Bubba" The Smith

[iScream]

Wow, even if you're absolutely correct and there is very little danger under these specific circumstances you just don't look down the barrel of a loaded weapon. I wouldn't dream of doing it even if I was sure there was no round chambered and the safety was on. Thinking about looking down the barrel of a weapon after a malfunction and possible chambered live round honestly makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Do you really want some 13 year old kid reading this to think it's OK to look down the barrel of a loaded gun under any circumstances? Whether we like it, or deserve it, or not, having a high post count and being registered on a forum for almost 3 years makes some people consider your statements as more credible. To me, it seems very irresponsible to even remotely suggest it could be OK to point this gun at your face.

-Chris

 

[R.W.Dale]

you cannot see down 24" of .308 hole no matter what methiod you employ so why bother with risking having your brains splattered all over the celing

again you cannot see down a bbl well enough to tell anything. You can only see through them

 

[bikerdoc]

Guns do not fire by themselves.

Right, but The trigger has already been pulled resulting in a hangfire. Yes it will fire by itself, if and when it want to. THERE IS A LIVE ROUND IN THE CHAMBER.

Follow the 4 safety rules.

It is late. Good Night.

 

[2RCO]

No pointing the loaded gun at your head unless you want your ticket punched.

The odds of blowing your head off may be small but why take the chance?

 

[Geno]

I can't believe my eyes in this thread! Geronimo45...you serious or you just messin with our minds?! If the next time I'm at the range I hear them call for "Clean-up on shooting lane 7", I'll know it was you.

 

[Blackbeard]

Let's make this simple.

Chance of being shot in the head while looking down the barrel: Almost zero.

Chance of being shot in the head while not looking down the barrel: zero.

I'll take zero, thank you.

P.S. Playing Russian roulette with only one live round, the odds are you won't blow your head off. I still don't want to play.

 

[Geronimo45]

Chance of being shot in the head while looking down the barrel: Almost zero.

Chance of being shot in the head while not looking down the barrel: zero.

Thank you. Agreed. I believe that was my original thinking on the issue.

I can't believe my eyes in this thread! Geronimo45...you serious or you just messin with our minds?!

A little of both (since I enjoyed this thread, probably the latter). Playing Devil's advocate is a great way to learn the 'why' for positions you believe in but never thought out (people who are ticked off talk a lot). I guess the stay-away-from-the-muzzle bit is simply a basic tenet. Its value is such that it remains in effect even when the chance of danger is slight.

 

[KYShooter]

Who taught you firearm safety, whoever it was they failed miserably, if you treat the gun as if it is loaded then there is no reason to see if it is loaded until you are able to pull the bolt back and check the old fashioned(correct) way.

 

[Sport45]

I tried to eject the round but the breach would NOT open. Got some help from some others and there was no way we could open it. I was pretty sure I had a live round in the chamber.

Decided I would deal with it later and put it back in the truck.

…

Had a friend help me later carefully disassemble the rifle. He held it towards the berm while I removed the trigger group, removed the stock. I just had to play around with the op-rod and then it opened to reveal a live round with a light hit.

The OP never said he took the gun into Gander Mountain and I'll assume he didn't since it would have been hard to demonstrate it was unloaded at the door. I'll assume he just went back and talked to the 'smith.

There's been a lot of talk about looking down the barrel of the gun in this situation. There's no way I'd try to do that. I wouldn't put a cleaning rod or anything else down the barrel either.

When I read the post I wondered how many people had been swept by the muzzle of that loaded rifle between the time of the misfire and the time they got the round out of the chamber. The hammer may well have been partially cocked the entire time. The light primer strike he reported is pretty much normal for the Garand when chambering a round. It does not indicate the hammer had fallen.

 

[hso]

. Its value is such that it remains in effect even when the chance of danger is slight.

And the consequences are catastrophic.

I've been in the safety profession for 20 years. When the potential is low, but the consequences are catastrophic (head blowed off) you rate the risk as high. Sounds like one of those situations.

 

[rogertc1]

Remember the gun will shoot you if you peak down it's barrell. They are kinda sneaky you know.

 

[CajunBass]

Well. At least the heat is off "Bubba" now.

 

[rbernie]

I guess the stay-away-from-the-muzzle bit is simply a basic tenet. Its value is such that it remains in effect even when the chance of danger is slight.

Uh, yes.

When the potential is low, but the consequences are catastrophic (head blowed off) you rate the risk as high.

Exactly.

I cannot believe that it took fifty seven posts for this basic notion (aka 'common sense') to become evident to some of y'all.