gun accidents

[Just Jim]

Went to a gun show yesterday and ran into a fellow I see at the gunshops on occasion. We have similar interest in guns and have been aquainted for years so he told me about an accident he had recently with his 1911 Commander.

First he is about 60 and has carried a gun most of his life. He maintains and handles his guns regularly. I notice that he isn't carefull enough as to where the gun is pointed and say so when he handles in a shop I am in. He just says he has handled guns all his life and hasn't shot anyone yet.

Well he was cleaning his 1911 on the kitchen table and just got it back together and loaded it for the nightstand. He was lowering the hammer when the gun went off. He had oily fingers. The 45acp round went through the blinds and out both double sliding glass doors (custom ordered and took two months to get) and hit in the yard outside.

The fellow told me this with great embarassment and his wife is really upset. My opinion is people become over confident with guns and become slack in their handling as it can't happen to them. But just like they guy who drives to work and can't remember the trip so it is with the guy that can't believe he just screwed up.

jj

 

[TallPine]

well, why the heck was he lowering the hammer on a live round in the first place

1911 is designed to be cocked and locked (i don't even have one but i know that)

maybe he should get a DA revolver instead

 

[Just Jim]

The mind of a over familure gun handler is very mysterious that's why accidents happen. My father inlaw who was a decorated WWII veteran said it best to me about thirty years ago, "when you think you know it all your probably full of crap". Men make mistakes when over confident.

jj

 

[Lupinus]

why is he lowering the hammer on a gun ment to stay cocked and locked?

If he wants to have a round in the chamber and the hammer down he needs to get himself a gun designed for such, because a 1911 isn't.

 

[MSGT9410]

I've put a hole in the wall with a dingy 'ole Marlin Model 99 M-1 if it makes you feel any better

Went through the bedroom wall (Gun cabinet in the bedroom), out the other side, over the top of the staircase, and lodged in a stud in the opposite wall.

I learned how to patch sheetrock that night.

 

[Wes Janson]

I kinda have to wonder about someone who shows disregard for muzzle safety, and who is trying to carry/store a 1911 in Condition 2.

 

[XavierBreath]

I kinda have to wonder about someone who shows disregard for muzzle safety, and who is trying to carry/store a 1911 in Condition 2.

Me too. I think that about says it all.

 

[Deer Hunter]

I learned a valuable lesson one day.

My entire family was down for deer season. This was around two years ago. One cousin of mine brought down his new 7mm magnum. He said he needed to go "sight it in". I thought he was an idiot, because you should have done that weeks before the season opened. So off we go to a safe place to shoot. He asked me if I wanted to shoot it, and of course I said yes. I never miss a chance to shoot a new gun. He loads it for me (Maybe he thinks I don't know how to work a bolt action?), operates the safety, and lets me have it.

I take a deep breath, rest the gun firm against my shoulder, and place the crosshairs on the target 100 yards away. I squeeze of the trigger, and I hear a bang.

Not a boom, a bang.

I didn't know what happened. I thought I got hit in the head with the scope, but the only thing going through my mind at that moment was "Man, I was for SURE this thing would kick more than that..."

I sat up, looked around, and then heard my cousin screaming the most unholy profanities known to man. He was obviously upset over something... I wonder what it could be?

Then it hits me. I think I just might have blown up his gun. The bolt had been dislodged and was around a centimeter from my face when I was looking through the scope. The bottom integral magazine was blown out, luckily my hand wasn't there. The bolt looked like it had been damaged, but my face sure was hurting. I wiped my hand across my right cheek, and when I withdrew it there was blood all over it.

That's when I started screaming those unholy profanities.

Luckily, the only thing that hurt really badly was the little flecks of brass that had blown up into my face and under my eye. It seemed like every pore of my face (And us teenagers have got loads of them) had opened up to spew out blood. My cousin got me a rag and I was wiping my face down, inspecting the places where I had been cut by the explosion, and still trying to piece together what had happened.

that's when I saw the box of .270 Winchester ammo in the seat of his truck.

I started throwing those unholy profanities at him this time. He started blaming the people at the store for selling him the ammo. He asked for 7mm magnum, and they gave him .270. Stupid, lame excuse for almost getting my hand and face blown off.

To this day I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I learned my lesson. ALWAYS load the gun yourself.

 

[svtruth]

Why

did he chamber a round if he was going to lower the hammer?

 

[Just Jim]

did he chamber a round if he was going to lower the hammer?

Well I talked further to him and he said the hammer had fallen to half cock on loading a round and when he went to drop the hammer his oily thumb slipped off the hammer. It is interesting the response here, seems some people just can't understand the accident because of obviouse gun handling errors. That's the way accidents happen.

kinda have to wonder about someone who shows disregard for muzzle safety, and who is trying to carry/store a 1911 in Condition 2.

I don't wonder at all as the average person doesn't seem to pay much attention in general and doesn't think about what they are doing. How many times you seen a fool driving with a cell phone stuck to their ear?

JJ

 

[Glockman17366]

I did exactly the same thing with a 1911. I don't know why I carried in condition 2...but that's what I normally did 9at that time). Didn't break a window, but the round went through the baseboard.

I don't carry a 1911 any longer, BTW...

 

[LiquidTension]

How many times you seen a fool driving with a cell phone stuck to their ear?

How is that in any way related to carrying a firearm in a condition it's not designed for?

The guy's mistake was not being overly comfortable with firearms, it was not knowing the gun's manual of arms.

 

[Just Jim]

Quote:
How many times you seen a fool driving with a cell phone stuck to their ear?


How is that in any way related to carrying a firearm in a condition it's not designed for?
===============================================================

People do foolish things that cause accidents and not just with guns. If someone is stupid enough to drive while distracted then they are stupid enough to have a gun accident. It isn't the condition of the gun it's the condition of the mind behind it.

JJ

 

[shermacman]

Quote:
How many times you seen a fool driving with a cell phone stuck to their ear?

How is that in any way related to carrying a firearm in a condition it's not designed for?

By the time you become familiar with common objects you get careless. I was never more careful with my Henry lever action as I was when it was new. The only truly stupid Negligent Discharge I have ever had was with that gun several months after I got it.

Driving a car in a condition that it was not designed for: cell phones and driving cause more deaths that gun accidents.

You can look it up. I am sure you will find corroborating statistics somewhere on the web...

 

[LiquidTension]

You do realize that talking on a cell phone is the same as talking to a passenger in the car right? As long as you dial by feel (like I do) there's no difference.

 

[enfield]

That's not an accident -- it's negligence. Been there, done that, patched the hole in the wall.

 

[moredes]

I kinda have to wonder about someone who shows disregard for muzzle safety, and who is trying to carry/store a 1911 in Condition 2.
Me too. I think that about says it all.

I learned how to patch sheetrock that night.

Ahh, what's to learn?? Toothpaste, every time.

 

[1911 guy]

Muzzle awareness.

O.P. stated that the fellow didn't seem too concerned when it was pointed out to him that he was covering things and people with his muzzle that shouldn't have been. This says it all. Someone who has no regard for the most important of the four rules cannot be expected, without outside compulsion, to pay attention to other things like knowing a manual of arms, common sense (oily fingers when grip is needed?) and courtesy (blowing someone off when they mention your muzzle is covering them).

 

[MachIVshooter]

I have had 3 unintentional discharges, two AD's and one ND. An AD is a gun failure, and in my case both were slamfires, one busted firing pin spring in a series 70 and the other in a S&W 5906 (the previous owner had tampered with the gun and the firing pin block was gone; I suspect the spring was weak as well) . The ND was me lowering the hammer on my Beretta Sampede .45 Colt and loosing my grip. In all three cases, observing the most important rule led to no one being in danger. Two resulted in holes in the floor and the other a bullet going down range before I was ready.

While I practice and teach all of the rules, I put the most emphasis on muzzle, muzzle, MUZZLE! No matter what else happens, if the gun is pointed in a safe direction, no one will be hurt and minimal damage will result.

I also have a discharge barrel in the gun room these days. 24" of sand will stop just about anything, and I strongly recommend this for anyone who handles loaded firearms regularly; unintentional disharges are almost inevitable for a gun nut, be it operator error or a mechanical failure.

 

[Big Gay Al]

You do realize that talking on a cell phone is the same as talking to a passenger in the car right? As long as you dial by feel (like I do) there's no difference.

"Dialing by feel?" So, when you have a passenger in your car, do you "dial them by feel" too? (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!)

 

[TallPine]

The ND was me lowering the hammer on my Beretta Sampede .45 Colt and loosing my grip. In all three cases, observing the most important rule led to no one being in danger.

How is it negligent if the hammer slips while you are pointing the gun in a safe direction

 

[Big Gay Al]

How is it negligent if the hammer slips while you are pointing the gun in a safe direction

It's considered "negligent" because it happened. At least that's the was SOME people treat it.

 

[torpid]

You do realize that talking on a cell phone is the same as talking to a passenger in the car right? As long as you dial by feel (like I do) there's no difference.

Well, passengers in the car can cease the conversation to point out road hazards.

Yay, passengers!

 

[orionengnr]

How is it negligent if the hammer slips while you are pointing the gun in a safe direction?

Unintentional discharges are separated into two genres, negligent and accidental.

An equipment failure produces an accidental discharge.
If there was no equipment failure, it is, by definition, negligent (caused by the operator).

Do a search, there are only about a million threads on this subject.

 

[Pilgrim]

You do realize that talking on a cell phone is the same as talking to a passenger in the car right? As long as you dial by feel (like I do) there's no difference.

It seems to me, personal experience included, that one talking on the cell phone while driving stops scanning the road for hazards and the focus of his eyes is about 20' in front of his nose.

Pilgrim