Have you ever accidently discharged in your house or apartment?

[crofrog]

+1 Gun's aren't toy's don't treat them as such and you'll be fine. When I handle a gun I first thing asses it's state. Both with my fingers, and my eye's.



Chris

 

[Battlespace]

My first and only AD was when I was 12 and hunting ducks with my dad and using an Iver Johnson 16 ga single shot, which I still have. I had pulled the hammer back and did not shoot so was going to lower it. It was colder than blazes, so I had thick gloves on. The muzzle was pointed down and right in front of me and my dad. When the shot pattern appeared in the dirt, he simply looked at me and said something about "that is why you never point a loaded gun at something you do not intend to kill." A lesson that has stuck with me for over 45 years.

 

[lowracer]

Never

Never

Before dry-firing I visually and manually check to be sure it's empty. Three Times. Every Time I pick it Up.

 

[Matthew748]

I never have and I intend to keep it that way. I do not practice dry firing and I never put my finger near the trigger unless I intend to shoot or need to for field stripping reasons. At home, my guns are always either locked in my safe, in a holster, or disassembled and being cleaned.

 

[NukemJim]

My question is: has anyone here shot off a round in an apartment or suburbs... and not contacted the cops... hoping no one else heard the gun shot?

The noise of a single shot is extremely unlikely to be called in to LEO's. A single shot/firecracker for whatever reason (hard to locate single noise that does not repeat, maybe people are not sure what it is) RARELY gets LEOs called, and even if they are it is extremely difficult for them to locate where it came from.

The above is presuming the projectile (if there is one) has not left the house/apartment and noise/smell are the only consideration. If there is a projectile that someone has been hit with, seen hit something, or left bullet hole on something all bets are off.

Why do I sound so positive about the above? I used to hang with some guys who started out a bit wild and ended up being totally nuts. ( I stopped hanging with them after an incident on the way to totally nuts that involved LEOs and fisticuffs )

NukemJim

 

[evan price]

I pulled up to a rented cinder block garage one night and saw the outside light was off. So I got out of my car and stuck my key in the lock switch to open the automatic opener, making a note to put in a new light bulb. My car was still running and lights were on so when the door rolled up it clearly illuminated the scumbag trying to shove my table saw out the back window. I grabbed my Glock 19 from by the car seat (door was still open) and turned back around, the scumbag dropped my saw when he saw the gun (it stuck, blocking the window) and realized he had blocked his avenue of escape, ran right for me, grabbing a tool off of the workbench and throwing it at me as he ran, I automatically threw my arm up and deflected the tool and >pow< discharged a shot... perp kept running and vanished into the night. Street was one-way the wrong way and I didn't want to leave my car sitting there running in case he had buddies so I shut off motor and by that time he was long gone.

Went into garage, found he has shut off power at the circuit panel disconnect on the back of the garage (Now always put a padlock on them!) flipped power back on to find I had put a nice ovalled 9mm sized hole through the left quarter panel of my 84 Ford Mustang drag race car parked in the garage. Bullet lodged somewhere, never did find it.

Never bothered calling the cops, it was a rough neighborhood. Bolted Uni-Strut over the window with 3/8" lag bolts into the block. Welded punched steel over the unistrut.

Wound up putting a "JEG'S" sticker over the hole in the car. Sold it a few years later, the new owner probably peeled the sticker off one day and wondered, ***?!?

 

[mountainclmbr]

No, never in over 25 years of handling guns on a daily basis. But I did attend a CCW firearms safety class taught by a county sherriffs deputy who was placed in this position because he accidentally shot his TV with his duty weapon. Don't know what show he was watching. I would like to speculate, but not here!

 

[Capital Punishment]

I have never AD/ND'ed, but I did do something stupid once.

I used to keep my ruger 22/45 handgun in my room because i liked to shoot at squirrels/birds with it from my back porch. I didnt keep it loaded but i kept a loaded mag next to it.

One day i grabbed the mag and gun, went out on the porch, loaded it and shot at a squirrel ( i missed ). Took out the magazine, racked the slide to eject cartridge and put it back in its holster in my room.

A couple of days later i went to shoot at another squirrel. So i grabbed my gun and put the magazine but didnt rack the slide. I went out on the back porch and went to rack the slide. I pulled it back, let it go and it only went forward about 1/8th an inch and stopped. Wierd, i thought, must of stovepiped. Tried again. Until I actually looked at the chamber and found a round already in the tube and a round right behind it that i was trying to feed. I sat dumbfounded for a few seconds until i realised what i had done. The day before, I didnt visually inspect the chamber to ensure the round ejected. My ejector had failed.

Easy lesson learned: ALWAYS visually inspect the chamber. :banghead:

 

[AJ100x100]

NEVER by accident.

 

[AJ100x100]

Just ONCE on purpose.

 

[bruss01]

Couple of years ago I attended a 1 day NRA Handgun Safety course (primarily to get the certificate as qualification for a CMP purchase). This real cute little gal showed up with her boyfriend to take the course, and surprise, they hadn't brought any pistols with them since they didn't own any. No matter, between the 3 instructors they came up with a couple of loaners, and the gal was loaned a Ruger .22 pistol.

After a morning of typical classroom safety instruction, we headed out to the range for the "live fire" portion of the class. I was having a bit of a problem with the brand-new Springfield XD I was using (turned out to be an ammo issue) and I was in the process of putting it away during a ceasefire to swap it out for my GP-100 when suddenly I hear a "BANG!" so I'm thinking, whoever that was just got into deep squat with the RO instructor. Well, guess who? It turns out the cute lil' gal with the Ruger .22 was having a problem/question so one of the big, brave, knowledgeable instructors was helping her when he cut one loose on accident. Fortunately the other three rules were being followed and no one was hurt, but he sure got some looks.

That is the ONLY ND I have ever witnessed, and done by an "instructor" who was no doubt "distracted" while handling a loaded firearm.

 

[HankB]

Sounds like I'm almost the only one on this forum professional enough to handle a Glock Forty . . .

Seriously, I had safety drilled into me at an early age (Thanks, Dad!) and the closest thing I've had to an AD or ND is a round going off at the range when I touched the trigger on a neighbor's gunsmithed Colt revolver and learned the meaning of "hair trigger." (The round DID hit the paper, though not in the black, so I guess it doesn't really fit the AD/ND definition of this discussion.)

Second closest was a mechanical flaw - a friend's HK4 (Heckler & Koch's cheap sheet metal stamping ripoff of the Mauser HSc) took to doubling and tripling unexpectedly and unpredictably.

I have loaded guns all over my house (well, that's a slight exaggeration, but there are no little kids to worry about in my home) so I just don't dry fire; I know it would be good for my marksmanship, but there's just too much risk of picking up a loaded gun and putting a hole in something I don't want to, so I just follow the premise that "all guns are loaded" all the time.

 

[BrianMajors]

Once and hopefully never again

I was unloading my Winchester 1890, my backyard squirrel gun. We had company coming over and he was a hunter, so I thought I'd show him my guns, so I was unloading this one before they got there. I had just helped my wife lotion her back, so my hands were a little slippery. Add to that, I was rushed and not thinking. Instead of taking out the magazine tube and dumping the .22s out first, I was racking the pump slide for every round, then lowering the hammer with my thumb. Well, after 2 or 3, my thumb slipped off the hammer. It lodged into the bottom of the baseboard, just where it meets the carpet, about 3 or 4 inches from the sliding glass door.

Here's what really shook me up about it. My wife was on the couch to my right, and my daughter (2yr old) was walking up behind me to see what I was doing. It took me about 20 years of gun handling to become complacent, but it got my attention for sure!

 

[Carl N. Brown]

2. NEVER let muzzle cover/sweep any person or animal not a target.

And when dry firing, use a backdrop that will safely receive a forgotten round.

 

[Big Larry]

Not in the house. Knock on wood,(my head for one), the only AD I've had was when I was 15 (I'm 48 now)and rabbit huntin with my BIL. I had an old Mossberg 20 gauge, bolt action, with 2 round magazine and adjustable screw on choke. (It's since been stolen). Anyway, I couldn't remember if the slide safety was up for safe, down for fire, so I put it where I thought it was safe, and had the gun pointed down. Pulled the trigger and dang near blew my bil's foot off. He's about 6 years older than me, and short of beating the snot out of me, he got his message across pretty good. It was good lesson for me. Thankfully no one got hurt.

 

[cnyankee]

never. i always make sure i clear all guns before i leave range or woods and i never have a loaded weapon in my house. guns are locked in the safe and ammo in another part of the house. i have a teen that i dont trust (more her friends than her). she doesnt know i have guns.

now i have shot the ceiling of the indoor range i go to. i was embarrassed when it happened but then didint feel as bad when i looked at the ceiling and noticed many holes in it.

as for calling leo i would only call if i knew it hit someone or i knew it went trhough a wall to the outside and coudnt locate it.

 

[Templar223]

NO! Follow the 3 rules!

If I had one where I live (condo): A very real possibility of a criminal charge. If I ever had a neighbor have one, I'd give him or her a stern talkin' and if I wasn't satisfied, I'd call the law.

John

 

[jeepmor]

Yes, when I was about 12, in hunters safety course.

We were in Hunters safety course and the high dollar Fenwerkbau pellet gun discharged as I closed the breech. Another new hole in the ceiling tile. Instructor was mad, guy next to me saw the whole thing and told the teacher I did not have my finger anywhere even near the trigger and was simply closing the action. One hand was on the forend of the stock, the other on the long pump like arm that closed the breech and pumped up some air I suppose. Bottom line, both hands were at least 1 foot away from the trigger during discharge. Good safety lesson, bad gun. Got a demerit for that one that I honestly did not deserve.

The fact that a fellow student witnessed it was all I needed for a clear conscience. The fact that the instructor did not inspect the gun thoroughly was disappointing. The person vouching for me was not a friend who would lie for me, he was actually one of the guys who would normally not miss an opportunity to roast me. But him sticking up for me on that one really did bring us to a common moral ground, it was kinda neat. He did not fail to roast me on further occasions in other classes, we were only 12.

This is probably why I check a firearm so many times while handling it. I mean I check my pistols every time I pick them up while cleaning. A good nervous habit that reminds me of this event above nearly everytime I open a breech.


jeepmor

 

[psychophipps]

I've heard that the main different between an Accidental Discharge and a Negligent Discharge is wether you hit anything. Negligent means you were a gooferoo and fired your weapon when you didn't mean to. Accidental means you shot yourself, someone else or something important when you were a gooferoo with your weapon.

Might be wrong to some of you guys own definitions, of course...
Mark(psycho)Phipps( HAHAHA! )

 

[1911 guy]

Dad did, I almost did.

When my Dad was a kid he had a bolt action .410. It's in my cabinet now, hasn't been shot in ages. Here's why. Dad was getting ready to go bust some bunnies and tree rats, figured he'd just top off the mag (detachable box) before putting on the gloves and stepping out into January weather. He works the bolt, BANG! upon closing. He'd put so many rounds through it that the sear is worn WAY beyond safe limits. If I take it out of the cabinet now, work the bolt and put the safety on, I can drop the firing pin by tapping the trigger SIDEWAYS.

My near ND was shortly after returning stateside from the service. Single life as a civilian was agreeing with me, had a job and apartment all to myself. Shotgun by bedside, out of habit. One night I'm laying in bed, sound asleep, when I here a "Whump!" and I come up with the shottie, I actually really woke up when the bolt went foreward. That's when I saw the laundry I'd stacked up had fallen over. You know, single guy, last pair of skivvies, 8 baskets of clothes to do all at once. Stacking them up gives a Tower of Pisa effect.

 

[Working Man]

Accidently, no. Stupidly/neglectfully, yes.

Up until recently I had not had any sort of mishap in 25 years of
shooting/handling a firearm. I had become complacent, lazy, although
I thought I was being safe and knew exactly what I was doing I obviously
did not or else I would not be posting this now.

A high velocity Remington .40 is rather loud when it goes off in a small room.

I was getting ready to go to the store to buy some groceries, my CCW is the
last thing I add when I head out the door. I have an IWB holster that I
altered to carry my HK .40 upside-down in a cross draw manner down the back
of my pants. I put it in place and tightened my belt but something did not feel
right.

Mistake #1., I drew my HK (adhering to the 4 rules) adjusted my
holster and re-holstered my HK without loosening my belt.

..... the holster should have been removed, adjusted and reseated with the
HK holstered.

Mistake #2., I did not check my decock when the HK was re-holstered.

The HK still did not seem to sit correctly so I unholstered it again (adhering
to one less rule than before) and a ND occurred.

Mistake #3., repeating previous mistakes.

Mistake #4., My finger was not held out of the trigger guard.

It was an odd feeling when it went off. I automatically hit the decock and do
not even remember it. I was pointing it at the dresser draw I kept it in when
I discharged it.

Here is the interesting part. The high velocity Remington .40 JHP cut through
2 pairs of Haines underwear, the base of the top draw, then gouged at a
slight angle through the front of the 2nd draw (solid oak). At the point of
exit of the draw front the round was off course by about 2 inches where it
cut through a shoulder holster then through the bottom of the 2nd draw.
It continued through at this angle into my 3rd draw which contained a large
home made med kit. It shattered a section of the top of the kit and smashed
some thin stainless steel tools before exiting the box and bottom of the 3rd
draw. At this point it is approaching the back of the dresser and enters the
4th draw. It penetrates the 4th and final draw at the back bottom corner
and enters the dresser casing blowing out the framing since it no longer has
enough velocity to punch a clean hole.

I move the dresser and find the head almost 3 feet to the right of the exit
area (opposite angle it was traveling). No marks are found on the floor and
the HP has collapsed and reshaped into an oblong shape. I tryed to use the
head to trace the rout and find after it exists it begins to tumble through the
other draws.

I placed the head back into the spent casing and it is now kept on my
dresser as a reminder (along with the hole I can see in my second draw) that
I look at every morning and every night.

 

[crofrog]

I live on a boat, an ND could become a very interesting exerpince for me. That's why I'm extra vigilant. It's easy to want to check the gun a few more times. When a ND could mean your house sinks.

 

[dfaugh]

No, but a close call recently

Was shooting at the range, with my Marlin Model 60...Bolt locked back (normally meaning its empty)...Put it in the case, and loaded up to go home. Later that evening, I was cleaning it. Released the bolt once, then locked it back again. cleaned the barrel and as much on the chamber area as I can (patch on little finger. Closed the bolt again. Removed (tube) magazine follower, and put a light coat of oil on it. Dry fired it so I could put a drop of oil in the trigger mechanism. Pulled the slide back once again, so I could put a couple drops of oil in there. When I did this, I heard the sickening sound of a round dropping on the floor... I have NO idea where that sucker was hiding.

 

[old4x4]

Nope. Never happened and it never will.
I know many people who are shooters and it hasn't happened to them, either. The sheer number of those who have done it frightens me to the bone. Those rounds can and do pass thru outside walls and out to where innocent people are (or those in the house itself). I'm more careful than that. Ain't happening.

 

[bruss01]

2 kinds - those who have, those who will. Never say never, it tempts the fates.