Have you ever had a negligent discharge?

[Atticus]

Yes.

A few things I learned -

1) You can't undo what you just did.

2) Guns and cartridges work as advertised.

3) Use proper muzzle and trigger control - always.

4) Familiarize yourself with a new weapon when you are fully awake and alert.

5) Remove ammo and mags from the area where you practice dry firing.

6) If you are interupted while dry firing- put the gun away- and when you resume dry firing, check and double check the weapon to ensure it is not loaded.
When you are done- YOU ARE DONE- PUT IT AWAY.

 

[JohnKSa]

I was saved from an ND by a mag safety once...

That remains the closest I've gotten.

 

[Camel]

I voted other because Im not quite sure if this qualifies.

About 5 years ago I was invited to go shoot some trap with a friend and his dad. Being the red-blooded American youth that I was I accepted. After a quick safety brief and explanation of the game I borrowed an over/under 12ga from my friend's dad commenced shooting at some clays. (I say "shooting at" because I wasn't actually hitting anything). Was having a blast until I got a "click" when I should have heard a "bang". Broke open the gun and I had 2 empty cases. I still don't know where that second load of shot went.

 

[John Ross]

I teach two firearms safety classes a week, 10-30 students in each class.

I ask the students in each class to raise their hands if they've NEVER had any kind of automobile accident, including bumping the garage wall while parking.

I'm still waiting for my first raised hand.

That sets the proper tone for the firearms safety lecture.

For the people who've never had an ND, I say "Try shooting 500-1000 rounds a month for 25 years and see if you can still make that statement."

JR

 

[BluesBear]

Not yet.

But I've been standing within three feet of about half a dozen.

 

[shep854]

Again, Kudos to those who haven't. I DON'T want you in this particular club.

For everyone, to borrow another aviation phrase, "complacency kills".

 

[mondocomputerman]

I had a couple friends that had a ND when they were in High School. It was with a BB gun. One of them pumped it 10 times, thought it was unloaded, and pulled the trigger when it was pointed at his friend. He shot him between the eyes with a BB! He left it in there for a few years and you could feel it. Finally he had it removed.

Another friend had a lever action 44 Magnum. He lowered the hammer on a live round and it slipped and fired the gun. The bullet hit a deep freezer and let all the freon out. Previously his dad did the same thing with the same gun.

I haven't had a ND. ...Yet

 

[PaladinVC]

Spring-loaded BB pistol. I was about eight, and was getting it out of the closet to go out and shoot. The idiot who used it last left it cocked with a BB in the chamber, and had left the safety off. The same idiot, getting it out, exercised poor trigger discipline and thwapped one into the sleeve of a hanging coat. No damage, you can see the BB coming out the barrel and could probably catch it if you stood next to the target, but since my dad was standing right next to me...

 

[jdege]

Yep

First time using a new .22 target pistol that had a far lighter trigger than I was used to.

Started to bring it on target from low-ready, put my finger in the guard prematurely, and fired into the ground, about 20 feet downrange.

No damage, because I had kept it pointed in a safe direction.

I doubt that anyone around me noticed that it had gone off before I had intended it to.

But I knew.

And learned from it.

 

[T.Stahl]

Two or three, I guess. .22lr target rifle, a finger touching the trigger when closing the bolt. In all cases the rifle was horizontal, barrel aimed at the backstop. But so far no NDs with handguns or large caliber rifles.

But I do sometimes forget to disengage safeties.

 

[sturmruger]

Not yet..... *knocks on wood*

 

[sgt127]

I had a Colt conversion unit on one of my .45's. Spent a whole afternoon in the river bottoms shooting. When I was through, I took out the magazine, racked the slide a few times, locked it back, looked in, dropped the slide put the thumb safety on and put it back in its holster. Got home, went to the bedroom, took the same gun (that no one had touched) looked to make sure the mag was out, racked the slide a few more times, looked in the chamber, pointed it down on my bed (unnoccupied) pulled the trigger to drop the hammer and the gun went bang. Scared the crap out of me. Yes, there really was a hole in my bed, yes, there was really a piece of brass rolling around on the floor. I was absolutly floored.

After much trying to figure out what happened, the extractor was well worn. The gun would fire and eject but would not exract a live round from the chamber, especially if the gun was very dirty. I found that the back of the empty brass was very dirty and black. I assume from all the racking of the slide, it had packed a bunch of burned powder residue all over it. When I looked in the chamber, I saw only black, which I assumed was the chamber of a dirty gun.

If possible I now stick whatever finger will fit in the chamber of the gun to make sure that there really isn't anything in there. The one thing I did right was pointed it at the inanimate bed before intentionally pulling the trigger. That one got me good....

 

[Sungun09]

Neg. Discharge

When I was 15 I had a bb pistol my parents didn't know about. One evening, I decided to shoot at my (old )dresser. The BB bounced off and hit me above the eye.

I did what any "smart" 15 y.o. would do.. I shot again... and again it hit me above the eye. At this point even I stopped shooting it....

 

[TheEgg]

Other, I guess. About 20 years ago, decided to go to an outdoor range in the winter (this was when I lived in South Dakota), and it was COLD. Decided to shoot my revolver with gloves on, but I was not really used to shooting with gloves on.

Yup, you got it. Cocked the hammer back and was in the early process of aiming, when somehow the leather surface of the glove on the trigger finger get caught up in the trigger and "BOOM". Was following all of the four rules, so the shot went into the berm -- no harm done, except to my sense of complacency.

Nothing since then --- I hope it stays that way.

 

[Dollar Bill]

I have not had a ND or AD yet and I have been handling firearms and involved in shooting activities for over 35 years. It could happen to me, I understand that. A close call was several years ago when the owner, and friend, of I shop I used to frequent handed me a pistol in a butterfly soft case and said for me to look at it and tell me what I thought. I unzipped the case to see a nice looking, though ordinary Browning Hi-Power. I took the piece and racked the slide and to my surprise a loaded round ejected out, which temporarily rattled me and I let the slide go home which chambered another round. Lots of people were standing around the place and I saw quite a few nervous faces at my atrocious gun handling at that incident. All guns are always loaded. Even at home by myself if I lay a gun down, then pick it up later I check it to be sure it didn't magically load itself in the interim or that I didn't forget....

 

[shep854]

Dollar Bill just reminded me of stories I've heard about "unloaded" guns at pawnshops or gun stores. CLEAR A GUN EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU HANDLE IT, NO MATTER WHERE!. Even if it's empty, you practice safe handling until it's automatic, and those around you have a good example of responsible handling.

It may be totally unfounded, but I have heard reports of anti's palming rounds into guns to try to create an incident.

 

[MaterDei]

Even at home by myself if I lay a gun down, then pick it up later I check it to be sure it didn't magically load itself in the interim or that I didn't forget....

I do that too. Better safe than sorry!

 

[TrapperReady]

shep854 and MaterDei - I'm right there with you. EVERY TIME I touch a firearm, I check it. If I'm moving things around in the safe... I'll pull each gun out and check to make sure it's clear. Then I'll lay it down. After ten minutes or so have passed and I've got everything rearranged, each piece gets cleared again prior to storage. You never know when those ammo gremlins will stop by.

Heck, I check them after I've had them apart for cleaning. It's just habit. Anytime a gun touches my hands, I open the action and take a look. I'm not saying that I'll never have an ND, but I certainly doubt that I'll ever have an "I didn't know it was loaded" moment.

 

[joe sixpack]

I shot someone.

This was when I was but a child and was playing cowboys and indians.
My friend had this rubber suction cup ended arrow and I had what I
thought to be an empty BB gun. I had shaken it several times and we
had been playing a minute or so when I took aim and nailed him right
between the eyes. Thank god it wasn't any worse than it was.

Best, ab

 

[BHPshooter]

I was saved from an ND by a mag safety once...

Interestingly enough, if the Hi Power that I had mine with STILL had the mag safety in place, I never would have had mine... But that's a sad fact, since I've always relied on the safety between my ears to work.

It didn't this time. Still makes my stomach churn to think about it.

I would strongly urge anyone who hasn't had an ND to make it one of their foremost goals in life to keep it that way -- seriously. NDs are no fun.

Wes

 

[shep854]

Also, be sure to practice what I consider to be the NUMBER TWO rule of firearms courtesy (RULE ONE is never handle someone else's firearm without their permission): When handing a gun to someone, clear the weapon, and present it to them action open, grip/stock first.

 

[jdege]

Never meddle with old unloaded firearms; they are the most deadly and unerring things that ever have been created by man. You don't have to have a rest; you don't have to have any sights on the gun; you don't have to take aim even. You just pick out a relative and bang away at him. A youth, who can't hit a cathedral at thirty yards with a cannon in three-quarters of an hour, can take up an old empty musket and bag his grandmother every time at a hundred.

- Mark Twain

 

[Joe Demko]

I had a Remington Model 600 discharge on me when I snapped the safety off, a product defect that led to a recall on that rifle. I had the rifle pointed in a safe direction, so nobody was harmed. Well, I was. My father was so angry at what he was convinced was a negligent discharge that he punched me. Still have the gun.

 

[stevelyn]

Two. One due to stupidity, the other was due to the hammers falling on a SxS shotgun on closing. Fortunately both were pointed in a safe direction....well not necessarily so on the first one and no one was hurt not any property damaged.

My first ND occured when I was 16 and deer hunting by myself. I was hunting w/ a Winchester M-94 .30-30 with a loaded chamber and half-cock. I had just finished climbing up a mountain and had stopped near the top to rest. I rested the butt on my thigh with the muzzle pointing up and for some dumb@$$ed reason started playing with the hammer and trigger. The hammer ended up slipping from under my thumb before I released the trigger and I shot a round up into the air. It was fortunate I was in such a remote area that there were no houses within several miles in the general direction of the bullet's trajectory. It scared the livin' hayel out of me and I never broke Rule #3 again.
My second ND occurred while hunting jack rabbits in the desert. I had a Stevens 5100 SxS 12 ga. shotgun and had just shot at a running jack. I stopped to reload and when I closed the breach both barrels fired into the ground in front of me with the recoil nearly breaking my fingers on my shooting hand. I later learned the Stevens had been recalled due to firing on closing the breach.
In both incidents muzzle control saved my bacon and somebody elses. Although muzzle control in the first incident is debateable due to the fact I fired into the air. There is absolutely no such thing as being too strict when observing the four rules. If anything I learned that once you unleash that round there is no calling it back and it goes where it's going to go. The best thing to do is make sure if you break one rule the others will keep you or someone else from getting hurt.

 

[BluesBear]

Golgo-13's Remington 600 and stevelyn's Stevens shotgun were ACCIDENTAL discharges.
It's the fact that they were obeying the rules that kept them from becoming a TRAGIC discharge.