How to deal with an AD?
- Thread starter StephenT
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StephenT
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Ok, this thread has served its purpose.
I made a bad mistake on Saturday. It was unacceptable. I've had time to think about what the potential consequences. I've reassessed my handling of firearms and ammo in the same room. No one was hurt. Damage was minimal. I'm not giving up my firearms hobby, just vowing to be scrupulous about the four rules.
Thanks for your useful input. I just don't want it to happen to anyone of you. At one time, I also thought ND were something that happened to others, but not me. Now life goes on.
I made a bad mistake on Saturday. It was unacceptable. I've had time to think about what the potential consequences. I've reassessed my handling of firearms and ammo in the same room. No one was hurt. Damage was minimal. I'm not giving up my firearms hobby, just vowing to be scrupulous about the four rules.
Thanks for your useful input. I just don't want it to happen to anyone of you. At one time, I also thought ND were something that happened to others, but not me. Now life goes on.
mfree
Member
I have to insert my 3 cents.
Someone mentioned, maybe joking, having a shot of rum to calm your nerves. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Don't forget that you may have to deal with the police in a few minutes. It's bad enough they have to deal with someone who just ND's in a residential unit, but if they show up and you smell of alcohol...
Someone mentioned, maybe joking, having a shot of rum to calm your nerves. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Don't forget that you may have to deal with the police in a few minutes. It's bad enough they have to deal with someone who just ND's in a residential unit, but if they show up and you smell of alcohol...
That attitude is often why folks have ND's in the first place.
It is human nature to eventually get mentally lax on things that we become overly familiar with, be it power tools, propane, etc. Our responibility is to be aware of this, and keep it in check every time you deal with items that have potentially deadly consequenses when misused.
Members of the "safety fanatic" crowd like me are well aware that if we approach our weapon handling carelessly and casually ignore the 4 basic safety rules we will eventually have a ND. That is precisely why we are stringent on safe handling whenever the gun is in hand, and we come across so serious about NDs. Because it can easily happen to us if we choose to not give it our 100% focus when handling the firearm.
Yes, every gun handling situation (in approach) has a potential for ND, and it can happen to everybody.
But this is not an excuse to take the attitude of: (shrug) "Well, everybody has a ND now and again, don't beat yourself up about it."
Just the opposite.
Ivy Mike
Member
After having my first ND (and it will be my last) recently I came to the conclusion that almost all of these are preventable. Glad no one was hurt!
Mine went like this. I came in from the backyard after playing with the dog at around 11:45pm. I walked in and noticed the front door hanging wide open. This was VERY alarming as I have a habit of locking EVERY exterior door and window. At any rate, I was very thankful that I had been cleaning my Makarov just a few minutes ago and it was still on the kitchen table. I had unloaded it at my nearby computer desk and then gone to the table to take it apart. I was thanking my lucky stars that I had been so inteligent to have a reliable firearm with ammo nearby.
I began to methodically clear the house. I first checked the garage which is adjacent to the front door. All clear.
Next, I moved back into the house and turned left down the hallway. Both secondary bedrooms were open, so I cleared them first. Both OK, windows locked.
Next, I entered the bathroom. I opened the unlatched door slowly and began to push the shower curtain back when...the dog came running in and jumped up on my left leg. He scared the hell out of me and the gun went off.
Well, thats what I thought at first. I settled down very quickly and started thinking about what I had done wrong. The gun had not jus "gone off." I fired it.
First, my finger was on the trigger. -probably the main cause of this ND.
Next, I didn't excercise due caution as far as the gun being loaded.
I thought my backstop was good...but later became a little more concerned about a miss.
Well, I quickly cleared the rest of the house with the gun at my side and my mag-lite in hand. I then surveyed the damage.
First, the Winchester Supreme SXT JHP (.380 95 grain) went through the shower curtain and liner, then through the fiberglass shower. The bullet went through the drywall behind the shower, nearly 10" of insulation and then through another sheet of drywall. The bullet is now in an open living space approx. 8' wide. The bullet passed through another sheet of drywall, more insulation and exited an exterior wall covered with stucco. The bullet removed a chunk of stucco approx 4" in diameter. I never recovered the bullet.
It did not enter my neighbors house, thank god!!!!
All this from such a supposedly weak caliber.
I filled the 9mm holes with expanding foam insulation and began patching. The fiberglass was actually the hardest to fix as the putty that supposedly dries "white" doesn't actually dry that color. I had to paint it with some white enamel. The drywall was easy as was the stucco.
Mine went like this. I came in from the backyard after playing with the dog at around 11:45pm. I walked in and noticed the front door hanging wide open. This was VERY alarming as I have a habit of locking EVERY exterior door and window. At any rate, I was very thankful that I had been cleaning my Makarov just a few minutes ago and it was still on the kitchen table. I had unloaded it at my nearby computer desk and then gone to the table to take it apart. I was thanking my lucky stars that I had been so inteligent to have a reliable firearm with ammo nearby.
I began to methodically clear the house. I first checked the garage which is adjacent to the front door. All clear.
Next, I moved back into the house and turned left down the hallway. Both secondary bedrooms were open, so I cleared them first. Both OK, windows locked.
Next, I entered the bathroom. I opened the unlatched door slowly and began to push the shower curtain back when...the dog came running in and jumped up on my left leg. He scared the hell out of me and the gun went off.
Well, thats what I thought at first. I settled down very quickly and started thinking about what I had done wrong. The gun had not jus "gone off." I fired it.
First, my finger was on the trigger. -probably the main cause of this ND.
Next, I didn't excercise due caution as far as the gun being loaded.
I thought my backstop was good...but later became a little more concerned about a miss.
Well, I quickly cleared the rest of the house with the gun at my side and my mag-lite in hand. I then surveyed the damage.
First, the Winchester Supreme SXT JHP (.380 95 grain) went through the shower curtain and liner, then through the fiberglass shower. The bullet went through the drywall behind the shower, nearly 10" of insulation and then through another sheet of drywall. The bullet is now in an open living space approx. 8' wide. The bullet passed through another sheet of drywall, more insulation and exited an exterior wall covered with stucco. The bullet removed a chunk of stucco approx 4" in diameter. I never recovered the bullet.
It did not enter my neighbors house, thank god!!!!All this from such a supposedly weak caliber.
I filled the 9mm holes with expanding foam insulation and began patching. The fiberglass was actually the hardest to fix as the putty that supposedly dries "white" doesn't actually dry that color. I had to paint it with some white enamel. The drywall was easy as was the stucco.
shep854
Member
Actually, I have had two ND, both over 14 years ago. Properly, I was frightened by the act and the possible consequences (injury to others). As another poster mentioned, I went through a period of intense self-criticism and education. Now, I NEVER handle a firearm without clearing the chamber first. There is in my soul a little nugget of fear that I embrace passionately. If I ever loose that, my guns are GONE!
my story...
I've had ONE ad/nd in 20+ years of shooting. It was at a gun club range, I pointed gun downrange, inserted a loaded magazine into my 1911, grabbed ahold of the slide with weak hand, and let go. The gun chambered a round as expected, but I didn't have a firm enough grip with strong hand. I started to feel I would drop the gun. In my haste to grab the gun before it fell out of my hand, I tried to acquire a better one handed grip. Index finger went you-know-where, and BANG.
Fortunately my ad/nd even went through the paper (not the black tho!).
Almost immediately felt dizzy and queasy like I was going to throw up. Packed up my gear with no further shooting, went home, reviewed safety rules a zillion times in my head, etc.
Never happened again, but I'm SOOOOOOOOO careful now!
Hope sharing this story can help someone to avoid what I did...
I've had ONE ad/nd in 20+ years of shooting. It was at a gun club range, I pointed gun downrange, inserted a loaded magazine into my 1911, grabbed ahold of the slide with weak hand, and let go. The gun chambered a round as expected, but I didn't have a firm enough grip with strong hand. I started to feel I would drop the gun. In my haste to grab the gun before it fell out of my hand, I tried to acquire a better one handed grip. Index finger went you-know-where, and BANG.
Fortunately my ad/nd even went through the paper (not the black tho!).
Almost immediately felt dizzy and queasy like I was going to throw up. Packed up my gear with no further shooting, went home, reviewed safety rules a zillion times in my head, etc.
Never happened again, but I'm SOOOOOOOOO careful now!
Hope sharing this story can help someone to avoid what I did...
Mine happened during a class I was helping with. A student was having difficulty with her Walther P22, which had a doublefeed she was not yet able to clear (very basic class -- we hadn't gotten to jam clearing yet). She asked me for help, and handed me her firearm. I kept it pointed downrange, and cleared the malf. At this point in the evolution, students were supposed to be holding guns that were decocked, so I went to decock it before handing it back to her. As I attempted the decock, my finger slipped and the gun discharged safely into the berm.
What tripped me up?
First, I was hurrying to catch the girl back up with the class. Never hurry with a loaded gun in your hand if you can help it. No excuse for it here, and I won't make that mistake again.
I also couldn't wrap my brain around the upside-down safety of the P22. Yeah, I know half the firearms out there are like that, and don't ordinarily have a problem with it. But it was a factor, and it was compounded by the stupid markings on the switch -- I kept wanting to flip the safety to cover the "S" for "Safe," when in fact the gun was safe when the "S" was uncovered. Because I was hurrying, and handling a gun that wasn't as familiar to me as my own, I did not give these the full concentration I really needed to do.
Finally, again because I was hurrying, I was clumsy. Yes, I had to pull the trigger in order to decock the gun. I had a grip on the hammer so I could lower it slowly, but it wasn't a secure grip. I violated rule Two-and-a-Half, by trusting the safety.
Worst part for me was that it happened in front of my mentor, coach, and friend -- and in front of a group of students who really needed a far better example than I gave them. I'm still embarrassed, as well I should be.
pax
What tripped me up?
First, I was hurrying to catch the girl back up with the class. Never hurry with a loaded gun in your hand if you can help it. No excuse for it here, and I won't make that mistake again.
I also couldn't wrap my brain around the upside-down safety of the P22. Yeah, I know half the firearms out there are like that, and don't ordinarily have a problem with it. But it was a factor, and it was compounded by the stupid markings on the switch -- I kept wanting to flip the safety to cover the "S" for "Safe," when in fact the gun was safe when the "S" was uncovered. Because I was hurrying, and handling a gun that wasn't as familiar to me as my own, I did not give these the full concentration I really needed to do.
Finally, again because I was hurrying, I was clumsy. Yes, I had to pull the trigger in order to decock the gun. I had a grip on the hammer so I could lower it slowly, but it wasn't a secure grip. I violated rule Two-and-a-Half, by trusting the safety.
Worst part for me was that it happened in front of my mentor, coach, and friend -- and in front of a group of students who really needed a far better example than I gave them. I'm still embarrassed, as well I should be.
pax
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