General Geoff ~
I had decided to concentrate only on preventable, unintentional discharges that featured some human error. After reading your story and the rest of that thread, I've decided to include it as well because there are still lessons we can learn from both events. Thanks for pointing it out to me.
***********
More events:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=64140 post #28 -- Gun owner had people coming over for a party, and put his loaded handgun in a kitchen cupboard. During the party, one of the guests found the gun and sent a round through the cabinet and then through an exterior wall. The bullet lodged in a banister on the outer wall of the staircase outside the gun owner's apartment. The owner and the guest had both been drinking. Causes: an irresponsible person (the guest, who had been drinking and who may not have known anything about firearms or firearms safety) was given access to a gun. He thought the gun was unloaded (rule 1) and pointed it in an unsafe direction, and deliberately pulled the trigger with the gun pointed in that unsafe direction (rules 2, 3, and 4).
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=64140 post #14 and #18 -- Shooter was dry-firing a gun, then loaded it preparatory to putting it away for the evening. Shooter got distracted by reading some material that was lying on his workbench, then picked up the pistol, racked the slide from the front and pulled the trigger in one motion. The bullet passed through the shooter's hand, removing his pinky finger. Causes: Distraction (reading material). An unloaded gun (rule 1). Unsafe direction (rule 2 - body parts in front of the muzzle). Finger on trigger while racking the slide (rule 3).
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=183803 Shooter was cleaning two guns. Finished with one, loaded it, cleaned the other. Decided to "check on" the first gun, sent a round within inches of his own leg. Shooter commented that he habitually does keep the gun pointed in a safe direction, and the round came to rest inside his floor. Causes: an unloaded gun (rule 1). No further harm resulted because rule 2 was followed.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=183803 post #41 Gun owner took his wife out goose hunting. She had never been hunting before, but he assumed she would be okay. He told her when and where to get up to shoot, but did not discuss the four rules with her. Later that day, she stood up in the blind to shoot, swinging the shotgun around and pulling the trigger when it was about 4 inches away from the gun owner's ear. Shooter comments, "I almost got my head blown off because I was too stupid to take the time to teach a beginner safety basics before handing them a shotgun and ammunition." Apart from hearing damage, no harm resulted from the mishap, but this was due to luck, not to deliberate safety procedures. Causes: rule 4 violation.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=267562 The shooter was at the range with a Remington 700 rifle which had not been fired in several years. With the gun pointed safely downrange, the shooter placed five rounds into the rifle and cycled the action (bolt action), putting a round into the chamber. He tried to pull the trigger, and the trigger did not move. Puzzled, keeping the muzzle pointed downrange, he handed the rifle to a friend. The friend was also unable to pull the trigger, and rotated the bolt handle up and then stiffly back down again. Still no trigger movement. The man had removed his hand from the trigger area, and he and his friend were looking quizzically at the gun when it went off a few seconds later. Causes: The gun these shooters were handling was mechanically unsafe, but no harm resulted from the broken mechanism because the two shooters were consciously and carefully following all four of the safety rules. Even though the gun fired without anyone having a finger anywhere near the trigger, no harm resulted, because the shooters did not allow the firearm to point at anything they were not willing to shoot (rule 2). In this case, treating the gun with respect (rule 1) and good muzzle discipline (rule 2) saved the day even when the gun malfunctioned.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=267562 post #14 tells the tragic story of a similar malfunction with another Remington 700. More details of the actual shooting can be found at http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a8098b57302.htm and http://missouriwhitetails.com/other_news.htm. This one was a horrific tragedy: a Montana mom was unloading her rifle at the end of a hunt. In her own words, "I pulled the safety off and it fired. The gun went off. My finger was nowhere near the trigger. I had an open hand." Her 9-year-old son was on the far side of the horse trailer at which the gun was pointed when it discharged, and was shot through the abdomen. He died in her arms a short time later. Causes: there is no doubt that the gun was mechanically unsafe. Guns should not fire when no one is touching the trigger! This was, plain and simple, a dangerous mechanical error. Damage from the mechanical error could have been averted, however. The mom had the rifle pointed in an unsafe direction (rule 2) when the mechanism malfunctioned. If she had been following all four of the rules at that moment, the gun would still have fired unintentionally, but that terrible tragedy would not have happened.
Stay safe out there, folks.
pax
I had decided to concentrate only on preventable, unintentional discharges that featured some human error. After reading your story and the rest of that thread, I've decided to include it as well because there are still lessons we can learn from both events. Thanks for pointing it out to me.
***********
More events:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=64140 post #28 -- Gun owner had people coming over for a party, and put his loaded handgun in a kitchen cupboard. During the party, one of the guests found the gun and sent a round through the cabinet and then through an exterior wall. The bullet lodged in a banister on the outer wall of the staircase outside the gun owner's apartment. The owner and the guest had both been drinking. Causes: an irresponsible person (the guest, who had been drinking and who may not have known anything about firearms or firearms safety) was given access to a gun. He thought the gun was unloaded (rule 1) and pointed it in an unsafe direction, and deliberately pulled the trigger with the gun pointed in that unsafe direction (rules 2, 3, and 4).
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=64140 post #14 and #18 -- Shooter was dry-firing a gun, then loaded it preparatory to putting it away for the evening. Shooter got distracted by reading some material that was lying on his workbench, then picked up the pistol, racked the slide from the front and pulled the trigger in one motion. The bullet passed through the shooter's hand, removing his pinky finger. Causes: Distraction (reading material). An unloaded gun (rule 1). Unsafe direction (rule 2 - body parts in front of the muzzle). Finger on trigger while racking the slide (rule 3).
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=183803 Shooter was cleaning two guns. Finished with one, loaded it, cleaned the other. Decided to "check on" the first gun, sent a round within inches of his own leg. Shooter commented that he habitually does keep the gun pointed in a safe direction, and the round came to rest inside his floor. Causes: an unloaded gun (rule 1). No further harm resulted because rule 2 was followed.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=183803 post #41 Gun owner took his wife out goose hunting. She had never been hunting before, but he assumed she would be okay. He told her when and where to get up to shoot, but did not discuss the four rules with her. Later that day, she stood up in the blind to shoot, swinging the shotgun around and pulling the trigger when it was about 4 inches away from the gun owner's ear. Shooter comments, "I almost got my head blown off because I was too stupid to take the time to teach a beginner safety basics before handing them a shotgun and ammunition." Apart from hearing damage, no harm resulted from the mishap, but this was due to luck, not to deliberate safety procedures. Causes: rule 4 violation.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=267562 The shooter was at the range with a Remington 700 rifle which had not been fired in several years. With the gun pointed safely downrange, the shooter placed five rounds into the rifle and cycled the action (bolt action), putting a round into the chamber. He tried to pull the trigger, and the trigger did not move. Puzzled, keeping the muzzle pointed downrange, he handed the rifle to a friend. The friend was also unable to pull the trigger, and rotated the bolt handle up and then stiffly back down again. Still no trigger movement. The man had removed his hand from the trigger area, and he and his friend were looking quizzically at the gun when it went off a few seconds later. Causes: The gun these shooters were handling was mechanically unsafe, but no harm resulted from the broken mechanism because the two shooters were consciously and carefully following all four of the safety rules. Even though the gun fired without anyone having a finger anywhere near the trigger, no harm resulted, because the shooters did not allow the firearm to point at anything they were not willing to shoot (rule 2). In this case, treating the gun with respect (rule 1) and good muzzle discipline (rule 2) saved the day even when the gun malfunctioned.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=267562 post #14 tells the tragic story of a similar malfunction with another Remington 700. More details of the actual shooting can be found at http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a8098b57302.htm and http://missouriwhitetails.com/other_news.htm. This one was a horrific tragedy: a Montana mom was unloading her rifle at the end of a hunt. In her own words, "I pulled the safety off and it fired. The gun went off. My finger was nowhere near the trigger. I had an open hand." Her 9-year-old son was on the far side of the horse trailer at which the gun was pointed when it discharged, and was shot through the abdomen. He died in her arms a short time later. Causes: there is no doubt that the gun was mechanically unsafe. Guns should not fire when no one is touching the trigger! This was, plain and simple, a dangerous mechanical error. Damage from the mechanical error could have been averted, however. The mom had the rifle pointed in an unsafe direction (rule 2) when the mechanism malfunctioned. If she had been following all four of the rules at that moment, the gun would still have fired unintentionally, but that terrible tragedy would not have happened.
Stay safe out there, folks.
pax