I'm in the hospital because I made a near-fatal error

No ND, but last week I was in a LGS. They were very busy, several clerks helping customers. One guy was looking over some type of Sig Legend handgun with the clerk straight across the counter from him. For as long as he held the gun and looking it over, flipping his hand back and forth to look at both sides, look at it from various angles, looking at how his hand fit around it, checking out the action, etc., it was pointed at the clerk most of the time, straight into his stomach most of the time.

The clerk never said anything, so I assume they have come to accept this sort of behavior. The clerks do check every gun before handing it to the customer, and they don't do ANYTHING else other than pay attention to that customer with that gun while the customer has that gun, so I guess they have been trained that their safety is ultimately their own responsibility. I wouldn't like it, though.
 
Bearcat1982:

Your confession probably will save somebody else from a painful injury or death.

I won’t ever again be tempted to listen to the little Bad voice when I am about to simply admire a gun for a moment, by the gun safe. ---Despite never putting a finger Inside a trigger guard---during such admirations.

Imagine how many “ Lurkers” and New gun owners read your comments!
 
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Hope the OP recovers quickly.

60 years ago I knew a young teenage kid who was shooting his .22 revolver at something in a creek. The slug apparently bounced off a rock, hit him a little above the knee, circled around his upper thigh and was embedded just under the skin by his hip.
Luckily it missed his femoral artery.
The doctor cleaned the entrance wound and bandaged it, then gave him a tetanus shot before sending him home. Told his mom that the bullet would probably work its way near the surface and she could pop it like a pimple.
It did after a week or two, so they worked it out without trouble, then cleaned & band-aided the hole.
Yes, his leg was pretty sore for awhile.
 
Appreciate your story, and respect the bravery it took to post it.

We're all human and we get tired, careless, and it takes a split second to make a mistake.

The next step is not to park it here- don't let shame eat at you. It could happen to anyone. Just thank the Lord you're here and you get another crack at things!

Any one you can walk away from! If it makes us all slow down, be a little more deliberate, then it's a valuable lesson learned.

I think of guns as part of the martial arts. I also train with knives and blades. A few years ago a fellow posted a thread just like this on a sword forum..."don't do what I did" etc.

Ghastly pictures. Gentlemen was training with a Gladius reproduction, I can't recall the cutting medium. Let's say it was something like a tire pell (a tire you practice striking on). At any rate, what he hit I believe caused the blade to bounce back and in an instant he had struck himself in the leg.

The wound was terrible, he lost a ton of blood and nearly his life. Recovery was tough, lots of severed muscle, ligaments, artery damage if I call.

Anyway, guns, blades, bows, mma etc...these are excellent pursuits and may pay dividends for you and your family if the balloon went up, but they do come with inherent risk.

We do all we can to mitigate them with strict safety rules. Sometimes accidents can happen. Sometimes equipment can be faulty, etc. Don't be too hard on yourself. The lessons that hurt and scare us are the ones best remembered.
 
I knew a foolish man who once who placed a fully loaded 9mm with the hammer back into the factory case. Some months later he removed the pistol from the case and wondered "why is the hammer back?" He pulls the trigger and a 9mm ball went through his palm missing the bones, through the pillow, through the headboard, through the drywall and vinyl siding and into the wood line as mad as the dickens.
That foolish man was me. The accident was the biggest piece of humble pie ever because I am such a stickler for gun safety. After the blood in the house and the towels and the emergency room explaining to the LEO who showed up what happened.
Please keep your guns safe and out of the reach of children. Do not place a loaded gun in a gun case. Stop and remind yourself that your firearms do not have a conscience and will do what they are designed to do. OP I have been there and know somewhat what you going through. You are not the only one and not by a long shot. I have told a few people about my accident and more than a couple of confessions started pouring out. Its more common than you think.
If you want some advice on that accident of yours. Be careful and sparing who you talk to. Use your judge of character because there are those who will use that against you or never let you forget it. For me Its a stigma that seems to hang around a lifetime and every once in a while I let that genie out of the bottle only to cap it.
I wish you a speedy recovery.
 
U.S.SFC_RET said:
If you want some advice on that accident of yours. Be careful and sparing who you talk to. Use your judge of character because there are those who will use that against you or never let you forget it. For me Its a stigma that seems to hang around a lifetime and every once in a while I let that genie out of the bottle only to cap it.
Click to expand...
^^ Some more good advice there, and something to consider. There are probably more people who secretly wish you ill than wish you well, so arming them with some negative information about yourself probably won't be in your best interest. (I'm speaking of "you" in the broader sense of individuals in general.) But on the other hand, there may also be some who, like us here, benefit from your willingness to speak about it by taking the story as a reminder of how easily things can go sideways with things that have the capacity for destruction (guns, vehicles, farm equipment, chainsaws or other tools and machinery, flammables and explosives, etc.), and a reminder to always be aware and safety-minded.
 
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I want to tell you all I am reading all of the replies. I have the time that's for sure. And I appreciate all the advice, and stories. I may get the revolver back. I'm sure the officer had to take it in case there was an iinvestigation. Even though it's cut and dry what happened. And if by sharing my situation it may save someone from a horrible accident. That would make me very happy. I am humbled by this for sure. I've Laughed at plenty videos of ND's, poked fun, called individuals in videos names etc. And now I have joined the ranks. I gotta own this one for sure. Some people I know some will laugh with me, and some will laugh at me. It's part of this. Thanks again and I am reading the thread that got linked now.
 
Bearcat1982 said:
I want to tell you all I am reading all of the replies. I have the time that's for sure. And I appreciate all the advice, and stories. I may get the revolver back. I'm sure the officer had to take it in case there was an iinvestigation. Even though it's cut and dry what happened. And if by sharing my situation it may save someone from a horrible accident. That would make me very happy. I am humbled by this for sure. I've Laughed at plenty videos of ND's, poked fun, called individuals in videos names etc. And now I have joined the ranks. I gotta own this one for sure. Some people I know some will laugh with me, and some will laugh at me. It's part of this. Thanks again and I am reading the thread that got linked now.
Click to expand...
You should be able to get it back. I went a week after my incident and retrieved mine. Just had to sign paperwork.
You'll be joking about it before you know it.
My mom asked how far I had to go to shoot my rifles. I told her my driveway:). My wife didn't see the humor in it. My brother about fell out if his chair laughing.
 
Bfh_auto said:
You should be able to get it back. I went a week after my incident and retrieved mine. Just had to sign paperwork.
You'll be joking about it before you know it.
My mom asked how far I had to go to shoot my rifles. I told her my driveway:). My wife didn't see the humor in it. My brother about fell out if his chair laughing.
Click to expand...
I've been taking a fairly light hearted approach. Definitely can't lie all my neighbors saw me getting put in an ambulance lol.
 
I just experienced my first ND yesterday morning, so believe me I know how foolish and shameful it feels. I might share it at some point, because we all need these reminders at just how dangerous these things we love can be. For me, thankfully nobody was hurt because I had it pointed in a safe direction. My left ear is still ringing though. I hope you recover quickly.
 
I6turbo said:
No ND, but last week I was in a LGS. They were very busy, several clerks helping customers. One guy was looking over some type of Sig Legend handgun with the clerk straight across the counter from him. For as long as he held the gun and looking it over, flipping his hand back and forth to look at both sides, look at it from various angles, looking at how his hand fit around it, checking out the action, etc., it was pointed at the clerk most of the time, straight into his stomach most of the time.

The clerk never said anything, so I assume they have come to accept this sort of behavior. The clerks do check every gun before handing it to the customer, and they don't do ANYTHING else other than pay attention to that customer with that gun while the customer has that gun, so I guess they have been trained that their safety is ultimately their own responsibility. I wouldn't like it, though.
Click to expand...
I would have a really hard time selling a gun to somebody with this total lack of awareness and zero sense of safety protocol. Hearing that some jackwagon went home after buying a gun from me and went home and accidentally ND'd into his wife or kid or something would haunt me for the rest of my days....

But at the very least, I would address it with the prospective buyer. Or a sign, "Thank you for not pointing guns at our employees/customers.
 
Bearcat1982 said:
I want to tell you all I am reading all of the replies. I have the time that's for sure. And I appreciate all the advice, and stories. I may get the revolver back. I'm sure the officer had to take it in case there was an iinvestigation. Even though it's cut and dry what happened. And if by sharing my situation it may save someone from a horrible accident. That would make me very happy. I am humbled by this for sure. I've Laughed at plenty videos of ND's, poked fun, called individuals in videos names etc. And now I have joined the ranks. I gotta own this one for sure. Some people I know some will laugh with me, and some will laugh at me. It's part of this. Thanks again and I am reading the thread that got linked now.
Click to expand...

Not laughing…sobering reminder for all !
Thanks for being willing to share.
Rex
 
I am vigilant with my gun handling and have never had a "negligent discharge" (knock on wood) but had an "accidental discharge" not long ago for the first time. I was shooting an unfamiliar DA/SA autoloader -- which had a short reset -- and I unintentionally did a "double tap." I was at the range and the bullet went downrange but it was very unnerving, thinking that if I was ever actually using the gun for self defense I had just launched a round toward an innocent. I had purchased the gun thinking it would make a good CCW piece. I changed my mind at that moment. Every thing about (handling) a firearm has to be absolutely predictable for it to be "safe" and even with that mindset -- as described by the stories in this thread -- bad stuff can still happen. I wish Bearcat a speedy recovery, and thank him for being willing to discuss his situation.
 
I had an unintentional discharge with a 25mm Bushmaster cannon once. In my defense, I told the vehicle commander that the ghost round had already been cycled and the gun was hot but he insisted that I cycle that ghost round and threatened me with UCMJ if I didn't follow his order so I pulled the trigger and sent that 25mm round down range and then the fun really began.

And one time, I almost unintentionally discharged a M240C machine gun inside an armored vehicle or, possibly, somewhere into Fort Hood. I was pulling the gun out of the turret after gunnery training and accidentally cocked it as I was removing it and I almost let that bolt go forward but then thought "eeehhh, maybe don't close that bolt just yet" and sure enough, there were three linked rounds hidden inside the gun's feed tray/cover assembly that would have gone off if I had let the bolt go forward on that open bolt machine gun. They should have been removed as we came off the gunnery range but they weren't.

The person that sent me to go fetch that loaded gun was the same person that told me to cycle that ghost round too and the same piece of garbage that cost me my sergeant stripes over a freaking knife and Glock slide.
 
Got my first gun at 15 years old. Never had a Accidental discharge or any kind of accident with a gun. Thought I was probably the safest guy on the planet when it came to handling guns.
That is Until 60 years later. And I pulled the trigger. Now, I'm just another idiot.
 
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