My first Negligent Discharge -hopefully my last

[JFtheGR8]

The owner of the store where I got my XD45 told me that the previous owner shot himself in the hand while releasing the slide for disassembly. Don't know if that is true or not but it could happen since you have to pull the trigger to get it free. The gun was like brand new too so someone wanted to get rid of it before really getting it broken in. Be thankful nobody got hurt and learn from it. Thanks for passing on your story too. I am teaching my daughters gun safety and this story will help.

 

[*NOVA*]

Unless I missed it, did you ever recover the bullet? Where did it come to rest?

bullet came to rest in the the wall after shattering the sugar bowl to a million pieces - I'v got some patching to do next time we paint.

And as for the one who posted EVERY GUN IS LOADED after I said "...stored guns are unloaded." Its a fact. Yeah I get your point, believe me. Now next time you pick up a gun and personally check it you can say with confidence that it is unloaded. Next time I open the store locker you can bet your sweet bippy I'm gong to make sure the guns are STILL UNLOADED. I stand by my statement. The stored guns are unloaded - its my new rule, no exceptions. It does not in any way negate your mindset - you mindset is my mindset as well!

 

[*NOVA*]

glad no one was hurt

i have following questions:

1. do you need to report to police if ND happened? law forbids discharge within city limits, will it be trouble if you don't report it but later police found out due to neighbour report?

2. did it damage your ear? i guess gun fire in a room will cause permantent dearing damage? sometimes i even think if there's an intruder i should wear ear muffs if i have enough time...

I did report it to my neighbor minutes afterward and asked her to call her husband, a deputy sheriff in our jurisdiction. Later that night he came by and I told him everything.

And yes, there was ringing in my ears for a few hours. Gone now. Ear muffs - I think its a good idea while training, but in home defense or self defense it would be one of the least of my concerns. I would want to hear every footstep an intruder makes toward my door. (sounds like a good subject for a new thread)

 

[we are not amused]

"I still think NOVA should not handle a firearm"

According to your opinion almost nobody who has responded on this site should handle a firearm.
Okay, we have your opinion, fortunately most of us regard it as an important learning experience, rather than eternal condemnation.
I want to repeat myself, perhaps a little more clearly.
If you believe you could never make a mistake like that, you are not being safe!
Arrogantly assuming you will never make a mistake is one of the conditions that lead to mistakes! Some of the biggest names in firearms and police and personal defense training, have had ND's sometime in their life! Should they all be disarmed too?

NOVA, take it as a valuable learning experience, as I hope all of us who have had them did. Pay attention to the good advice, and let the rest of it slide.
Seeing you are from Virginia, it is unlikely we will ever meet, but if we did, I would gladly go shooting with you.

 

[MedWheeler]

Russ also believes anyone who has ever exceeded the posted speed limit or broken any other traffic law (or safety practice) while behind the wheel should immediately surrender his or her driver's license.

 

[NavyLCDR]

dryfiring is not part of the unloading process.

eeeyea its not part of any process..

Really?!? That's very interesting. Do you read the manuals that come with your guns? Do you own a CZ75? Have you read the manual for it?

http://www.czub.cz/zbrojovka/cz-manual/Instruction-Manual-CZ-75-SP-01.pdf

Unloading the Pistol
ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE PISTOL IS POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION!
· Remove the magazine
· Draw back the slide and verify the last cartridge has been extracted
from the chamber and ejected
· Let the slide snap fully forward
· Depress the trigger (dry fire)

Right there on page 24. The problem is the OP missed the first step.

The problem is that he missed step one of the process.

 

[Bozwell]

Glad to hear no one got hurt. I'm sure you'll be more careful from now on and hopefully others (including myself!) will be too after reading your story. At the end of the day, we're all human and mistakes happen. Thanks for sharing what happened.

 

[JTHunter]

Nova - glad to hear that nobody was hurt. Your story serves as a good reminder that accidents happen, and most are caused by inadequate thinking (something we ALL should do more).

 

[Old krow]

Yeah I get your point, believe me. Now next time you pick up a gun and personally check it you can say with confidence that it is unloaded.

That's really more splitting hairs than anything else. That statement holds true provided that the gun is in my hand, I cleared it properly, and the gun has not left my hand. The moment that it is no longer in my hand, it's loaded. I clear every gun that goes into storage before I put them away. When I open it up, every gun in there is loaded. If you're checking every gun before it goes in and checking it again as soon as you have retrieved it, the outcome is the same.

"I still think NOVA should not handle a firearm"

According to your opinion almost nobody who has responded on this site should handle a firearm.

In all fairness, add the next line...

Definately not until he attends several shooting classes

That's not that bad is it? Well, not AS bad anyway. I'm not really trying to start an argument with you, but, if we all use that train of though, wouldn't we all seek training if we had an ND/AD? If I admit that I am capable of making a mistake, and a mistake is made, couldn't I reasonably assume that I should seek safety beyond beyond what I was able to give myself? If I am to strive to be a safer person by admitting that I am capable of a mistake, shouldn't that at least be an option worth evaluating?

It's a learning process, albeit maybe out of order. Re-evaluate and move on.

 

[Mike1234567]

Not all mistakes require re-training other than practice, practice, practice... slow down, think, practice some more... until it's deeply ingrained in every move. This is what I did when I dropped my loaded Kel-Tec. I also stopped keeping a round chambered in that gun even though it's a HD/SD pistol. I'm currently searching for a suitable replacement that won't discharge if dropped should I be so careless again... not likely but I never say never anymore.

 

[TCU]

Russ also believes anyone who has ever exceeded the posted speed limit or broken any other traffic law (or safety practice) while behind the wheel should immediately surrender his or her driver's license.

FOREVER!!!!! ah haha. No but really, accidents happen. Im sure he does know what hes doing, just made a mistake. So for him to go to multiple shooting classes to hear the same basics over and over is excess punishment, just my opinion. The accidents are what you learn from.

 

[22-rimfire]

OK, I am bracing myself for a lot of harsh criticsm out there and I deserve it...

You probably got enough of it already. Spank yourself and move on. Don't do it again.

 

[Russ Jackson]

I do think someone that gets a DUI should lose there license for atleast a year. A second offense would be life without driving.

An accidental discharge like this one could have been avoided by doing just the basics. You are assuming that the poster has learned a lesson and will not do it again. Looking at the post there were way too many violations in the way he handled the firearm, timing, tired, failure to inspect, poor lighting, pointing of the gun in an unsafe direction, pulling the trigger for no reason, unfamiliar with semi autos, etc... So many rules of proper firearm handling have been violated. So many that it would leave the reader to come up with only one conclusion: This individual has no training whatsoever and desperately needs it. Would you give the keys to a car or motorcycle to someone who drove around the block once and tell them to drive you and your family around town. Guns are serious business with serious ramifications when handled improperly. Would you be saying the same things to me if you lived next door to this guy and the bullet went racing through your house. If he lived next door to me we would have a serious issue. This everybody has a ND eventually is nuts. I am betting that 99.99% of all NDs could be avoided by following the basics. For those of you whom have had one. Knowing what you know now. Could that mistake be made again? If you were properly trained and took the necessary precautions would it have happened in the first place? You don't walk out of the house naked. YOU SHOULD NEVER HANDLE A GUN THAT HAS NOT BEEN CLEARED FIRST! NO EXCEPTIONS! Someone will get killed. I would go to the range with NOVA. Spend a few hours cleaning, assembling and dissassembling guns, proper handling and loading, reading of the owners manual, hand and finger placement, safe pointing, how to put a gun lock on a pistol, and then some shooting. Maybe my viewpoint is too drastic. But guns are serious. Wake up take advise, don't make excuses for stupidity, act like someone mature enough to handle a firearm...Russ

 

[22-rimfire]

I do think someone that gets a DUI should lose there license for at least a year.

Depends on the history and blood alchohol content as far as I'm concerned. No, I have never had a DUI. The current standard is too low and the punishment too severe. It captures folks that barely drink and then head home. The real affenders should be soundly punished, but I feel the first offense shoud just be a spanking. Second offense, over night in jail mandatory. Third offence.... driving restrictions and jail time.

Guns... ALWAYS ALWAYS check to see if a gun is loaded before handling it. Drop the magazine and rack the slide and check it again if you re-insert it.... Period. Check 2x is my rule before any handling beyond picking it up. Same goes with rifles and revolvers. It is easy to get too casual with firearms. If you don't understand how something functions.... don't handle it.

AND... no "HOPEFULLY my last" stuff... it was your last PERIOD.

 

[Mike1234567]

...You don't walk out of the house naked...

What's wring with that?

 

[gym]

I keep all my guns loaded for 40 years, "Pistols,"I also keep them in holsters strategiclly places through the house. If I have company Like today, My 2 grandkids are over with their parents, Everything gets locked up except 1 gun that stays on my person.
I have never picked up a gun and fired it for no reason, unless I was working on it, either adjusting the trigger polishing etc. An unloaded gun is like not having one. There are a tremendous amount of "new shooters" out there who just don't have the time or experience that goes along with firearm ownership.
I can't say "this could happen to anyone, only because it just violates so many rules.
I think that perhaps a new shooter shuld not load a semi auto handgun unless he is going to shoot it. This would avoid a large amount of the problem, clear the handgun, retract the slide and leave a mag neer the gun. If you need it all you have to do is pop in the mag and release the slide, "1 second". this way you can see chamber is empty and this will remove any question weather it was loaded or if one was in the pipe. Dry firing when in bed is reminisent of a kid with a new toy, who can't wait to get it unwrapped and play with it. You will get over this soon, you may vever forget it and this will make you a safer shooter, as no feeling in the world will snap your but back to reality like a gun going off in a house. Learn to forgive yourself, as you are not the only guy or gal who ever did this, it will give you a new respect for guns. And remid the wife next time she backs the truck into a pole or garage door, that stuff happens. Don't cower over it, and don't allow it to become the topic of conversation for the next 6 months or every time you make a mistake having it brought up. I don't know what kind of wife you have, but most of them like to have something they can bring up in social situations if they have a few too many or just are angry about something unrelated. If that happens, make sure you nip it in the bud. You already confessed your sins here and it's done.

 

[Ramone]

I have had some version of the four rules drummed into my head from an early age, and it's usually been stressed that they are interlocking- break one, and the others will keep you safe. this was a good example of missing two- Clearing the weapon being the functional part of rule one.

I was raised to work the action TWICE when clearing a weapon- everyone in my family does it- and I have had a lot of people comment on it. It took me years to realise that it was for just this reason.

I also have three designated 'Safe Directions' in my Apartment- the side of a bookshelf (so the round would have to penetrate about three feet of hardcovers), a spot on a wall backed by a linen closet and the water heater closet before a brick chimney, and the closet door in my bedroom, where an old USMC Vest and a Second Chance Vest hang on the inside of the door. It's a small apartment, and all of the spots are convenient to the places I am likely to be handling a weapon. They are marked 'best of the day' used targets.

I haven't had a ND yet, nor a AD, though I did once fire down range on a cold line (everyone was back up, and I thought it had been called hot again- it hadn't!). Life being what it is, I assume that at some point I will have an ND- I know too many good gunnies who have done it.

Good on you, Nova, and just let it be you guide of 'things NOT to do'. Go forth, and sin no more.

 

[PavePusher]

dryfiring is not part of the unloading process.

...unless you are using a clearing barrel.

Why, why, why, do people not have and use this $5 safety device?!?!

 

[PavePusher]

What's wring with that?

Heh... "Good fences make good neighbors."

 

[Loosedhorse]

hopefully my last

Hope is not a strategy. What are you willing to do differently, everytime you handle a gun, to MAKE this ND your last?

Next time I open the store locker you can bet your sweet bippy I'm gong to make sure the guns are STILL UNLOADED.

Great start. Might I suggest, every time you pick up a gun, check if it's unloaded. Then check again, or have someone else check. Every time.

It happens to everyone at some point

NO!!! Worst possible attitude, IMHO.

NDs are NOT a matter of time. They are a matter of carelessness. Saying "they happen to everyone" is not only untrue, it is a way to avoid full responsibility for causing it: if it "just happens to everyone," then it's not that bad, right?

They do not happen to everyone; they happen to everyone whose habits and practices allow them to happen. Period.

 

[snatale42]

At least the cops didn't come banging down the door! I know a lot of the Fairfax cops can be on the Anti side when it comes to crap like that.

 

[TCU]

You don't walk out of the house naked

haha, thats what you think. Ok Russ i can agree somewhat, i have never had an ND and have put copius ammounts of metal downrange. The thing you are trying to get across in Situational awareness (SA). If you know exactly what is going on and know what needs to be done to ensure that safety is not compromised, then you are good. My firearms are stored in condition 3, i can respond quickly if necessary and put them into 1. I would never rack the slide back then pop one off either. But some people dont go through proper training so yes i think they should understand the machine, but i dont believe in excessive punishment. People need to be guided.

 

[Sav .250]

Lesson learned! Keep those glasses handy.

 

[duns]

You pointed it at the TV? Weren't you trained never to point it at something you weren't willing to destroy?

Seriously, I bet you will no longer be complacent about guns and will be safer than many who have yet to have their first ND.

Your mistake was relying on memory rather than checking your gun status thoroughly. I made the exact same mistake once. Made a crater in the kitchen floor tile.

 

[Geckgo]

I read about the first page of comments and that pretty much sums it up I think. Just wanted to thank you for sharing, some of us read these threads to remind us that NDs can and do happen. For me, my biggest risk right now is decocking a little semi-22 that I have, so I finally decided that it was too much trouble and too much chance of me having the firing pin safety fail and dropping the hammer a little too hard, so now I keep it safety off and decocked with a round in the chamber. I'm sure cocking it will be plenty fast enough for anything I need a 22 for.

Know your limits. If you want to practice dryfire, specially with a semi, you have to be careful. If I set mine down while dryfiring, I run through my whole routine again when I pick it back up before I resume. Hopefully I will never have an ND, thanks to learning from stories like this and keeping the THR ND post-it notes in my head.