Negligent discharge

[eschang1]

Hi guys,
I had a negligent discharge today. Forgot to visually inspect my chamber on my 92FS and when I dropped the hammer (I don't know why I did that, I should have used the decocker), it discharged into mattress and into the wall. Fortunately, even though I forgot one rule of safety, I kept it pointed away from people.
I cleared my weapon, checked the hole, made sure nobody was injured, and then called the police. In these kind of situations, is it really wise to call the police immediately though? They were pretty understanding, but sometimes I wonder if that was the wisest move. What should I have done? I'm in Illinois. I know in some states they prosecute AD/ND's, not sure what the situation is here.

Thanks and stay safe guys,

E

 

[Atticus]

Ouch! Glad to hear that no one was hurt. Personally, I would not have called the police.

 

[Stand_Watie]

I wouldn't call the police, and I live in a lot gun friendlier state than you.

No injuries, no witnesses, better not to go borrowing trouble.

 

[Stand_Watie]

A question though, what happens to your thumb when you use that method of decocking and the pistol fires? It seems to me like the slide would strike your thumb.

 

[djf]

It's a very standup thing to call the cops and man up to what you did.

I didn't when I had a ND, I didn't want the ticket they would have given me.

 

[Hemicuda]

I, for one...

would NOT have called the police... the gun discharged accidentally, nobody was truly hurt... a little plaster and a new matress and all's well... (maybe duct-tape would even fix the matress?)

WHY involve the police when no true harm was done? isn't that just LOOKING for a problem?

 

[sendec]

If you can locate the round and no injury resulted, it probably is'nt necessary to call the police. However, if you cannot find the round and it took of for parts unknown, it would be the "right" thing to do. It will land somewhere, and you are responsible when it does. With any luck it will be in the middle of an empty field instead of the middle of a child's forehead.

 

[El Tejon]

This is why we visually inspect AND use our finger.

Glad you are O.K. Learn from it and teach others.

 

[Wedge]

Unfortunatley most gun accidents happen with 'unloaded' guns. At least no one was hurt, and I am sure that it won't happen again.

FWIW I would not have called the cops.

 

[ysr_racer]

There are six basic gun safety rules for gun owners to understand and practice at all times:



1. Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
2. Keep the gun pointed in the safest possible direction.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Know your target, its surroundings and beyond.
5. Know how to properly operate your gun.
6. Store your gun safely and securely to prevent unauthorized use.

Guns and ammunition should be stored separately.

 

[eschang1]

http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~eschang1/DSC01130.JPG
Muzzle blast burns mattress

http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~eschang1/DSC01134.JPG
Hole in the wall from fragmented bullet hitting it

http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~eschang1/DSC01136.JPG
Shows the general damage

http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~eschang1/imanidiot.jpg
Case, bullet fragments, jacketing, mattress fuzzies stuck to piece of jacketing.

At first I was thinking about not calling the police, but when I poked my head out the window, I saw there was damage to the exterior of the apartment too, one of the shingles took some impact and it looked to me as if the bullet exited. I realize now that it did not, but at the time I thought it had.

Yea, I know, I f'ed up. Everything is loaded and finger doesn't go on the trigger now. Worst part of it was that when I was manual decocking, I was so sleepy from my final exam studying that I realize I didn't have my thumb on the hammer, it was on the side of the slide. No wonder it went boom. :banghead: I guess that's why there's a safety decocker.

Man the landlord is going to be pissed. Looks like a little bit of plaster will fix it though. I took a ricocheting fragment in the leg as well, it barely nicked me. I'm a lucky fool.

 

[cool45auto]

Glad you're okay. I'd fix the whole myself and change the sheets after flipping the mattress.

 

[pax]

WHY involve the police when no true harm was done? isn't that just LOOKING for a problem?

First guy to call the cops gets to be the good guy.

If you've got neighbors, there's a good chance they'll call the cops when they hear gunfire. So the cops will possibly soon be at your door anyway -- but they'll be angry, ramped up scared, adrenalin-dumped, looking for a bad guy when they do. You don't want to be on the receiving end of that. Especially if there is visible gunshot damage outside your home and it's bloody obvious to an observant LEO where the shot fired came from. The situation can go nowhere good from that point, at least for awhile.

That's one reason.

eschang1, glad you're okay.

pax

In life, as in chess, forethought wins. -- Charles Buxton

 

[sendec]

You're still off the game - you should not have to touch the hammer or trigger at all, just the decocker, or "safety decocker" in your vernacular.

In general, modern DA pistols and those with decockers are mechanically neutered unless the trigger is touched. THE ONLY WAY TO SAFELY DECOCK THEM IS WITH THE DECOCKER. I dont care what Martin Riggs does, it is'nt safe.

I also have to wonder why it was cocked in the first place. If you were dry firing and doing slide cycle drills it would have been empty. If you cannot handle a DA trigger, get a SA. Skilled shooters do not thumb-cock.

This may come off sounding harsh. I do not care, there is too much at stake. You have a responsibility to know how to at the very least safely handle a firearm, let alone use it.

Use this as a valuable learning experience to spur you on in your pursuit of firearms excellence.