Okay, it's time to fess up on YOUR ND or AD

[Loosedhorse]

Handling a gun? Think of the gun!

I also have had two ADs (if I was military, I'd call them NDs--they were my fault alone). First, was clearing a Glock in preparation for cleaning it for the first time, and picked that moment to get involved in a conversation (wife upstairs, me in the basement). As I tried to strip the gun, which requires pulling the trigger... Had muzzle pointed safely, so 10 fingers, 10 toes, no extra holes.

Worst thing was I learned NOTHING from it. I misinterpreted a teaching I'd gotten about the fact that, if you've got a one chance in a million of an AD, but you handle the gun a million times, well, there's about a 63% chance you're going to have had an AD. So, I shrugged and said, "What the heck, I was due. Now I've had my AD, and it's over."

Until the second one. Took a 1911 out of storage (while, again, gabbing with someone) and noticed that while the mag was out--huh! look at this--the hammer was cocked. Why'd I store it that way?

So, I continue to talk and decide to lower the hammer the old fashioned way. Again, no one hurt thanks to muzzle safety.

This one CHANGED MY LIFE. I now live by 3 basic gun safety rules, maybe slightly different than you've heard about before.

1. Always keep the muzzle of a gun pointed in a safe direction (Has saved me twice when I let myself down).

2. If you're handling a gun, don't think of anything else except that gun.

3. Guns don't shoot themselves, BUT THEY SURE AS HECK LOAD THEMSELVES.

I know that rule 3 is not "true." But if you act as if it is true, you will save yourself trouble.

(By the way, if you're strapping on your duty or carry piece, please keep in mind rule 3's inverse: GUNS CAN UNLOAD THEMSELVES. So check the gun's status, safely, before you depend on it.)

"And I only am escaped alone to tell thee"--Job 1:15

Be safe.

 

[bogie]

1) We're not paranoid. We're safety conscious.

2) Why are we consolidating stories of stupidity in one place so that the nice interns on Brady's staff can download them and still make it to happy hour?

 

[WoofersInc]

I've had one. Partly mechanical failure but also a failure on my part. I was finishing up shooting for the day and was putting stuff away. I pulled the magazine out of my Bushmaster AR Pistol and then proceeded to rack the bolt a couple of times. I then pulled the trigger to drop the hammer and BANG. I didn't actually look in the chamber first. Since I was cleaning up and didn't expect this I had no ears on and had ringing in my ears for the next few hours. Once I got home and tore the gun down I found that the extractor was broken which explained why racking it didn't pull the round out of the chamber. Fortunately there was no damage to anything due to pointing it in a safe direction but I definitely learned from this. Now along with checking visually I feel in the ejection port also.
On a side note I wound up selling the Bushmaster just yesterday. The thing just was never a reliable gun.

 

[Sommerled]

Was on the wrong end of one..

Quail hunting in Nebraska with my dad and uncle(dad's brother in law) when I was 12 yrs old. We were working a deep ravine with two dogs down in the ravine. I was on one side and my dad and uncle who were very good friends walked the other side. They told me to stay parallel to them to be safe as we walked along the edges of the ravine. The dogs kicked up a covie of birds that quikely flew away ahead of us so no shots were fired. Then the flock turned around and flew back into the ravine towards us and between us. I looked across the ravine and my uncle had his gun on the birds and he was swinging it towards me! The birds were at eye level between us. The little voice in my head told me to hit the deck and I did. Not a millisecond too soon as I distinctly remember the sound of pellets ripping through the foliage above me before I heard the gun report. My uncle is an orthopedic surgeon and my dad is also a doctor but also was a state champion wrestler. I thought dad was going to kill him after my uncle accused me of being in the wrong place. I've only seen that uncle twice since then.

This happened 36 years ago.

Sommerled