Yoda
Member
I usually carry a J-frame revolver. My normal gun was a S&W 940 (9mm with moon clips), but I passed it on to a daughter-in-law and replaced it with a S&W 442 (good ole .38 Spl).
When unloading the 940 before putting it away in a safe, it was always obvious that it was unloaded. All the rounds dropped out together in a nice moon-clipped package. However, with the 442, I've had the same thing happen twice in the past week, and it could have led to a ND.
When ejecting the cartridges from the 442, one of the rounds has somehow remained in the cylinder. This has happened twice. Invariably, it's the one that needs to clear the cylinder release.
The little pile of cartridges in my hand LOOKS right--how many of us can tell four rounds from five rounds at a glance--and I don't realize that there's still a round in the cylinder until I place the rounds back into the plastic 5x5 rack that they came in. THAT's when I notice that I'm one round short.
I re-open the safe, and there the missing round is, still in the cylinder, right in position to rotate under the hammer and go "BANG!" if someone happens to pull the trigger. And note this: If you hold your revolver in your right hand, and instead of opening the cylinder to verify that it's unloaded, you instead just glance through the cylinder-frame gap to see if there's any rims visible, well, if you're right-handed, you wouldn't see this stray round!
SO, lesson learned: It pays to be obsessive about gun safety. I wasn't obsessive enough to VISUALLY VERIFY THAT THE GUN IS REALLY, REALLY EMPTY AND SAFE, or I wouldn't have put the gun away--twice--with a stray round in the cylinder.
The other rules, the ones about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and such, might have prevented an "oopsie" from turning into a tragedy, if someone had taken the gun out, NOT opened the cylinder to verify that it was unloaded, and then mindlessly pulled the trigger.
(Ever notice how many guys automatically stick their fingers in the trigger guard when they pick up a gun? Ever notice how many guys in gun shops and at gun shows wave guns around while mindlessly yanking on that little trigger-thingie? I don't do that, but still...)
I should be ashamed of myself.
- - - Yoda
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When unloading the 940 before putting it away in a safe, it was always obvious that it was unloaded. All the rounds dropped out together in a nice moon-clipped package. However, with the 442, I've had the same thing happen twice in the past week, and it could have led to a ND.
When ejecting the cartridges from the 442, one of the rounds has somehow remained in the cylinder. This has happened twice. Invariably, it's the one that needs to clear the cylinder release.
The little pile of cartridges in my hand LOOKS right--how many of us can tell four rounds from five rounds at a glance--and I don't realize that there's still a round in the cylinder until I place the rounds back into the plastic 5x5 rack that they came in. THAT's when I notice that I'm one round short.
I re-open the safe, and there the missing round is, still in the cylinder, right in position to rotate under the hammer and go "BANG!" if someone happens to pull the trigger. And note this: If you hold your revolver in your right hand, and instead of opening the cylinder to verify that it's unloaded, you instead just glance through the cylinder-frame gap to see if there's any rims visible, well, if you're right-handed, you wouldn't see this stray round!
SO, lesson learned: It pays to be obsessive about gun safety. I wasn't obsessive enough to VISUALLY VERIFY THAT THE GUN IS REALLY, REALLY EMPTY AND SAFE, or I wouldn't have put the gun away--twice--with a stray round in the cylinder.
The other rules, the ones about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction and such, might have prevented an "oopsie" from turning into a tragedy, if someone had taken the gun out, NOT opened the cylinder to verify that it was unloaded, and then mindlessly pulled the trigger.
(Ever notice how many guys automatically stick their fingers in the trigger guard when they pick up a gun? Ever notice how many guys in gun shops and at gun shows wave guns around while mindlessly yanking on that little trigger-thingie? I don't do that, but still...)
I should be ashamed of myself.
- - - Yoda
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