Poop! So much for "it can't happen to me" ND

[vesmcd]

I'll fess up. Over 50 years of shooting and working on many types of firearms, I have had several AD's(mechanical failures) and several ND's(brain failures). I learned early on to visually check all chambers(especially on "unloaded" guns) and use dummy rounds for action checking work. I have not "shot" a gun, but I did kill a Swarovski scope with an ND .

 

[1911Tuner]

Dummies

This epitomizes the old rule about never allowing live ammo on the smithing bench...and to always use dummy rounds for testing or proving. In the event that no dummy is available, then one may proceed with all due caution, and that includes assuming that the gun will fire. Take necessary measures to insure that the bullet is contained. It's not hard to do unless working with centerfire rifles. A 2-foot stack of dry newspapers will stop a full-power 44 Magnum. A washtub filled with fine sand...A steel 55-gallon drum with overlapping hardwood logs, and backed up by a solid cinderblock wall will stop a .223 or a .30-30 round. Many types of makeshift bullet traps are doable with just a little imagination.

I confess to using live ammo for testing and proving occasionally...but I make sure to point the gun at something that'll keep the bullet from finding its way into the house or the neighborhood....when, not if...an unintentional discharge occurs.

 

[MrDig]

I too have had an ND/AD, and had to admit it to people that knew me as the most adament regarding the rules of safety.
Let me set up the Scene.
Older model 336 lever / no hammer block safety,
New purchase for me so cleaning and disasembly to familiarize myself w/ said weapon,
CLP all over my hands,
Used a Live round to "cycle" the action to assure proper reassembly.
Hammer slips from lube laden thumb,
Pop put a round trhough the ceiling and roof of the house I was renting.
Girlfreinds Cat does Nine foot verticle acceleration and unwinds like sack of rubber bands near apex. Not seen for two hours afterward.
Girlfreind has horrified look on face as she thinks I am a bloody mess in the bedroom.
Did I mention the ringing in my ears and the smoke detector screaming besides.
Snap Caps are a good invention and dummy rounds are good things too.
Fortunately the gun was pointed at the ceiling of a single story home.
I was so shocked I called a good freind who recomended cleaning and refamiliarizing myself with the gun again just to get over the Psch factor.
Safety 1st, last and always.

 

[Ohio Rifleman]

Some of you folks seem to think that having a AD/ND is somehow inevitable! At least, that's the impression I got. Please tell me I'm wrong, because my SKS could do some serious damage, especially since I live in the suburbs where my neighbors are just several feet away.

 

[JohnKSa]

It's not inevitable, but it certainly CAN happen to anyone.

It just takes letting your concentration lapse for an instant.