Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
I see only a couple of mentions in the archives of Farnam's name, so I am guessing not a lot of people here know about his "Lessons Learned" posts. If interested, you can find the index at http://www.defense-training.com/quips/quips.html . You might not like some of the insights but they are what they are, descriptions of adventures and misadventures with firearms.
Here's a fairly recent one emphasizing some good points regarding gunhandling and safety. Even if you do not carry a Benelli it's worth paying attention here. And if you DO carry a Benelli- well, the points are apparent.
The main point applies to EVERYONE no matter what they might carry- engage brain before pulling trigger! A chamber check ought to be reflexive before dry firing or in any other situation where an empty chamber _with rounds in the magazine_ is intended. You can 'crack open' the action part way and inspect visually and/or digitally- look into the chamber and/or stick the end of your finger into the chamber to determine if a round is present.
Shotguns make big nasty holes at close range. That's what they are for, in some cases. But make sure those big nasty holes _ALL_ go where they belong, and not somewhere you didn't intend for them to go. I have dealt with two accidental shotgun shootings in 'normal' life, one fatal (one of my young cousins, dove hunting in a ditch, shot his older brother in the head at less than ten feet when the older brother popped up unexpectedly on the ditchbank as the younger fired at a crossing bird) and one crippling (a classmate of mine in school shot himself in the thigh by clubbing a wounded fox with his double barrel). As an EMT I dealt with several more deliberate shotgun shootings. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE AN UNINTENDED/ACCIDENTAL/NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE WITH A SHOTGUN. Trust me on that.
Stay safe (and I don't type that just to hear the keyboard rattle),
lpl
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http://www.defense-training.com/quips/1Apr04.html
1 Apr 04
Shotgun AD:
"One of our officers experienced an AD with his Benelli Shotgun last week. The incident took place in our parking lot. Fortunately, the errant slug was launched upward, ultimately impacted harmlessly, and did no damage.
I was inside working the desk when I heard the shot. The sergeant and I ran out to find a young trooper yelling that he was okay. I took him aside in an effort to figure out what happened. This really hit home, because I trained this kid personally with the Benelli. He keeps the shotgun in the condition that we teach, and he has always been a competent gun handler.
He was preparing to go out on patrol. He grabbed his shotgun, along with hi s radio, flashlight, et al, and walked out the door of our precinct station. He put everything down, and charged the magazine tube with five slugs. He then picked everything back up and went over to his beat car.
At some point before throwing all the stuff into the car, he inadvertently hit the cartridge-release lever, sending a slug onto the lifter. It happened while he was holding all the other junk, so he never heard or felt it. It was dark. Our officer then pulled back the bolt all the way and let it go, chambering a round. When he subsequently 'dry fired,' the shotgun, of course, discharged the round.
Our officer became confused when he started the procedure, got interrupted, than 'resumed' later. I taught this officer the correct procedure, but I never truly understood the consequences of short-circuiting the routine or transposing steps. I do now!"
Lesson: Stick with your shotgun procedure and perform it from beginning to end at one time! If you get interrupted, start all over. Charging to tube, then walking off and "finishing" the procedure a minute later introduced confusion into the mind of this young officer and contributed to this blunder.
/John
Here's a fairly recent one emphasizing some good points regarding gunhandling and safety. Even if you do not carry a Benelli it's worth paying attention here. And if you DO carry a Benelli- well, the points are apparent.
The main point applies to EVERYONE no matter what they might carry- engage brain before pulling trigger! A chamber check ought to be reflexive before dry firing or in any other situation where an empty chamber _with rounds in the magazine_ is intended. You can 'crack open' the action part way and inspect visually and/or digitally- look into the chamber and/or stick the end of your finger into the chamber to determine if a round is present.
Shotguns make big nasty holes at close range. That's what they are for, in some cases. But make sure those big nasty holes _ALL_ go where they belong, and not somewhere you didn't intend for them to go. I have dealt with two accidental shotgun shootings in 'normal' life, one fatal (one of my young cousins, dove hunting in a ditch, shot his older brother in the head at less than ten feet when the older brother popped up unexpectedly on the ditchbank as the younger fired at a crossing bird) and one crippling (a classmate of mine in school shot himself in the thigh by clubbing a wounded fox with his double barrel). As an EMT I dealt with several more deliberate shotgun shootings. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE AN UNINTENDED/ACCIDENTAL/NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE WITH A SHOTGUN. Trust me on that.
Stay safe (and I don't type that just to hear the keyboard rattle),
lpl
=====
http://www.defense-training.com/quips/1Apr04.html
1 Apr 04
Shotgun AD:
"One of our officers experienced an AD with his Benelli Shotgun last week. The incident took place in our parking lot. Fortunately, the errant slug was launched upward, ultimately impacted harmlessly, and did no damage.
I was inside working the desk when I heard the shot. The sergeant and I ran out to find a young trooper yelling that he was okay. I took him aside in an effort to figure out what happened. This really hit home, because I trained this kid personally with the Benelli. He keeps the shotgun in the condition that we teach, and he has always been a competent gun handler.
He was preparing to go out on patrol. He grabbed his shotgun, along with hi s radio, flashlight, et al, and walked out the door of our precinct station. He put everything down, and charged the magazine tube with five slugs. He then picked everything back up and went over to his beat car.
At some point before throwing all the stuff into the car, he inadvertently hit the cartridge-release lever, sending a slug onto the lifter. It happened while he was holding all the other junk, so he never heard or felt it. It was dark. Our officer then pulled back the bolt all the way and let it go, chambering a round. When he subsequently 'dry fired,' the shotgun, of course, discharged the round.
Our officer became confused when he started the procedure, got interrupted, than 'resumed' later. I taught this officer the correct procedure, but I never truly understood the consequences of short-circuiting the routine or transposing steps. I do now!"
Lesson: Stick with your shotgun procedure and perform it from beginning to end at one time! If you get interrupted, start all over. Charging to tube, then walking off and "finishing" the procedure a minute later introduced confusion into the mind of this young officer and contributed to this blunder.
/John