Went to completely disassemble the bolt on my model 70 338 win. Only upon reassembly, while attempting to put the firing pin spring retention clip back on. It slipped shooting the clip, washer and spring across my basement. I heard the washer hit the ceiling and shot through a gap in wall behind my breaker panel never to be seen again. The clip hit the wall and landed in my lap, and the spring hit the washing machine on the other side of the basement.
Stupid mistakes
- Thread starter Sentryau2
- Start date
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Iramo94
Member
I've launched springs before, but luckily my young eyes have saved me. Maybe I should invest in a completely empty room painted white, with airtight doors and windows, for gunsmithing.
MtnCreek
Member
That's impressive!
Devonai
Member
You can add the M1 Garand extractor spring to the list of springs that like to launch themselves into oblivion. 
230RN
2A was "political" when it was first adopted.
Ed4032:
Exactly the same thing for me, except it was in a gun shop. I had wanted a Luger and studied up on them, including how to field strip one. Went to a gun shop, examined one, asked the guy if I could strip it to check out the internals and bore, and he said OK. I took it apart expertly, held the barrel up and looked at it with a knowing eye, made expert-sounding "Hm" sounds at the right places as I examined it, then could not put it together again.
After five minutes of fiddling around with it, with the clerk starting to grin and folding his arms as he watched me struggle, I finally gave up and shamefacedly asked him to put it back together again.
I skulked out of that store like a swatted puppy.
I never did get a Luger.
Terry, 230RN
ETA a bit of doggerel:
On Getting To the Range For A Match
Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself has said,
After grinning like a fool and turning red,
"Sorry, guys, my gun's on the bed."
Exactly the same thing for me, except it was in a gun shop. I had wanted a Luger and studied up on them, including how to field strip one. Went to a gun shop, examined one, asked the guy if I could strip it to check out the internals and bore, and he said OK. I took it apart expertly, held the barrel up and looked at it with a knowing eye, made expert-sounding "Hm" sounds at the right places as I examined it, then could not put it together again.
After five minutes of fiddling around with it, with the clerk starting to grin and folding his arms as he watched me struggle, I finally gave up and shamefacedly asked him to put it back together again.
I skulked out of that store like a swatted puppy.
I never did get a Luger.
Terry, 230RN
ETA a bit of doggerel:
On Getting To the Range For A Match
Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself has said,
After grinning like a fool and turning red,
"Sorry, guys, my gun's on the bed."
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I reassembled my brand new Glock 17 without the recoil spring. The result was a nasty lockup, the slide would not move back or forth. After some foul language and use of excessive force, it gave up, the slide moved back and the gun could be disassembled. Barrel lug shaved some plastic from inside the frame :banghead: but thankfully the pistol operates normally. And since the skid marks are inside, no-one but me sees the evidence of my stupidity.
bandur60
Member
25/06 and 270 sure look a lot alike when you've overslept, it's stll dark, and it's time to go NOW!!!...... We travelled far enough that it wasn't worth going back for the right ammo, so I just forced the 270's to fit...... I kid, I kid .... I went for a walk in the woods with a gun, is all.
I think I've shot every spring from every one of my guns across the room. Some were easily found, some not so much.
My most embarrassing oops was when I showed up at the range 45 minutes from my house, all ready to shoot my AR. I pulled out my .223 ammo, my .223 mags and then my .22 "AR".
Many a foul word was uttered that day.
My most embarrassing oops was when I showed up at the range 45 minutes from my house, all ready to shoot my AR. I pulled out my .223 ammo, my .223 mags and then my .22 "AR".
Many a foul word was uttered that day.
vagunmonkey
Member
Yep... Altered my normal routine and loaded sitting at the bench. Couldn't for the life of me figure why the recoil was so significant until I tried to load the next round
Droid noob
Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2012
- Messages
- 190
MI2600
Member
A couple occasions spring to mind:
I bought a Remington Nylon 66 at a police sale in Hawaii. It had beach sand in the action. To clean it, I started removing sideplate screws until I heard an internal spring go "boing". Had to take it to a gunsmith in a cigar box.
I was reassembling a 1903 Colt. While trying to hold the slide in the correct position so the barrel could be locked in place, I somehow managed to pull the trigger. The hammer fell internally and locked the slide up. Another trip to the gunsmith.
I bought a Remington Nylon 66 at a police sale in Hawaii. It had beach sand in the action. To clean it, I started removing sideplate screws until I heard an internal spring go "boing". Had to take it to a gunsmith in a cigar box.
I was reassembling a 1903 Colt. While trying to hold the slide in the correct position so the barrel could be locked in place, I somehow managed to pull the trigger. The hammer fell internally and locked the slide up. Another trip to the gunsmith.
Zach S
Member
Put a 1911 together without a bbl link pin, IIRC. Shake, try to rack, cuss, repeat. Eventually I got it.
I knicked a lower staking a castle nut on an AR15.
I have learned to treat everything under spring tension as a loaded firearm.
I learned to count rounds unconsciously with my 1911. I didn't notice this until I bought a Glock 17... Harder habit to break than I thought. Especially under pressure at a match.
Wrong mags, on several occasions. Like .45 mags for my 9mm Spartan, officer's mags for a government model, etc. Not just for range use, but CC as well
I knicked a lower staking a castle nut on an AR15.
I have learned to treat everything under spring tension as a loaded firearm.
I learned to count rounds unconsciously with my 1911. I didn't notice this until I bought a Glock 17... Harder habit to break than I thought. Especially under pressure at a match.
Wrong mags, on several occasions. Like .45 mags for my 9mm Spartan, officer's mags for a government model, etc. Not just for range use, but CC as well
I did the exact same thing, however my intention was shooting my AR22, which was set up exactly like my 5.56...
I never tore my glock down that far, but it may have got stuck in the tread on your shoe. Which reminds me about that 1911 mainspring...
El Pato Loco
Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2012
- Messages
- 1
First time taking apart a Ruger MKIII and trusting a YOutube video on the process more than the manual.
dmazur
Member
I decided to take apart a Garand NM rear sight hood. I didn't have a diagram and I wasn't aware of the 2 really small detent balls.
I recovered 1 from the pile carpet, reassembled and noted it was canted. Oh, no! There were 2 of them?
I searched that square foot of carpet for an hour. No luck, even with a magnet.
Finally I used a new vacuum filter bag and vacuumed that patch for 10 minutes. I poked through the lint and found it.
I still work on guns over pile carpeting. I must like the challenge of "working without a net".
I recovered 1 from the pile carpet, reassembled and noted it was canted. Oh, no! There were 2 of them?
I searched that square foot of carpet for an hour. No luck, even with a magnet.
Finally I used a new vacuum filter bag and vacuumed that patch for 10 minutes. I poked through the lint and found it.
I still work on guns over pile carpeting. I must like the challenge of "working without a net".
MtnCreek
Member
There's about three part that can be easily removed and reassembled on the 66. Charging handle, steel receiver plate and that little 'L' shaped piece that goes into the side of the nylon receiver. From there you can blast away w/ plastic safe cleaner. I too have disassembled a 66 and will never do that again. :O
JPG19
Member
THIS is GREAT!! Thanks for the chuckle.
Dave Rishar
Member
Some years ago, I was standing duty in the armory and one of the guys who normally worked in there (I was only there once or twice a week, being normally out at the range) asked for help with an M14. There was a bore obstruction, he said, and he didn't know what to do with it. Bear in mind that this individual was notorious for being a few cards short of a deck; had I considered that first, the following would not have happened.
Bolt locked to the rear, weapon checked clear, look down the muzzle - yep, there's an obstruction. I try tapping it out with a cleaning rod. Then I try hammering it out. I flood the bore with CLP and try some more. About an hour into the evolution, I've now braced the end of a (shortened) cleaning rod against the concrete floor and am hammering the rifle down onto it with both hands. At this point, I realize that something is seriously wrong.
"Dude," I say, breathing hard and sweating, "What the hell happened to this thing? Who was the last person to check out this weapon?"
"Oh, the drill team," he said helpfully. "It's a ceremonial weapon." A ceremonial weapon...as in, demilled. Whatever the bore was filled with, it wasn't meant to come out.
"Why did you not tell me that an hour ago?"
"Oh...I probably should have, huh?"
I nearly threw the rifle at him. I did throw the ruined cleaning rod at him. And every time from then on that he asked me for help with something, I spent at least a few minutes interrogating him before assisting. Several other potential shenanigans were averted later in this way.
My first time charging a Mk19 grenade launcher, I had been told, but did not quite understand, just how much force was required. I did not brace a foot or anything like that; after all, it couldn't be any harder than the M2HB, could it? (For those who do not know, it is. Much harder. There are two handles for a reason, it seems.) I grabbed both charging handles, leaned back just a bit, and reefed on them with all my might. The handles did not move, but I did - right into the back of the weapon, at fairly high speed, with my groin leading the charge. I braced my foot after that.
Operating the Mossberg 500 101: "There is only one way to reliably eff one of these up," I'd tell my students. "If you load a shotshell into the magazine tube backwards, the gun will be OOC and tools will be required to get it operating again. DO NOT DO THIS!"
And a student would occasionally do it anyway. Many of these were fairly new shooters, so it was only to be expected. It was not expected for me to do it with a dummy round in front of a class, so imagine the surprise of my fellow instructors when I did just that. I never made that mistake again and was able to demonstrate to the class how to correct the error with a Leatherman, so perhaps they got some use out of it. They certainly seemed to enjoy the ribbing that I got from my colleagues.
Not my personal screwup, but spectacular enough to mention: you know how they say not to charge a M2HB when the backplate has been removed? A dislodged recoil spring guide rod, under pressure, will embed itself in drywall ten feet away. I'm told that it can cause serious injury if a person is in the way. Never do this, but trust me when I say that it's impressive.
More recently, I was demonstrating an FAL to a potential buyer and it wouldn't cycle. I hadn't shot it in years and had no idea what was wrong with it, so I promised to take it home and look at it. The gas piston was in backwards. There was even a slight discolored crater where the gas had been impacting against solid steel. It worked a lot better after I turned it around.
That's probably enough screwups for now. I could write a book filled with these.
Bolt locked to the rear, weapon checked clear, look down the muzzle - yep, there's an obstruction. I try tapping it out with a cleaning rod. Then I try hammering it out. I flood the bore with CLP and try some more. About an hour into the evolution, I've now braced the end of a (shortened) cleaning rod against the concrete floor and am hammering the rifle down onto it with both hands. At this point, I realize that something is seriously wrong.
"Dude," I say, breathing hard and sweating, "What the hell happened to this thing? Who was the last person to check out this weapon?"
"Oh, the drill team," he said helpfully. "It's a ceremonial weapon." A ceremonial weapon...as in, demilled. Whatever the bore was filled with, it wasn't meant to come out.
"Why did you not tell me that an hour ago?"
"Oh...I probably should have, huh?"
I nearly threw the rifle at him. I did throw the ruined cleaning rod at him. And every time from then on that he asked me for help with something, I spent at least a few minutes interrogating him before assisting. Several other potential shenanigans were averted later in this way.
My first time charging a Mk19 grenade launcher, I had been told, but did not quite understand, just how much force was required. I did not brace a foot or anything like that; after all, it couldn't be any harder than the M2HB, could it? (For those who do not know, it is. Much harder. There are two handles for a reason, it seems.) I grabbed both charging handles, leaned back just a bit, and reefed on them with all my might. The handles did not move, but I did - right into the back of the weapon, at fairly high speed, with my groin leading the charge. I braced my foot after that.
Operating the Mossberg 500 101: "There is only one way to reliably eff one of these up," I'd tell my students. "If you load a shotshell into the magazine tube backwards, the gun will be OOC and tools will be required to get it operating again. DO NOT DO THIS!"
And a student would occasionally do it anyway. Many of these were fairly new shooters, so it was only to be expected. It was not expected for me to do it with a dummy round in front of a class, so imagine the surprise of my fellow instructors when I did just that.
I never made that mistake again and was able to demonstrate to the class how to correct the error with a Leatherman, so perhaps they got some use out of it. They certainly seemed to enjoy the ribbing that I got from my colleagues.Not my personal screwup, but spectacular enough to mention: you know how they say not to charge a M2HB when the backplate has been removed? A dislodged recoil spring guide rod, under pressure, will embed itself in drywall ten feet away. I'm told that it can cause serious injury if a person is in the way. Never do this, but trust me when I say that it's impressive.
More recently, I was demonstrating an FAL to a potential buyer and it wouldn't cycle. I hadn't shot it in years and had no idea what was wrong with it, so I promised to take it home and look at it. The gas piston was in backwards.
There was even a slight discolored crater where the gas had been impacting against solid steel. It worked a lot better after I turned it around. That's probably enough screwups for now. I could write a book filled with these.
Miss Stana
Member
If I get through the day with only a few stupid mistakes I call it good. As far as guns go, I am married to a gunsmith and I let him do the gun work. His most common thing is to drop a spring or other small part. Then he calls to me, "Honey, can you help me find this part?" So I drop everything and go to the shop to help find it. He shows me where he was working and where he heard it drop and then says, "Oh, there it is." One time I left work, drove 50 miles with the spare keys so he could drive home. When I got there, he showed me where all he had walked and there were his keys. Fortunately, my boss thought the whole thing was funny.
spm
Member
I had field stripped my 1911 to clean it after a range session. I put it back together, wiped it down and started to put it in its box and looked down on my workbench and there was a part sitting there. Oops. It wasn't a very big part, so maybe ...?
s.
s.
Went to the range with my son and a mutual friend, who had a clay launcher. We took our shotguns, still in their gun cases, from the van, and realized I had forgotten my box of clays. First embarassment! Our friend checked his smart phone for a Wal Mart. It was eight miles away. We got a new box of clays, went back to the range and shot many rounds with our friends several shotguns. Time to shoot some clays with my shotgun, open the case, took out the gun, and holding it our friend asked how we were going to shoot shells with that. It was then i realized the gun was a bolt action rifle! Second embarassment.
Hardtarget
Member
I've done the "went shooting and left the pistol at home" goof. 
My buddy went deer hunting...but left his rifle at home. Can we all say "CAMP COOK" ?
I was in a local gun shop. Very young clerk...not a seasoned gunny guy (yet). A man walks up with his Ruger standard .22 pistol...in a box. All apart and baffled about putting it back together. Clerk, too. I said "I've got one of those" and the box was pushed to my position with a please help. After a short demonstration and then his turn he went home smiling. Glad I could help.
My worst (to me) was the stuck squib load in my revolver. Just hate to that sort of thing to myself.
Mark
My buddy went deer hunting...but left his rifle at home. Can we all say "CAMP COOK" ?
I was in a local gun shop. Very young clerk...not a seasoned gunny guy (yet). A man walks up with his Ruger standard .22 pistol...in a box. All apart and baffled about putting it back together. Clerk, too. I said "I've got one of those" and the box was pushed to my position with a please help. After a short demonstration and then his turn he went home smiling. Glad I could help.
My worst (to me) was the stuck squib load in my revolver. Just hate to that sort of thing to myself.
Mark
I detail stripped my Glock 23 this week (after a waiter spilled a tray of champagne down my back and into the pistol, but that's another story). Since I gave everything a bath in hot water and Simple Green to get the sticky goo out of all the crevices, I decided to blow the big pieces dry with compressed air.
As I blew off the frame at 100 PSI, I detected a tiny bit of motion zipping up and out of my field of vision. Couldn't even tell if I saw anything, and I couldn't hear because of the compressor. Shrugged my shoulders and went inside.
When I went to install the takedown lever, I discovered its little L-shaped spring was missing. I did not know it was removable. Crap. So, back out to the garage, where it could have been anywhere. Fortunately, it only took me about a minute before I found it under my car.
Almost lost the horseshoe that lost the war.
As I blew off the frame at 100 PSI, I detected a tiny bit of motion zipping up and out of my field of vision. Couldn't even tell if I saw anything, and I couldn't hear because of the compressor. Shrugged my shoulders and went inside.
When I went to install the takedown lever, I discovered its little L-shaped spring was missing. I did not know it was removable. Crap. So, back out to the garage, where it could have been anywhere. Fortunately, it only took me about a minute before I found it under my car.
Almost lost the horseshoe that lost the war.
Just had another 
picked up my ar to go see what the screaming was about (oh the joy of wonderful neighbors) well I came back in and set my ar down. After clearing the gun and storing it with the bolt locked back, well 20 mins later and I decided to break it down and look down the bore because I realized the last time I shot it I hadent ran a brush through it (patches but no brush) well as I break it down the bolt catch releases....... and so the bolt slams forward, no damage or etc but it did give me a scare. Btw on the back of my upper (where it meets the lower the phosphate coating is stripped away on the edges, any way to fix this. Its not a problem I know but i dont like it)
picked up my ar to go see what the screaming was about (oh the joy of wonderful neighbors) well I came back in and set my ar down. After clearing the gun and storing it with the bolt locked back, well 20 mins later and I decided to break it down and look down the bore because I realized the last time I shot it I hadent ran a brush through it (patches but no brush) well as I break it down the bolt catch releases....... and so the bolt slams forward, no damage or etc but it did give me a scare. Btw on the back of my upper (where it meets the lower the phosphate coating is stripped away on the edges, any way to fix this. Its not a problem I know but i dont like it)- Status
