Accidental Discharges

[Spitpatch]

The point of this thread was to share experiences, and I must say that I am very impressed with everyone's honesty and asssistance with spreading the word about their experiences. Mistakes made, admitted to, and shared are the best method I can think of to prevent others.

I was also very impressed with the very few that claim to have had no such experience, but do not discount the very real possibility that it can happen to them. ("I've been lucky", etc.) Almost non-existant (depending upon how you interpret their posts) is anyone who believes they are above it all.

And here's another that I was in proximity of: (neither participant is me.)

Very experienced gun guy invites not so experienced gun guy into his bedroom to show his new "nightstand" gun: a .38 revolver. Unloads the gun, shows new guy it's unloaded, new guy checks it again, gun owner invites him to try the trigger (had work done on it recently). New guy points it in a safe direction, pulls the trigger. Click. "Wow! nice trigger!"

New guy leaves the room, looks back over his shoulder to say something, and watches gun owner put the gun on top of the wardrobe cabinet (didn't put it back next to the bed).

Hour or so later, both are in the bedroom again, new guy sees the gun on the wardrobe, and before gunowner can get anything out of his mouth, picks up the pistol and pulls the trigger. Bang! The .38 slug has just enough power to get through the wall, and drop on the kitchen range next to gunowner's wife cooking dinner (along with a healthy dose of "seasoning" in the form of drywall dust).

Gun owner had re-loaded the weapon just before he placed it on the wardrobe. New guy did not see him re-load it, and therefore "knew" the gun was empty when he picked it up. Near tragedy. Dinner was the only casualty, and it was impossible to get the wife back in a cooking mood. New guy picked up the check at the restaurant.

 

[SSG]

+1. Some good peeps on these forums. I think of this 'firearm' thing as an education, always learning...these stories are very educational. Reinforces the idea, that no matter what you do...your fault or a faulty gun...always keep the firearm pointed away from peeps...

 

[mortre]

Here is mine. I was probably 15 or so years old, deer hunting with my dad. We were moving to a new location traveling just below a ridge line so we would not be silhouetted. The incline was about 45 degrees to my right, I was carrying a Win 94 of early 80's manufacture. No cross bolt or tang safety, just the safety that prevents firing if the lever is not depressed. It's winter, so I am wearing gloves and to this day I know what happened by deduction only. With gloves on I was not able to "feel" what happened. I had a round chambered and the hammer on the half cock notch. While we were walking I slipped on some of the dead leaves, this is TN so almost all trees are deciduous and you get "drifts" of dead leaves. As I fell to my left side I instinctively tightened my grip on the rifle. Somehow the web of my glove between the thumb and trigger finger cocked the hammer and my trigger finger clutched down on the trigger. The rifle fired a round into the ground directly between my father and I. Scare the **** out of both of us. Took a bit to figure out exactly what happened to both of us. I am of course worried about dad, but I am sliding/tumbling down the side of the ridge. Dad was in front of me, so all he knows is that I fired a shot and am now falling down the side of the ridge, so he of course thinks I have shot myself.

Lesson to be learned is that steep ridges are treacherous! When crossing an obstacle with poor footing, UNLOAD YOUR RIFLE FIRST! Yeah, I know, that's sort of covered in hunter safety. But at least for us, they always stressed crossing fences. Not crossing slippery terrain. IMO, that should be stressed more in hunter safety.

 

[Spitpatch]

Ok, true confessions. In the spirit of honesty, this one is is me:

Dumb Teenager (yours truly) is home alone, and against all he's been taught (because Dumb Teenagers know it all), goes into his Dad's bedroom and retrieves Dad's Ruger Single Six from the holster, unloads it, verifies more than once it is unloaded (because he "knows all about guns" and is always "very safe".)

Goes into the living room, and practices all he's learning from Ed McGivern's book: forward roll, backward roll, highwayman's roll (the coolest), and of course, quick draw. He's "very safe" and very cool, and does all of this over the couch cushions, in case the pistol falls. Finishes up with his drill, reloads the gun, and then the dog wants out. Puts the gun on the couch cushion, lets the dog out, then returns, and suffering standard Dumb Teenager Short-Term Memory Loss, picks up the gun, cocks it and sends a 40-grain Winchester Hollowpoint Magnum into the curtains and the wall behind.

Feelings of very uncool predominate.

Hole in the curtain is nearly undetectable, save for close-proximity powder burns which clean up nicely with a soapy rag. Hole in wall is patched with drywall mud and re-painted. Fast examination of house exterior shows no exit. Thought I'd carry this story to my grave, but I've shared it previous to this posting (although not with Dad).

So far, "the cure" has stuck, with emphasis on "so far".

 

[NK777]

I was also very impressed with the very few that claim to have had no such experience, but do not discount the very real possibility that it can happen to them. ("I've been lucky", etc.) Almost non-existant (depending upon how you interpret their posts) is anyone who believes they are above it all.

Hello, lucky here. I'm glad I'm reading this thread. Anything that reinforces gun safety is a good thing. The last thing I want to ever do is get complacent around firearms. Very very bad things can and do happen if you do.

Thanks for starting this thread. Though it's scary reading I think all gun owners should read it. Nobody is perfect.

 

[Spitpatch]

Ok, here's another, starring yours truly. I don't consider this an exception to "the cure" having stuck, since I did everything right here, except complete familiarity with the weapon, and the "unintended" (rather than negligent or accidental) discharge went exactly where the gun was pointed safely. Also, this one happened prior to my having gotten "the cure".

Younger Dumb Teenager, hunting with his very first deer rifle, an old nickel-steel Model 94. Antelope in Eastern Montana. Antelope herd approaches just as Dad said they would when pushed, right past Dumb Teenager.

Dumb Teenager is in the driver's seat, and allows the goats to get closer and closer, and knowing this is a perfect set-up and he has all the time in the world to make a perfect shot, he holds the gun lightly, and starts his trigger squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze. Squeeze harder. Nothing is happening.

Antelope are starting to walk away. Dumb Teenager looks down at the gun, and only at that point increases his grip on the lever. The old .30-30 does exactly what it is supposed to do, and fires. The 150 grain Silvertip goes way low into the dirt in front of the antelope herd, the herd is confused, and Dumb Teenager gathers his excrement fast enough to send another Silvertip where it is supposed to go. Result: first antelope, and an education on the "lever safety" of Model 94's (they need to be gripped firmly at the lever in order to disengage the little nipple that prevents them from firing unless fully locked up.)

 

[THC101]

never had any discharges but ive had close calls.

Once i let a friend shoot my WASR 10 and when he was holding it at the end admiring the weapon the barrel pointed right at me. one was still in the chamber (he didnt know) and he never put the safety on.

With my glock I always check that the trigger isnt engaged and that the button on the side is still indented. that way i know there isnt one in the chamber and that i have to rack the slide to strip a round off.

 

[supergenius]

never had any discharges but ive had close calls.

Once i let a friend shoot my WASR 10 and when he was holding it at the end admiring the weapon the barrel pointed right at me. one was still in the chamber (he didnt know) and he never put the safety on.

With my glock I always check that the trigger isnt engaged and that the button on the side is still indented. that way i know there isnt one in the chamber and that i have to rack the slide to strip a round off.

At 39 years old I just had my first the other night... Thankfully it went into a wall (As I obeyed the rules and it wasnt pointed at me or anything else...). Muzzle was pointed downward. Short story is that the hammer fell, and discharged the round. Scared the bubblegum out of me. Glad no one was home. SHot a hole in the wall and slug embedded itslf in a stud (Right at the edge of where the window was framed in... didnt make it outside).

Had a round in the chamber. pulled back the slide to "clear" the round with the magazine still in, popped the mag out. Dropped the hammer with my thumb. Bang. My ego wants to say it was a AD, but in actuality, even through my confusion of the situation... Id honestly call it a ND. Sure as **** wont happen again. Im glad i always point the thing at the ground and NEVER at anything/body or it could have been bad. Im one of the paranoid ones who religiously checks the chamber 3x before considering a firearm unloaded, and then everytime i pick it up fresh check again.... Just messed up. and it only takes once. Felt like a moron. Only told 1 person prior to this.

.40 cal, Hydrashock round.

Im carefull, but bubblegum can happen. Thankfully no one was hurt, and it was a very humbling reminder to be careful, then be careful again... Then... after that, be careful some more.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

There is no such thing as an accidental discharge unless your cat or dog fires your gun, or you drop it and it goes off, or the uber rare mechanical failure

They are 99.9999% negligent discharges which were due to the safety between someone's ears not working

 

[DootyBeet]

Here's my story:
I've been lucky to not have had an ‘ND' or ‘AD', BUT I experienced a ‘HD' about 18 years ago. Yes, a hang fire. Taught me a big lesson and I'm very cognizant of this event to this day as I handle FTF's with extreme caution. I also react very cautiously when others have a FTF near me due to this experience.
I was at a skeet range in Concord California and going through the normal course when at one of the stations, &#8216;PULL' and then just <click>. I started to drop the shotgun down to open it (Browning over/under), then BANG. I shot the ground about 20 feet in front of me without my finger even near the trigger.
Although I've had many many FTF's since, mostly with metallic, as I'm sure everyone has, since that day, I keep the weapon at the target, wait much longer, then carefully clear and/or reload.
Yes, I know, some of you will say that we're taught to quickly do a tactical tap and rack but that's under defensive scenarios not target shooting.
Moral &#8211; Be very careful when your firearm does not fire.

 

[Noah Vale]

This happened to a good friend who I consider to be very cognizant of gun safety, and not irresponsible...we were driving around and had stopped to look at some old buildings. As were getting back into the car he pulls out his .357 revolver he was concealing. I start driving, he's unloading the gun, counts 6 cartridges in his hand and also manages to count 6 empty chambers in the cylinder. Closes it shut and dry fires between his seated legs. Dry fires again,except it isn't dry. I slam on the brakes, we ask each other if were okay, get out to double check were okay, and then look to see the damage done to the car. Bullet went into the center console and ends up who knows where in the engine. As were inspecting I notice lots of short brown fibers on the ground where his feet were. It was fibers from his pants, the bullet missed his knee by a margin that left me Illl for the rest of the day.

 

[Atroxus]

I personally believe accidental discharges are very rare, and that the vast majority of what are called accidental discharges should be called negligent discharges. For example, if I rack the slide on my gun and it fires due to a mechanical malfunction I would consider that an accidental discharge. If I send a round through my bedroom wall while dry firing I would consider that me negligent by not making certain the gun was empty, and not making sure I had an adequate backstop.

 

[BDA.45]

Last year I bought a .44 mag. Super Blackhawk. My buddy and I were messin with it in front of my house. He used to do some SASS stuff and was showin me things with it. The cylinder was out of the gun and it was unloaded. Never in a million years would I have ever thought this would happen to this guy. I loaded the cylinder and put it back into the gun. Both of us KNEW the gun was loaded but for some reason he pulled the hammer back. I was gonna remind him it was loaded but didnt. Damn near blew my ear drums out and broke his right thumb. Scared the living **** out of us. That was his only AD/ND ever. Mine too.

 

[clearconscience]

This happened to me once, I was in a trailer on my parents property with some friends and I was going to travel to go shooting so I wanted to unload all my guns while driving there. I had an old 22 pump rifle as I was unloading it I was pumping it and pulling the hammer down, my finger slipped off the hammer and BANG! through the wall. It stopped in the kitchen of the trailer somewhere and I ran outside to see where all my friends were luckily none of them were anywhere around. I was only 17 years old and I didn't even see where my friends were outside the trailer before doing this. Stupid.

But I never had that happen again. I always make sure I know where people are around me and make sure I have it point into a safe direction.

But with regards to the posters story about the store clerk getting killed,
who the heck points a gun at someone!!!!! Even if I trying out a scope with no rifle I don't point it at someone....WTF

 

[clearconscience]

Oh one more,

My old boss told me he was hunting hog in AZ with a work buddy and they got drunk (1st) mistake and his buddy wanted to practice quick draw with his 357 mag. After failed attempts to talk him out of it, he went on the other side of the truck and was eating when he heard a bang!!! OHhHHHHH!!!
He ran around the truck and his friend had blown a hole in his foot. They were in the brush an hour away from the highway and 2 hours outside of town. So he through him in the back of the truck and hauled A, he was pulled over on the freeway, and the cops had him follow him the rest of the way to the hospitol going over 100 MPH. His friend was some badA kick boxer but after that he couldn't put iny weight on his foot. Career over.

 

[biggie24420]

First time i ever shot a gun it was with my friend at the time at the range called A PLACE TO SHOOT or THE PLACE TO SHOOT..... by the expo ctr. area. He had his .45 and i decided to rent me a .44 mag. We are at the range shooting..... when my turn was up i probably shot a few rounds and he said or did something and i turned my head towards him and said something and probably laoughed and next thing i know the .44 goes off. The hammer was back and as a lot of us know the triger pull was lighter. The good thing was that the revolver was pointed down range....the bad was that i was looking away....distracted and my fingar was on the triger. I learned my lesson and never had any problems since.

 

[Dr.Peppers]

I remember Johnny Carson telling this story on his show. I think he grew up in Iowa. It's New Years Eve and the folks are out celebrating. Johnny is home alone and he's about 10-12 maybe. He decides to get Dad's shotgun from the basement and shoot it off at midnight, because that's what people do. He gets the gun and starts toward the basement stairs. He tripped and his finger was on the trigger. It blew a hole through the wall at the base of the stairs. He kind of got in trouble later when he explained what had happened.

 

[python287]

Years ago and Oregon State Trooper who will remain nameless is sitting in his patrol car. This was in the days where OSP carried revolvers. Trooper is dry firing his revolver (empty cylinder) get's a call and loads his weapon. Call is canceled before he can drive away. Trooper pulls out revolver and shoots his radio.. OOPS !

 

[Brokenoaks]

There is no such thing as an accidental discharge unless your cat or dog fires your gun, or you drop it and it goes off, or the uber rare mechanical failure

They are 99.9999% negligent discharges which were due to the safety between someone's ears not working

I totally agree with this statement. I was raised with guns from day one, I have owned a gun from the time I was 8 years old, I had 9 siblings that did the same, I spent 2 years in Viet Nam (we had guns there), I have taught gun safety to my kids and grandkids and many other kids. I am proud to say that I have never experienced or been around a discharge that was not intentional. I do know that it happens but every so called accidental discharge I have ever heard of has been a mistake or lack of judgment on the part of the person handling the gun. I am disappointed in some of you that think that so called gun accidents happen to all of us at some point and that it's acceptable. No I am not in denial that some people do stupid things but the first thing I teach new gun owners is that there are no accidents with guns, just sometimes bad judgment and that's not acceptable around me when it comes to gun safety. The people I have taught and shoot with either embrace this philosophy or they don't shoot with me.

 

[Keane]

I totally agree with this statement. I was raised with guns from day one, I have owned a gun from the time I was 8 years old, I had 9 siblings that did the same, I spent 2 years in Viet Nam (we had guns there), I have taught gun safety to my kids and grandkids and many other kids. I am proud to say that I have never experienced or been around a discharge that was not intentional. I do know that it happens but every so called accidental discharge I have ever heard of has been a mistake or lack of judgment on the part of the person handling the gun. I am disappointed in some of you that think that so called gun accidents happen to all of us at some point and that it's acceptable. No I am not in denial that some people do stupid things but the first thing I teach new gun owners is that there are no accidents with guns, just sometimes bad judgment and that's not acceptable around me when it comes to gun safety. The people I have taught and shoot with either embrace this philosophy or they don't shoot with me.

Mostly true. HOWEVER mechanical failures aren't impossible. I had a hammer fall without pulling the trigger. The only reason it didn't cause significant harm is because I followed all the other rules. I've had what I consider to be an AD, not a ND.