Gun handling safety reminder. Freak thing happened, everything is OK though.

[cpy911]

I was inspecting my pistol, preparing to clean it and checking for function. First thing I did was checked to see if unloaded (that saved my life just now). I pulled slide back and then let it rack forward and left the hammer cocked with the intention of removing the slide.

However, I temporarily put it down on the table pointed away from me. The hammer was still cocked at this point. I then stood up, picked up the pistol and somehow it starts dropping out of my hand as I am correcting it swivels 180 degrees with muzzle toward me right at my chest and drops on the table. In the process the hammer dropped so my thumb/finger something got on the trigger during the fumbling. If it was loaded, I would be toast right now. I have never had a weapon go off (meaning even a click) while pointed at me. Well, I am kind of upset that I let this happen. I now have a huge, huge respect for these things. I need to be much much more respectful and careful.

Just a friendly reminder that we can never let our guard down and follow all the layered rules (finger off trigger, treat as loaded, know target, muzzle control, etc).

Ugh...just feel stooopid.

Ok, hope we all learn something!
Regards.

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[accessbob]

And the other thing to remember is - if you drop it, DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.

 

[cpy911]

And the other thing to remember is - if you drop it, DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.

Good point. From now on, let it drop....my life is worth more than a scratch or dent.

 

[Dunerunner]

Complacency will kill you. You learned a valuable lesson and got a free pass.

 

[Rick4070]

I think it is a very natural thing to do, to try and catch it, I saw a woman here at work drop a soldering iron, she tried, no, she DID catch it on the way to the floor.

It didn't take her long to let go of it, and I didn't even know she knew such words!!

It also reminds me of a photo I once saw of a deceased guy, he was obviously a target shooter, Pachmayr pistol box, etc., he was sitting on the floor with his legs under the coffee table, and was slumped over, and had shot himself while cleaning a .22 handgun.

Glad to hear you are O.K, and thanks for the reminder.

 

[biggie24420]

Dang.... I know the feeling. Glad you didn't hurt yourself though.
I always remove the mag, rack the slide a few times and visually check for an UNLOADED chamber. If I am in a low light environment, I will also physically feel check when I am making the gun secure. I often think what I would do if I drop my gun.... and I too would just let it fall. I carry a Glock, so I would not want to try and save the gun from falling. If I scratch something, it's better than a bullet in me.

I have been carrying since 2004 and I am a 98%+ carrier. It is easy to get used to guns and take it easy..... always have to show respect and be aware. I am being more careful now days (not that I was careless before) and I focus a lot of muzzle discipline.

 

[cpy911]

Yes, I think dropping a gun and what I would do is something I have never pondered. My natural reaction was to try and get a hold of it and in the process my finger got on the trigger. I will add this to my gun safety lesson for my kids.

I don't think it would have gone off by itself being dropped about 1 foot, but my TRYING to catch it caused the hammer drop. NEW RULE, DONT TRY TO CATCH A FALLING GUN.

 

[Mark W.]

Curious if you can explain the pistols position when it was pointed at you and your finger was in a positon to pull the trigger seams very awkward

 

[cpy911]

Curious if you can explain the pistols position when it was pointed at you and your finger was in a positon to pull the trigger seams very awkward

Don't know. I only saw the muzzle at my chest for an instant and the gun landed on the table with the hammer down. Somehow in all the fumbling of trying to catch it, the trigger was depressed.

 

[BigStick]

Thanks for the post. I had never thought about this either. If a gun is falling, don't try to catch it. Makes perfect sense, but if you never thought about it, you will just go on instinct.

 

[cwegga]

And the other thing to remember is - if you drop it, DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.

Also, move your feet out of the way, a gun falling from chest height and smashing your bare toe against the floor really hurts. It hurts for more than a week when it's an LCP I don't know what a fullsize would do.

 

[cpy911]

Also, move your feet out of the way, a gun falling from chest height and smashing your bare toe against the floor really hurts. It hurts for more than a week when it's an LCP I don't know what a fullsize would do.

]

Yes. It looks like the protocol for a dropping handgun or firearm is to let it go and move body and feet away. Trying to fumble and catch it is an accident waiting to happen. It is now ingrained in my mind and I also taught my boys this new additional safety rule.

 

[Flopsweat]

I usually use a plastic handgun replica or water pistol to demonstrate this in firearm classes. Ties right into the indexing demonstration. They get it right away. We often get an "Ah!" of recognition from a few of them. And the next time we recite the Three Rules together you can hear more voices chiming in.

 

[cpy911]

Right on. It is something that should be obvious, but the natural reaction is to try and catch it...retraining my mind now and those shooters around me.

I usually use a plastic handgun replica or water pistol to demonstrate this in firearm classes. Ties right into the indexing demonstration. They get it right away. We often get an "Ah!" of recognition from a few of them. And the next time we recite the Three Rules together you can hear more voices chiming in.

 

[Trick]

It's better reading a warning from you then reading your obituary. There are only two types of gun owners.....those that admit their close calls and those that don't.

I was hunting in my youth and I accidentally discharged a rifle into the air pointed away when I went to unload it. My hands were so damn cold that I couldn't feel my fingers. I thought they were ahead of the guard....they weren't. The rifle butt came back and struck my grown for a painful reminder of my momentary lack of attention to detail. Shook me up very bad. I used the story to teach my kids how their old man nearly met his maker and how dangerous firearms are.

Thanks for the helpful reminder.

 

[Swedish K]

The hard part here is that most people's natural instinct is to try to grab a dropped/falling object. I remember a prime example of this occurred in front of me several years ago. My neighbor was a WWII vet - BAR gunner in the south pacific, he lost his right arm at the elbow from an enemy machine gun. I was helping him work on his 57 Caddy and he picked up something knocking a screwdriver off the bench and tried to catch it with the hand that had been missing for about 40 years. It was odd to see at the time and he explained that the worst thing was when he had an itch where the missing limb should have been.

 

[footballplaya98311]

Thanks for the story! Takes a stand up guy to admit when he messes up. I've never thought about what I would do if I dropped my gun. Thanks again for the reminder!

 

[Morpheus]

And the other thing to remember is - if you drop it, DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.

Here is a song to help you out:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HnrjWHpid4&list=PLDTILKzoTdy1XryFVaeYiq69F9WPhpkWM

 

[misplacedtexan]

I've dropped my pistols quite a few times, but one thing I've always understood is...


...LET IT FALL...

most times the handgun won't go off if it just falls, usually when you hear these stories it's cause someone tried to catch it and caught the trigger.


Glad to hear you're living OP and it's a crappy way to do it, but that'll drive home gun safety like a door nail for the rest of your life.

 

[RedneckRampage]

I learned not to try and catch falling weapons with as big knife. Tried to catch that and sliced my whole palm open. It was a reflex too.