Gun safety fail. I was just witness to an AD.

[Nosferatu]

There's that law about not having a loaded long gun in a vehicle. It's in the regs too.

Doesn't apply on private property, which sounds like where this happened.

 

[Nutty4Guns]

It wasn't his fault. He was told it was a cold gun.

 

[Stomper]

So the company I work for owns a fair amount of diked farmland along an estuary area. It is prime duck and goose hunting ground and we let people hunt for a very modest permit fee. One of the owners and I took a run to look at the adjacent river to see how high it was and drive back across the field access road to make sure hunters weren't blocking the road like they sometimes do. We encounter a truck blocking the road so we honk until the hunter comes out of the ditch and walks to us. We tell him he needs to move his truck and not block the road. He goes to get in his truck and evidently shoves his loaded shotgun with safety off into back seat of truck and it goes off. We are stunned and he is white as a sheep. Luckily it was pointed away from us and it looked like rear seat and inside door panel took the brunt. We were so rattled we just wanted to get away from this guy after we chewed him out a bit, but we will probably go back pull his permit. I am just glad everybody is safe including him. How many gun safety rules were broken here? I just can't fathom sticking a loaded shotgun into a vehicle with safety off and finger on trigger. This was an epic fail on his part. Warden should probably be called and this guy should be forced to take a hunter safety course over again like many of us had as kids or maybe it would be his first time.

The only thing I got from that was, "diked farmland".





Not really.

 

[No_Regerts]

Doesn't apply on private property, which sounds like where this happened.

If they are hunting, I'm pretty sure it applies.

 

[Alexx1401]

If they are hunting, I'm pretty sure it applies.

Stunts like this guy pulled are a prime reason laws like that come about. This time everyone got lucky that no one got hurt. Many times these kind of things do not end this well, which is what gets laws passed.

 

[The B]

If they are hunting, I'm pretty sure it applies.

came here to post this - when game hunting you cannot have a loaded gun in your truck, anywhere.

 

[osprey]

We spoke to him very politely about moving his vehicle and I can't see the interaction causing a normally safe gun handler to lose his mind. I got to go with he was inexperienced and exhibited some unsafe practices before this incident. Went back to get his lic plate and he was gone. He probably went home to change his briefs and think about what he had just done. I truly hope learning occurred. We likely will let it lie and not pursue it any further.

 

[Nosferatu]

If they are hunting, I'm pretty sure it applies.

The hunting part made me double-think, you might be right. I just emailed WDFW Enforcement for clarification.

I know ranchers who carry loaded rifles in their trucks/ATV's on their property all the time. They aren't technically hunting when doing it through, more for varmint control.

 

[RVTECH]

This was an epic fail on his part.

I once witnessed an 'epic fail' when a friend blew the dinette window out of his motorhome with a 12 ga. - from the inside.

 

[Howard1955]

We spoke to him very politely about moving his vehicle and I can't see the interaction causing a normally safe gun handler to lose his mind. I got to go with he was inexperienced and exhibited some unsafe practices before this incident. Went back to get his lic plate and he was gone. He probably went home to change his briefs and think about what he had just done. I truly hope learning occurred. We likely will let it lie and not pursue it any further.

If he's married, he had some 'splainin' to do when he got home.

Reminds me of the time Uncle Clayton blew a hole in the top of his VW Beetle. But that was a long time ago in Texas, and it was Uncle Clayton, so...

 

[bionic knees]

saw the local Barney Fife city cop do much the same, tossed his riot gun into the front seat of his patrol car and it went off. enter uproarious laughter and exit stage left.

 

[salmon creek gary]

No instant in time, no matter how insignificant, justifies suspension of firearm safety rules - or the reason behind the rules. The OP described a brief instant when some might assert that unusual circumstances ought to excuse an unsafe action. I say, nope, and the results support my assertion.

The recent movie set negligent discharge is another example of unusual circumstances being used to ignore the rules. In that case, it is more egregious because an entire industry bought into the misperception that their special movie magic circumstances justified a new and different set of rules, i.e. responsibility for safety could be assigned (delegated) to underlings for as long as their movie magic was taking place . . . or until a real-world homicide results due to their total disregard of real-world rules for firearm safety.

 

[Jay Walk]

Loaded firearm cannot be in your vehicle unless a cwp and gun is on your person I believe.
This may be one reason why?

 

[RVTECH]

Several years ago a co-worker described a situation where a friend of his was killed.

He was not present but his friend and three others were riding in a pickup while hunting - two in the cab and two standing in the bed and leaning over the roof.

Inside Passenger had his rifle butt on the floor with the barrel pointing up. Bump hit and rifle discharges.......

 

[The B]

Loaded firearm cannot be in your vehicle unless a cwp and gun is on your person I believe.
This may be one reason why?

if youre game hunting, you cannot have a loaded long gun in your truck. its been a while, but im pretty goddamn sure theres no exceptions to this except disabled hunters.

 

[The Heretic]

saw the local Barney Fife city cop do much the same, tossed his riot gun into the front seat of his patrol car and it went off. enter uproarious laughter and exit stage left.

familiarity breeds contempt

 

[Ruger Rich]

I here you but where would he have gained his firearm safety knowledge if not for a hunter safety course? In WA you do not need this course if you are adult born before Jan 1 1972. I am sure there are many people that are not familiar with firearms/safety that take up hunting later in life and fall through the cracks. I am not usually one to advocate more laws but maybe a hunter safety course or some kind of proof of equivalent knowledge and skill should be required to get a license, no matter what your age.

I mostly agree with you. However there are a bunch of old guys on here that never heard of a
hunter safety course when they were younger and starting out. I draw somewhat of a similar
situation where a young person grows up in an abusive/alcoholic/drug home and is more likely
to follow in that direction. I was taught gun safety by my Dad and his brothers. But, if the teacher
is not responsible then the student may follow. We learn by the examples our adults show us and
less by what they say.

 

[bionic knees]

I mostly agree with you. However there are a bunch of old guys on here that never heard of a
hunter safety course when they were younger and starting out. I draw somewhat of a similar
situation where a young person grows up in an abusive/alcoholic/drug home and is more likely
to follow in that direction. I was taught gun safety by my Dad and his brothers. But, if the teacher
is not responsible then the student may follow. We learn by the examples our adults show us and
less by what they say.

I am 67 years old and took the hunters' safety class when I was 11 so I could hunt when I was 12.

 

[Alexx1401]

I am 67 years old and took the hunters' safety class when I was 11 so I could hunt when I was 12.

YEP! Different states of course do it different ways but I got my first hunting license in the 60's and in grade school. To get one at that age I had to pass a course taught by the NRA. Course was held over several nights at a local school after hours. Can you just imagine the screaming if they did that now?
After we finished they set up a Saturday when we all got to meet at a range and shoot some live ammo. This too would be all but impossible to set up now. Amazingly no one ever got hurt doing this with those "dangerous" guns.

 

[The Heretic]

I mostly agree with you. However there are a bunch of old guys on here that never heard of a
hunter safety course when they were younger and starting out.

They would have to be older than me (67). My dad took me to a Hunter Safety course when I was something like 12 years old - I remember it distinctly.