Negligent discharge, something to learn from

[Hook686]

Fortunately, my military training kicked in. Yes, I have been an infantryman in the US Army for almost three years, coming up on my second deployment

You are in the military and used Tri-Care, and you are on your fathers medical coverage ?

Amazing, what medical plan does he have, and why did the base hospital not cover the injury ? I thought military service provided it all. At least in my day it did.

 

[Bellehood]

You are in the military and used Tri-Care, and you are on your fathers medical coverage ?

Amazing, what medical plan does he have, and why did the base hospital not cover the injury ? I thought military service provided it all. At least in my day it did.

My dad retired with 100% disability, so that gives us his family some pretty awesome perks. I was not on base at the time, im in the army national guard. I have my own tri-care account, as our unit's tri-care adviser instructed me to, "just in case", but as far as i know, my dad's coverage kicks in first.

 

[Bellehood]

Any criminal charges? My stupid moment cost me a reckless endangerment charge (which was later dropped) and a few months without my gun (which was banging around in a metal evidence drawer) beyond the embarrassment and stupid feeling.

none actually, the three officers who came with the paramedics we're very nice, if not a little bit ignorant. they just wanted to see every gun in the house, which there were 4 of at the time. At least the one I talked to did not seem to know much about guns, as when i told him i had been dissembling the 2 glocks, he asked if i was a gunsmith, and then made a comment about how glocks are unsafe since they dont have a safety, as he carried a S&W M&P But he was the youngest of the three.

The older one told my friend that if i had missed my hand, and just shot the floor, they might have charged me with unlawful discharge of a firearm, but since I shot myself, they would not. Seems a little sketchy to me, but im not complaining.

 

[bruzer]

WOW, I am glad you will recover. Thank you for your service.
As for the LEO that carries the S&W M&P I'll inform my G22 that it better be careful since it does not have a safety.
Mike

 

[simpleguy]

Thank you for sharing, it takes a REAL man and a humble one to do so.

 

[Aero Denezol]

I'm glad you're okay, and thanks for having the cojones to share. I'm always leery about people talking to me when I'm handling guns. I think it's distracting and I try not to do it to others. When people are talking to me and handling their guns I also keep on eye on their gun.

That being said, I had a decocker fail on a Makarov yesterday. When I lowered the safety lever, it dropped the hammer right on the pin and fired a round. Luckily I was at a range and had the gun pointed down range.

Wow, that is scary. I just bought a Mak and I'm reluctant to carry it with the safety on.. I hope this is not common.

 

[97321]

For sake of commiseration I will offer a similar story. Growing up, my father (former Marine) was strict about gun safety. Part of the training was sharing his own story of shooting himself through the left middle finger with a .22 derringer. Despite this, and a fairly extensive background in formal gun safety training beyond childhood through my own military and private club experience, I managed to pull off a very similar stunt as you have. After 30+ years of safe shooting without anything remotely like a safety incident, I managed to shoot myself in the left hand a couple of years ago. I had been comparing handguns with my adult son and shot myself while stripping a weapon down, as you did. Fortunately it was just a grazing shot to the fatty outside part of the hand. No laptops in the room either.

I had always been one to scorn the recklessness of people who had an accidental discharge in their past. It's very sobering to now be "that guy". Anyone who thinks it can't happen to them should be doubly vigilant to make sure it doesn't happen to them.

 

[mat33]

I'm glad you're okay, and thanks for having the cojones to share. I'm always leery about people talking to me when I'm handling guns. I think it's distracting and I try not to do it to others. When people are talking to me and handling their guns I also keep on eye on their gun.



Wow, that is scary. I just bought a Mak and I'm reluctant to carry it with the safety on.. I hope this is not common.

I've shot other Maks without incident. I'm still not more wary of a Mak than any other DA/SA gun. However, I will (and should have) always assist the decocker on ANY gun with my thumb as if it were an SA or a revolver and continue to make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction. I'll also slow down when racking the slide when the safety is on.

 

[mjbskwim]

The older one told my friend that if i had missed my hand, and just shot the floor, they might have charged me with unlawful discharge of a firearm, but since I shot myself, they would not. Seems a little sketchy to me, but im not complaining.

Most municipalities have a no discharging firearms law.So unless you are shooting in self defense, you will get charged with unlawful dischage.
About the only law the cities can have that is different than the state firearms law.
I'm surprised Bellevue didn't bring in the SWAT team

Oh and BTW drop the magazine and rack the slide 3 times to make sure the gun is clear.
And don't put any body parts in front of the muzzle

 

[FMJ 911]

I'm very sorry to hear about your "incident", Hope you get better soon!

When I go shooting, Guns and Ammo stay separate from each other until on the firing line, everyone is ready to shoot. When everyone's magazines are empty, a cease-fire is called, and all guns are checked before the next session. That's how I have always done it anyway. and I Did shoot myself in the finger once with a BB pistol, it hurt very badly, but I still have my finger, and you can't tell it was ever shot!

 

[kodiak61]

Former 11B myself, fired countless rounds down range, done live fire exercises and been an avid hunter, shooter since I can remember.

Always heard that there are two types of people in this world, those who have had a ND and those who will.

Always, and I mean always I thought this was BS until I did it myself.

I worked at a gun store in Arizona for two years after popping my balloon and saying good bye to the ARMY, during my time there I purchased and handled hundreds if not thousands of firearms and treated fire arm safety and muzzle discipline to a higher degree than even when I was enlisted.

One day a customer comes in with a TEK-22 (POS) for sale. I dropped the magazine, pulled the slide to clear the weapon and the pointed it at the floor to dry fire it. BOOM!. And all of this is of course AFTER the customer ensured me it was clear. My fatal error was I didn't physically LOOK down the chamber to ensure that it was clear. The extractor had failed on this weapon system and when I dropped the mag and racked the slide it did not extract the live cartridge. I was only lucky that I pointed it at the floor. No harm done but it was a major reminder that crap does happen, parts fail and I had to be even more diligent about completing every step in weapon safety. A side note about why it was dry fired, the customer stated that the trigger was "sticking" and that was the only problem with the weapon. I was just thankful that I wasn't pointing it in another direction at the time.

Thanks for sharing your story and I hope you recover with no limitations or issues.