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So @Andy54Hawken 's post is gold to me. As an instructor, one of the biggest initial issues with newer shooters is that they are not comfortable manipulating their firearms. Having said that, safety while doing so is paramount. Throw a little stress on someone (classes in front of others, competitions...even friendly ones, on a shot timer), then watch what happens. Safeties forget to be clicked off, mags are dropped, reloads turn horrible and malfunctions turn into nightmares....for those who are not unconsciously competent with their systems. It even happens to those who are but at a much lower frequency.

As for penetration, check out Paul Harrell's videos on YouTube. He shoots all kinds of stuff through drywall, multiple layers, using shotguns...it gives you a visual clue of what you are dealing with.

And one final note:
Yes, I think part of what I want to do (other than feel how awesome it feels) is to be completely familiar with it by touch and sight.
Heaven forbid you are ever involved in a defensive gun use situation, what I did you your quote is what a prosecuting attorney will do in front of the jury. Or it may sway them to decide to prosecute in a close case. I understand that it was completely harmless to you, but it will be twisted to make you look like a gun nut that just couldn't wait to use it on someone. Eliminate the bold, red, underlined portion, and you become a responsible looking gun owner.

Thanks for asking questions like this to the NWF brain trust.
 
Dry firing can help you get familiar with a gun. But be sure the ammo is in a different room, so you don't wind up accidentally shooting a hole in your wall.

You might want to look into frangible ammo for your handgun. The shotgun is a good HD weapon where there are other houses nearby.

Good luck.
ADs (accidental discharge) happen.
I've seen 3 in 30 years, all at the dining room table or on the couch .

First time there was literally, actually, factually 1 single round of .45acp in the entire building. That bullet ended up lodged in a stack of VHS tapes under the tv .
 
ADs (accidental discharge) happen.
I've seen 3 in 30 years, all at the dining room table or on the couch .

First time there was literally, actually, factually 1 single round of .45acp in the entire building. That bullet ended up lodged in a stack of VHS tapes under the tv .

Is negligence being used synonymously with accident here?

Because those are different.
 
Lol ,you're right. That's the newnew.
My age is showing.
Yes , all 3 identified as "negligent "
I honestly don't know how a true accident could happen with an inanimate object, sans human input.

No worries, just wanted to clarify.

One example, I would characterize a true accident as a mechanical malfunction. For example, a spring breaks and the gun now shoots on accident without human input. Or in another case, some guns have fired after they were "racked" because of issues with their internals, that would be an accident. Those new army Sigs that fired if they were dropped, that could be considered an accident, though dropping it could be considered negligent.

I saw a video of a cop who unholstered his gun at a gun store to compare his gun to one he was looking at, went to reholster and his jacket liner had a adjuster toggle that wedged into the trigger guard causing the gun to fire. I personally would characterize that as negligence, but some might consider that an accident. The reason why I would consider it negligence is because when you choose your clothing you have to be aware of considerations like that, he should have either picked a jacket without a toggle or been much more deliberate about reholstering while keeping his clothes out of the way.

Anything that involves a persons finger and the gun going off without intention, definitely negligence.

I've had 1 ND before at a firing range. Gun was pointed down range, I was showing people completely new to guns how to cock the revolver and show the difference between the single action and double action trigger pull. I was aware the cylinder was loaded and was trying to let the hammer down slowly when it slipped and I sent a round down range. Was it negligent, yes, was it unsafe, no, because I had all of the other rules of firearm safety taken care of.
 
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Excellent questions! So much great advice already offered and I'll add a second about looking into defensive ammo that may, may be a bit less likely to go through walls, if you missed.
 
So @Andy54Hawken 's post is gold to me. As an instructor, one of the biggest initial issues with newer shooters is that they are not comfortable manipulating their firearms. Having said that, safety while doing so is paramount. Throw a little stress on someone (classes in front of others, competitions...even friendly ones, on a shot timer), then watch what happens. Safeties forget to be clicked off, mags are dropped, reloads turn horrible and malfunctions turn into nightmares....for those who are not unconsciously competent with their systems. It even happens to those who are but at a much lower frequency.

As for penetration, check out Paul Harrell's videos on YouTube. He shoots all kinds of stuff through drywall, multiple layers, using shotguns...it gives you a visual clue of what you are dealing with.

And one final note:

Heaven forbid you are ever involved in a defensive gun use situation, what I did you your quote is what a prosecuting attorney will do in front of the jury. Or it may sway them to decide to prosecute in a close case. I understand that it was completely harmless to you, but it will be twisted to make you look like a gun nut that just couldn't wait to use it on someone. Eliminate the bold, red, underlined portion, and you become a responsible looking gun owner.

Thanks for asking questions like this to the NWF brain trust.
Excellent points. Thank you. deleted as suggested:) And thanks for the Paul Herrell videos. Just watched a few and they're great.
 

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