Negligent Discharge

[JohnnyE]

Just like when holstering a pistol, checking/clearing a firearm is the only thing in the entire world that we are doing at that time. Conversation stops momentarily, the TV program being watched doesn't exist for those few seconds, etc. 100 percent of our attention is focused solely on the critical safety task being undertaken.

 

[Bountied]

I had an ND one time. I was replacing the barrel on my 10/22 and didn't have any snap caps in .22 at the time. I wanted to make sure the cutout for the extractor and the claw would line up and extract a round. I used a live round, put it in the chamber and let the bolt go. Since I didn't have the trigger group installed to feed a round from the magazine the edge of the bolt pinched the rim of the .22 and bang! Scared the crap out of me and I couldn't figure out what happed for a minute. The bullet went through the leg of a table and 1 side of drywall and lodged in the opposite side of the drywall. The barrel was pointed down towards the floor but it could have been worse. Now I only use snap caps indoors to check function no live rounds any more.

 

[holesonpaper]

Yikes... Sorry to hear. Not long ago I was showing a friend a new purchase. Prior to handing him the pistol, I safety checked the pistol knowing full well it was empty. He ragged me saying he keeps his safe queens empty. Well normally so do I, but I'll tell you this - any time I hand a pistol to someone else or receive from others, I'm making sure it's clear... Accidents happen.

 

[Sundazes]

Was the flamingo pink? Perfect match for a fortay.

 

[remrug]

I just went and checked my TC Omega, just because of your post. I haven't shot a deer with it for a long while, but I couldn't remember if I had cleared it from last time I went out. Her breech is empty and clear.

Glad my mistake made someone think. I have a different system now. If I leave a load in, I keep the ramrod in the barrel. I also never burn a cap without checking with the ramrod first.
I also dont drink heavily like I did back then

 

[FrankZ]

Was the flamingo pink? Perfect match for a fortay.

No, I suppose that is why it hated the flamingo so much.

 

[Zaicran]

This.
I love guns and like alcohol. I never mix the two.

Yes sir. Same. Yes sir!

 

[Johnny5k]

Triple check. Visual and tactile. Every time. Again if pulling the trigger for any reason. If the trigger pull gets delayed for more than a couple seconds, it gets checked again.

Never had an ND, but I did chamber a round once when I didn't mean to. My triple check saved the day.

 

[Zaicran]

I was visiting family in GA the last week. While there my nephew was showing off some stuff he had in the safe. At one point he had his M&P .40 out to show. He cleared the gun and as he did my brain registered a round entering the chamber. Before I had a chance to say anything he pulled the trigger (he seems to do this after clearing). Standing looking into the ejection port I am surprised I was not hit in the face with the brass, but the sound was incredibly loud. People upstairs thought something had fallen in the basement.

Thankfully no one was hurt. The metal flamingo didn't fare well though.

We had a good discussion about this afterwards, when I could hear something again.

Slow down. He was excited about the toys and was going too fast.
Don't drink and handle guns. He had had a beer and a whiskey and he admitted that he didn't have clarity of thought.
He believed he had removed the magazine. I have made it a habit of looking at the magazine and confirming the ammo I have loaded. It forces the thought process.
Don't pull the trigger unless you really need to. I am not sure why he feels the need to pull the trigger before storage, but has become part of the habit.

He is still mortified by the incident, and I can't say I blame him.

The important takeaway here (to me):

It was a negligent discharge…there is no such thing as an accidental discharge. Thank you for calling it like it is.


Based on your feedback here, he has absolutely taken ownership of the ND. Speaks volumes about his character. So many others would have tried to excuse their way out of it trying to mitigate their involvement. He will remember this for the rest of his life. I thank Him above nobody got hurt.

 

[Dean5791]

Good news nobody got hurt. I had a close call too. I NEVER leave a round in the chamber of any gun at home. I was about to pull the trigger on my Glock 45 to get a feel for it. I decided to do a safety check just in case and....I was SHOCKED when a live round ejected. I have no idea how it got there because I just never do that. The only explanation that makes sense is the holster I use which has too much retention (suede). Holstering and unholstering the gun might have racked the slide.
Safety checks save lives.

 

[JohnnyE]

Checked my pistol before handing it to a friend to inspect it. He grabs it and checks it himself. After inspecting it for about 60 seconds he checks it and hands it back to me at which time I promptly check it myself.

A little bit of redundant checking? Some might say so, but if you get caught up in the game of trying to decide when to check and when not to check, you introduce the chance for error by choosing wrong. Always check so there is no chance for making a bad check/no check choice.

 

[hdatontodo]

In one class, the instructor said to look at the chamber and magwell, look away, then recheck.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

 

[gamer_jim]

When I was younger I'd have negligent discharges all the time.

 

[Threeband]

Rule One: All guns are always loaded.

It's an easy question: Is the gun loaded?
The answer is always "Yes."

Even easier than, "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?"

Is this gun loaded? Yes.

‐-----

Muzzleloaders. Always loaded. It's a good idea to mark the ramrod.

‐----

In High School, I used to shoot .22s in my friend's backyard. One day after school we're walking through his basement carrying our rifles. I hear "BANG!" behind me and feel something hit me in the back. "He shot me in the back!" I thought. Then I realized I wasn't seriously hurt. "Oh. I'm going to rag him about THIS!" I thought, as I turned around expecting to see him horrified about shooting me. I'll get some mileage out of this, I thought.

To my disappointment he wasn't even looking at me. He was looking down at the small crater in the concrete next to his foot. He looked up with a shocked expression and said, "I almost shot myself in the foot!"

"You DID shoot me in the back!" I said. I reached around under my shirt and felt a painful lump just under the skin. I pulled out a small lump of bloody lead, about half of the shattered bullet, and showed it to him accusingly.

So we figured he ALWAYS put his rifle away unloaded. Except, somehow, this time. And then walking through the basement, he absent-mindedly pulled the trigger. At least the rifle was pointed down, but the bullet did almost hit his foot. It shattered on the concrete and a fair chunk of it ricocheted up to hit my back, barely penetrating the skin.

So it was a good lesson, and didn't stop us from continuing into the yard to shoot. And he always said he was just getting back at me for that time I shot him in the neck with my air rifle.

 

[dannyp]

A 5 gallon bucket, filled with sand, with the lid on, makes a good friend to have beside your safe. All can be had for under $10 at HD or Lowes. Put an X in thei middle of the lid as an aim point. The lid keeps it dry, clean and secure.

I don't like pulling the trigger on an empty gun, but it seems to be needed every now and then. Same for dropping the slide and decocking.

Don't just say to point in a safe direction... have a safe direction.


.


Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

that's a great idea , thanks

 

[Michigander08]

Check and recheck. Just do like what pilots do before taking off right? Walk down the list.

 

[rseymorejr]

Yikes... Sorry to hear. Not long ago I was showing a friend a new purchase. Prior to handing him the pistol, I safety checked the pistol knowing full well it was empty. He ragged me saying he keeps his safe queens empty. Well normally so do I, but I'll tell you this - any time I hand a pistol to someone else or receive from others, I'm making sure it's clear... Accidents happen.

My Father taught me when I was little, and I taught my kids, that whenever someone hands you a gun to keep it pointed in a safe direction, finger away from the trigger and check to make sure it's unloaded. I do it without thinking about it.

 

[RFBfromDE]

When I was younger I'd have negligent discharges all the time.

It actually became so commonplace, I could do it in my sleep!

 

[Crazytrain]

I can be absent minded sometimes. I've had accidents in other areas of my life. An incident with a table saw comes to mind. I feel mortal and imperfect in my old age. In my youth, I was over confident. I've never had an incident with a firearm. I am freakin' terrified of doing this. I check and check and check.

Regards keeping a round chambered, I do remember once showing a gun to my nephew. Cool. He's in the process of becoming a fed cop. Cleared. Handed over. He cleared (several times per fed training, I guess). Great. Then he reached into my box of goodies before I could stop or warn him and grabbed my Beretta ("oooh" he said). He cleared, like a good man. But a round came zipping out. Made me rethink leaving them loaded in the house. I do keep my carry piece loaded, and in my holster. Whenever I unholster (to wipe it down every few days...an amazing amount of lint gets attracted to the gun) I'm definitely on alert. Especially when re-holstering. Heck, when I reholster, I take the holster off my belt, put the gun in the holster, and then reattach the holster. It's an IWB, and very near to loose clothing. I'm not letting anything get in that trigger guard. I'm winning my wife over. I don't need to screw this up.

Since my wife is as likely to have to use a gun as I am, I've settled on keeping the bedside pieces unchambered with a loaded mag. She has only had basic familiarization with guns and hasn't developed my finely honed sense of paranoia. Besides, If awoken unexpectedly it's probably not the worst idea to have a few seconds to perform a complex motor skill thereby giving the brain a chance to distinguish between reality and dream-ality. I fear making a bad decision in the confusion of waking up more than being a few seconds late to a gun battle.

An unintended discharge (I'm not gonna be judgey by calling it negligent, nor excuse it with "accidental"...neither is helpful) is really easy to do in a moment of distraction. Good habits will hopefully guard against that.