- These days "responsibility" is rapidly becoming, not just unfashionable, but actually untranslatable.
- One of the few bright spots in the economy?
- When somebody has an ND, it's almost reflexive to call them on a violation of Rule Three ("Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.") But don't forget that when the action is being manipulated, the weapon can fire even without a finger on the trigger if something is broken or defective. In those cases, Rule Two, "Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy," is what ensures that the result is merely loud and embarrassing, rather than bloody and tragic.
Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.
“I only regret that I have but one face to palm for my country.”
I was shooting trap when the gentleman next to me closed the action on his Model 12 and boom.
ReplyDeleteWhen he did it the second time it was apparent something was wrong with the shotgun. As you said keeping the firearm in a safe direction made all the difference.
It didn't much for my score that round.
Gerry
..didn't do much for my score that round.
ReplyDeleteSorry
Gerry
A uncle of mine used to have a M-97 that fired when the action was closed. Not when the action was closed gently but when cycled rapidly/strongly for a second shot. That 97 was turned into a "leave it in the back of the closet" gun quickly.
ReplyDeleteTam is correct so I feel I have to share this one.
ReplyDeleteI had my first ND after I had bought a new S&W sigma 9 VE.
I taken it to the range to test fire it and had disassembled it to clean it at home.
I had just got done putting it back together and had put a loaded mag in the weapon. I crossed my arms to push the slide back, the gun was in my right hand pointed to the left across my chest and my left hand pushed to the right to draw the slide back.
Note: I was young then and know now that it was BAD FORM to do this! I was lucky and this was an insanely stupid thing to do!
Anyway, I remember checking to see if my finger was indexed off the trigger and then I dropped the slide. To my surprise, the gun fired. The bullet went under my elbow and hit a stack of large porcelain plates drying in the rack next to my sink which, thank god, stopped the round from tearing through the apartment complex I was living in.
Hours after I had calmed down and my ears had quite ringing I inspected the gun. Something was broke in it and it would occasionally fire when the slide fell home. The gun was defective.
Thanks to this I now have a very large potted plant in my apartment. The pot is about 1 1/2 feet deep. Whenever I load and unload my carry piece it now gets pointed into my ficus. Because, you never know.
My first and last ND (knock on wood) was when I was a kid. My lovingly practical parents made the apparent mistake of allowing me to buy a couple cheapo blank revolvers on a trip to the states, for which I promptly acquired some tear gas blanks; Flew back with them in my carry on (long time ago, in a Republic far far away).
ReplyDeleteSo back home in my room one night, messing around with my new "toys", I unwittingly invented the game of Retard Kid Roulette.
The game works like this; one pistol is loaded with tear gas, and the other isn't. You lose when genius picks the wrong one and booger-hooks the thing into his open palm, no doubt with the intention of hearing the cool click sound.
I ended up with a scorched hand and a blow-back face full of tear gas...And a couple smirking parents who stopped me from running my wailing self into walls in hopes of escaping the pain. Luckily it was nothing that a half hour of shame and an eyewash of milk couldn't cure.
Lesson learned.
Nowadays I treat firearms as if a poltergeist might just pull the trigger at any moment.
I have had two ADs in my life...both were mechanical in nature and both went in a safe direction. The first was a defective 1911 safety. I dropped the safety, and said 1911 went BOOM, planting a 230gr HP 4" from my right foot. The second was a sporterized 1903 Springfield after a "gunsmith" installed a Canjar trigger. I dropped the safety to unload it, and it went BOOM. My hunting partner was not pleased, and that particular "gunsmith" never touched another one of my guns.
ReplyDeletesigh.
ReplyDelete"responsibility" made me a sad camper.
WTF is wrong with people?!
That just hurts...
Only had one, on a newly purchased Saiga. Double-feed, the round being loaded hit the primer of the round already loaded. Since it was pointed downrange nothing bad happened.
ReplyDeleteI fortunately haven't had one (yet) but I will add the zombie-like drone of "booger hook, bang switch" whenever there is an ND drives me nuts. If people would look at these incidents as opportunities to learn from other peoples' mistakes instead of beginning their mindless gregorian chant from the top of self-righteous mountain then perhaps there would be fewer of them.
ReplyDeleteKeeping your finger off the trigger is a good start and fundamental to good gun handling, but there is more to it than that.
A'yup. My first (and like others hopefully last) ND was due to me hitting the trigger too early in the draw but fortunately there was no rule 2 violation.
ReplyDeleteHit the frame of the target and actually yelled in shock. But as you said "merely loud and embarrassing, rather than bloody and tragic."
There's 4 rules. And it takes violating at least 2 to cause things to go bad. So keep mindful of them ALL.
Larry, you had rife fire while unlocked and nothing bad happened? I have seen two out of battery incidents and both were ugly.
ReplyDeleteI've had two NDs in my life. Interestly enough, neither ND/AD involved my booger hook on the bang switch. they did, however, both involve cheap guns of questionable quality. One was a CZ-52, the other a Star model 'b'. Both of which suffered an ND when dropped.
ReplyDeleteI have no excuse. I was tired, I had both kinds of rounds on my desk, and I thought I was grabbing a snap-cap dummy round when I really grabbed a 230-grain Federal Hydra-Shok hollowpoint. So when I racked the slide with my left hand to chamber the round, and my hand passed in front of the muzzle as I pulled the trigger to dry-fire, I put that hollowpoint right through the palm of my left hand.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I hit bone and not nerve, but that bullet can shatter a lot of bone - now I wear my wedding ring on a chain around my neck, and I can only count to 9 on my fingers. I'm not proud of it, but it's a cautionary tale to my firearms safety students. I have to agree with JeffJ - simply chanting "booger-hook-bang-switch" isn't real inspiring. When I hold up Gollum, the .45 XD, along with my left hand, that gives 'em some food for thought. If some kid thinks twice before doing something as stupid and negligent as I did, then at least some good comes of it.
I would never say "Negligent Discharge" while calling 911 after I had just shot myself. I would rather say "Unintentional Discharge."
ReplyDeleteI think that makes one seem better, both socially, and in law.
WV: wantlevi. Wotthehell? The last Levi I knew was my Scoutmaster, and he's been dead for years.