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View Full Version : Lesson learned, or stupidity at it's best.


Kevinw
April 8, 2000, 01:24 PM
I sit here in my room with the smell of gunpowder surrounding me. How you ask. It could be because I just touched off a 124 grain Silver tip. I have no excuse. I thought the saftey/decocker on my Barreta M9 was on. Well it was not. I sent the round through a hardwood door, an eight inch plaster wall, a hardwood shordstand and it came to rest in a furrow it dug in the shelf. Total distance traveled was about 8 feet. The bullet is deformed and flattened on one side but did not expand. Damage to material is as follows.

THe door was hit first. The entry hole is right at 9mm and the exit hole is no different except the wood is splintered around the exit. Bullet was headed slightly downward and entered the wall. Plaster wall had a smooth entry hole just like the door and exit hole was about 1/2 inch. Bullet entered a sword stand and hit one of the cross supports. This deflected it downward into the shelf and it dug a small furrow and remained there. I can tell you that a 9mm indoors is not loud enough to be painful. I had the TV going and could hear it fine within a few seconds. I have already patched the holes but I am still shaking.

I knew it was bound to happen one day. I have no excuse. I was stupid and this was an ND not an AD. I accept fthe full burdon for what happened and am just glad no one was hurt. Well nothing except my pride. and that I can live with.

Miss Demeanors
April 8, 2000, 02:16 PM
{{{{{{{{{{{KEVIN}}}}}}}}}} relax! Just be thankful you or no one else was hurt! I'd be shaking too. Everyone makes mistakes so now you have just learned a lesson and I'm sure it will never happen again right? Glad to hear it was only the wall and the door, could have been worse. Be careful my friend and count your blessings.

ShallCarry
April 8, 2000, 03:31 PM
This is exactly why the first rule of firearm safety according to the NRA is:

"Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction"

All other rules are good, but by following this one, no one will ever be hurt by a ND or AD.

You followed this rule. No one was hurt. Live and learn.

--Rich

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Nothing threatens freedom so much as self rightous ignorance.

docstodd
April 8, 2000, 04:02 PM
thanks for being big enough to admit your mistakes. It should be a wake up call for all us. better for us to learn from each others mistakes than have to learn them all on our own. like has been said before if you never point your gun at somthing you don't want to shoot you will never shoot something you don't want to!!

Dennis Olson
April 8, 2000, 04:38 PM
spank

Gunslinger
April 8, 2000, 04:51 PM
Don't feel too much like a fool Kevin. It has happened to me before :( and chances are it has happened to several members here. ;) When a person is around anything long enough there are going to be mistakes. The important thing is, as Shallcarry pointed out, that we observe rule one so that in the event that these mistakes do occur no one is injured.
I'm glad you are alright.

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Gunslinger

We live in a time in which attitudes and deeds once respected as courageous and honorable are now scorned as being antiquated and subversive.

Schmit
April 8, 2000, 05:18 PM
Kevin,

Been there... done that. Only with a 12 gauge... slug through the celling, then through the roof. It was a wake up call in that since then when I have a gun with in sight I'm consciencely aware of what condition it is in.

Don't dispare. There are two type of shooters those that have had ND and those that will. ;)

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Schmit
GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"

[This message has been edited by Schmit (edited April 08, 2000).]

Matt19
April 8, 2000, 05:26 PM
Thanks for sharing this with us. Like Doc says, it is a reminder to us all.

Most of all, I'm glad no one was hurt.

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It is the people who are prisoners of their own ignorance about firearms that pose the greatest threat to our 2nd Amendment Rights.

SA Scott
April 8, 2000, 06:27 PM
Mine was a 230 grain Hydra Shok from an Astra A-75. :o

SA Scott

G-Freeman
April 8, 2000, 06:35 PM
Kevin, It ain't happened yet for me and everytime I read one of these posts it has a positive effect on my safety drills.
If it ever does, I promise to come to this confessional because it just might make a difference for someone.

P.S. having a Marine Gunny like Schmit be part of the absolution cannot be a bad thing :)

Darthmaum
April 8, 2000, 06:50 PM
Kevin,

It hasn't happened to me yet, although I was stupid enough to drop my P228 on the garage floor, right on the hammer/backstrap area. That incident woke me up real good! Lucky for me the gun didn't "go off..." Good ole' Sigs.

Don't beat yerself up about it too much, as others have pointed out, noone was hurt! I'm also glad none of your swords were damaged, I know my husband would die if something happened to his precious bastard sword.

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"Liberty or death, What we so proudly hail... Once you provoke Her, rattling of Her tail- Never begins it, NEVER- But once engaged never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage. DON'T TREAD ON ME!!

"Many's the men who've battled foe
many the number slain,
many the lads have fallen though
Scotland shall rise again."

El Chimango Pete
April 8, 2000, 06:56 PM
Plugged the boot of my car once (enough) with a 45 ACP: IPSC match, over long and twice around - drop mag, clear, over and over - then, packing up and putting away in the gunbox automatically (no pun intended) go through the routine ... and reverse the order. Rated firearms instructor and all. The boot was the safest 'safe direction' anyway.
One does feel more than a little foolish. One gets over it. One has learned a lesson. Guess most of us have 'been there' - or will be :(
Peter Knight

[This message has been edited by Elchimango (edited April 08, 2000).]

Ottergal
April 8, 2000, 07:56 PM
{{{{{Kevin}}}}} Are you trying to give me heart failure??!! I am just glad you are okay and no one was hurt. I'm thinking that another lesson here is that one should not be handling their guns if they are not fully concentrating on just that...just my humble opinion but I know I have done careless things when I have been distracted. It is a lesson learned...and hopefully admitting your mistake will prevent others from having the same one. Live and learn, with the emphasis on live. =o)

Hard Ball
April 8, 2000, 07:57 PM
When you learn from your mistakes you are making progress. You are stupid only when you ignore them.

Deliverer
April 8, 2000, 08:43 PM
Kevin,
I'm concerned. You said "I knew it would happen one day". And I am glad all of you who have had this experience have not had human injury or death. But, you are making the case for the "anti" gun folks. Accidents can happen only through ignorance and carelessness. Basic gun safety must be applied ALL THE TIME!

Ed Brunner
April 8, 2000, 09:26 PM
I have made a lot of mistakes and have learned something from each one. I have only had one ND in close to 60 years. Because of it I do not expect another.
Figure out what you did wrong and don't do it again!

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Better days to be,

Ed

4V50 Gary
April 8, 2000, 09:36 PM
Thankfully you're unhurt nor anyone else. Walk away wiser and safer.

Outlaw1
April 8, 2000, 10:30 PM
Mine was a 12 guage, 3", 00 buck! :eek:
Fortunately I was following the rule "Treat every gun as if it were loaded at all times".
The full wad passed through the closed window and screen, and harmlessly into the woods.
This happened 20 years ago, has NOT happened since, and will not happen again.
Lesson learned, ALWAYS check to see if gun is loaded!

12 guages ARE loud inside! ;)


[This message has been edited by Outlaw1 (edited April 08, 2000).]

jeffelkins
April 9, 2000, 12:07 AM
Happened to me with a .45 ACP

The 2nd loudest sound in the world is a BANG when you expected a click!

My hands shook for hours.

VictorLouis
April 9, 2000, 02:27 AM
Mine was when I was about 17-18y.o., in the bedroom of my best friend's house. Round nose lead .38 went through the juncture of wall and ceiling, and into the attic, we guess. Only our ears hurt, thankfully, and not our posteriors(from his grumpy father)! :D

Jffal
April 9, 2000, 06:55 AM
Closest I came to an dishonorable discharge was during a bout of outdoor shooting. I had a snubbie Ruger loaded with 158 grain federal HPs (the bullets with the posts in them). Thought I had discharged every hand rattling round. I had the gun lowered toward the ground, several yards in front of my feet and was prepared to step forward to see the target when I casually fired off a last cartridge that "shouldn't have been there". Fortunately, that I only hit dirt. I am extremely careful around even "unloaded" firearms now.

A family friend with decades of firearm experience was showing his wife how to safely handle guns. I believe he was demonstrating the finer points of safety with a single action .22 Mag revolver when he discharged a round into the base of his kitchen oven. Think he sold the house with the hole still there.

Friend of mine with emergency rescue experience in New Jersey had loads of juicy cautionary tales. One had a father and son testing out their newly acquired .30 cal rifle (make and action unknown). Pop fired one round into a large mound of dirt....and BAM!, he is down on the ground with a wound to the leg. Turned out that the bullet went through the dirt, into one hole in a U shaped pipe, out out the other side. Unfortunately for the fellow, he was in the way. Fortunately, the bullet didn't come back aimed at his center of mass or head.

Jeff

Sisco
April 9, 2000, 07:20 AM
14 years old, home alone, Dad's 9mm. I could field strip this gun, shot it numerous times. Dropped the magazine, pulled the slide back and let it go. Unloaded now, right? 9mm hole in the living room wall, hole about the size of a quarter on the other side about an inch above the dresser mirror. Two foot long gash in the ceiling and another quarter sized hole in the opposite wall, piece of broken siding on the outside of the house, plaster dust everywhere. Turns out Dad had some friends reloads and one had a split neck and had stuck in the chamber. I learned a valuable lesson that still sticks 30 years later.

fed168
April 9, 2000, 11:55 AM
KevinW, it must be something about 92s. I had an ND with one, dropped the magazine, cleared the chamber (or so I thought), tried the trigger. And proceeded to send a 147gr Hydra Shok through my friend's wall.
The most dangerous gun is the unloaded one.

Matt VDW
April 10, 2000, 09:01 AM
Kevinw,

Could you tell us little about the circumstances that led up to your ND? Were you dry firing, putting things away after a visit to the range, or...?

Kevinw
April 10, 2000, 09:15 AM
I was getting ready to go over to my girlfriends. I was not planning on carrying the M9 thatday and was putting it away. I don't know what went through my head. I guess nothing did =) I will post a picture of the bullet later. I now have worries about silvertips expanding the way they should.

HukeOKC
April 10, 2000, 12:18 PM
I think I was about 14 or 15, me and my Dad had gone to the range that day and had a great time. He was sitting on the living room floor cleaning his guns when I came downstairs. I walked over and picked up one of the pistols, sat in a chair, racked the slide and pulled the trigger. BANG! :eek: I have never been so emberrassed and scared in my whole life. Fortunately I was pointing the gun at the floor and the round went into the carpet and slid along the floor under the carpet for a few inches where it came to rest. Why it didn't bounce back up and hit the TV is something that only God knows.

I never thought I would tell that story to anyone but it is a good lesson to learn for parents who might not think twice about letting their child grab up a gun and look at it. My Dad said he never thought I'd just go and do that but I of course had to prove him wrong.

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Until the antis put a sign in their front yard that says they don't own guns, they are riding on the shirt-tail of the safety that we provide by owning them.

Long Path
April 10, 2000, 12:37 PM
This is a fantastic illustration of why, if one will follow even ONE of The Four Rules of Firearms Safety (http://www.thefiringline.com/Misc/safetyrules.html), no one will unnecessarily get hurt with a gun.

I was 15, mine was a .25 acp, and the only thing to suffer was a kitchen cabinet drawer. 5 minutes of judicious puttying (should have only taken about 2 minutes, but my hands were shaking), and the damage was hidden. The impact of that one mistake will affect my orientation towards firearms safety for the rest of my life.



[This message has been edited by Long Path (edited April 10, 2000).]

Betty
April 10, 2000, 01:06 PM
I've got a boo-boo too. I was 13 and went skeet shooting for the very first time. I pulverized the first clay pigeon and was so ecstatic that I wheeled around to look at everybody (dad, brother, friend) who was cheering me. Everybody hit the ground--I swung the barrel of that 12 gauge in everyone's faces. The empty was in the chamber, but still, I should have known better!!!!

Here's a really creepy one that I'll never forget. This is why some people should be allowed to own a squirt gun. I was over at a friend of a boyfriend's house and he had a Ruger Mark II sitting on the coffee table. The guy's four year old daughter wandered over to it and picked it up. I flew out of my chair with my jaw dropped wide open. The father casually said, "It's okay, it's not loaded." I was fizzing. That little girl doesn't know the difference between loaded and unloaded. All she knows is that daddy said it's okay to play with it.

And it's just so easy to blame the guns and not the stupid parents who leave them within easy reach.

Juan Hunt Greer
April 11, 2000, 12:13 AM
Me too! once in 1960, once in 75, once in 84.
My fault every time. Sympathize.Never again,
I precious dearly hope.
crankshaft

George Hill
April 11, 2000, 07:19 AM
3. Keep your finger OFF THE TRIGGER untill your ready to fire.
Now you know the full valid reason behind each rule... #3 is a habit you need to develope. Doesnt matter the number... Just DOnt Touch the trigger untill your pointing at a valid target needing a good shooting.

SlackO
April 11, 2000, 09:29 AM
1) Follow the safety rules
2) Learn from your mistakes
3) Don't make the same mistake twice

Fortunately my ND was with a .22 cal pellet gun. Unfortunately, I was walking along with my finger on the trigger (yeah, I know...)and shot myself in the foot. Pain is a pretty good teacher.

I also had a BB gun in my lap and was watching TV. I had it loaded for whatever reason, and it began to fall from my lap. I grabbed for it and somehow pulled the trigger and shot the damn TV. I tried to play it cool with my parents (hoping that they wouldn't notice), but the divot in Johnny Carson's head that night tripped me up. We still have that TV and without fail that divot is right in the middle of ANY talk show host's head. Go figure.

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Anarchism: The radical notion that I am the sole authority when it comes to deciding what's best for me.

Ledbetter
April 11, 2000, 05:37 PM
Read this. You won't feel so bad.

Destroyer Fires Shell in Port by Accident
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - A destroyer from Russia's Pacific Fleet accidentally fired a shell in port on Monday, hitting an anti-submarine ship, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet said.

Nobody was injured in the incident which happened in the Golden Horn Harbour in the center of Vladivostok but the superstructure of the anti-submarine ship, the Admiral Vinogradov, was damaged.
The accident happened when routine weapons testing on the destroyer went wrong, the spokesman said.
``Today, between 10 and 11 a.m. (2200 and 2300 GMT on Sunday) on the destroyer Burnyi during a planned check of weapons and machinery there was an unsanctioned shot of a dummy shell because of a violation of security procedures,'' he added.
Accidents have become more frequent in Russia's once mighty Pacific Fleet,which as well as most other units of the Russian armed forces, is owed trillions of roubles (millions of dollars) by the state.
Both ships involved in the incident were preparing for an official visit to South Korea on April 19, the fleet's press office said.