The Worst You've Seen: Firearms Etiquette

[Single Six]

What's the most blatant violation of firearms etiquette you've ever personally witnessed? You know what I mean; the buddy that you allow to examine your favorite gun and he gets his fingerprints all over the metal. The otherwise knowledgeable friend that lets his muzzle sweep everyone in sight. :eek: Any and all examples are welcome [even the ones you might be guilty of]; let's hear from you.

[horseman308]

The worst was when a couple of friends and I were admiring a guy's new Glock 23. After I had my turn, I made sure it was clear and handed it, muzzle-down, to the next guy. He wasn't a shooter (at the time) and had no personal experience with guns, but he was a pretty cocky guy. He didn't get a good grip on it and it slipped. He caught it, but I had made some sort of reaction (I don't know what) that he thought was silly. He exclaimed, "Geez man, it's not loaded," and proceeded to point it at me and pull the trigger.

After I finished yelling at him, I don't think I spoke to him for a very long time. I didn't like him a whole lot before, but I've never really trusted him after that.

[Single Six]

Horseman: You handled that with a lot more restraint than many folks would have. Lots of people I know would have perceived that to be an attempt on their lives, and punched that guy in the face!

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Guy walks up with a Glock 23 in his hand, saying it is out of battery and won't fire. Pointing at 4 of us.:eek:

[Mike Irwin]

Friend of mine wrist flipped the cylinder closed on my S&W 042 Centennial carry gun.

I was not amused, and he thought it was a big funny joke.

So I found it amusing to grab his scruffy little Van Dyke goatee and drag him around the room by it for awhile, which he didn't find to be particularly amusing but which I enjoyed immensely.

He's never touched any of my guns since then.

[Skans]

When I was shooting on a friend's range on his land, a bunch of "friends of a friend" showed up and wanted to take a few shots with their guns. One guy handed his girlfriend a Desert Eagle to take a few shots. He keeps shouting instructions at her from behind, while standing in the bed of his pick-up truck. Each time, she would turn to ask "WHAT?" she would sweep everyone with the muzzle of the gun, finger on the trigger. A buddy of mine who was closest in proximity stepped in and gently guided her hands downward and down range - he handled it real nicely. He also told her to hold on and be ready for the kick if she fired it. As I recall, she decided not to shoot it and gave it back to her boyfriend.


Then there's the time I was at a gunshow filling out a form 4473.... BANG!....minutes later the paramedics came in and took out a guy with a foot wound.

[Tom Servo]

We've seen a tremendous upsurge of that over the last couple of years. Stories like Glenn's used to be a once-in-a-year thing; now I see things like that about once a week.

You've got two problems. The first is the generation in its early 20's whose parents never taught them about guns. Some of them are great, but a significant portion have learned gun handling from video games and movies. They were raised by overprotective parents, and I honestly get the impression that I'm the first person in their life who's ever reprimanded them for anything.

The other problem is their parents. They don't really "like guns." In fact, you'll find that they either supported gun control in the 1990s, or they did nothing, but thought it was a good idea. Then a homeless person looked at them funny, or some "blue-collar types, if you know what I mean" moved in down the street, or they got hinky over the political situation, and they bought a gun.

The gun sits in a dresser or desk drawer. Then they get bored and decide to go shooting, assuming that it's self-explanatory. Of course, the gun hasn't been maintained, and they've forgotten that they left it loaded when they last handled it two years ago.

They don't have training, and they don't even know the basics of safety, so when they come in waving a loaded gun around, they honestly don't understand why someone has the nerve to yell at them.

Interesting times, indeed.

[hardworker]

My roommate bought a 45 Kimber even though he had no real gun experience. He kept it in the box leaned up against the coffee table. One day I \pulled it out to look at it and he had the hammer back and safety off. No bullet in the chamber but did have a loaded clip in it, but I still think it's bad practice to leave cocked guns around with the safety off. I said something to him and he told me I didn't know what I was talking about. Idiot

[riggins_83]

Guy brought a Kimber Custom II into the store which he had bought from a friend. Apparently neither he nor his friend had ever fired the gun, he had taken the slide off and couldn't get it back together. The frame had the worst drag mark from the slide lock I've ever seen.. it wasn't a nick, he had dug it deep into the frame.

Nearly shot somebody at a public range who decided he wanted to go check his targets, walked down during live fire right through my sight picture. Luckily for him I had a quick reaction, I had already staged the trigger and was about to touch off a 230 grain round into the paper. Yelled at him for a long time.

Had a customer bring S&W revolver into the store in a soft case to be worked on. I opened the cylinder to find it fully loaded.. he said "oh yeah it's loaded" after the fact.

[mikerault]

I was at a friends house, they noticed I was carrying and asked to see the gun since they were thinking of getting one. I pulled it out, dumped the clip and racked out the round in the chamber and handed it to the husband locked open (SD-XD9mm SC). I showed him how to release the slide, which he did and he handled it well, was careful not to point it at anyone and was generally respectful of the gun. He handed to his wide who immediately pointed it across the room and pulled the trigger "CLICK!" Boy was I glad I had unloaded it...

Mike

[beex215]

thats so wrong to have someone pull the trigger on you even if its empty. worst is someone pointed the gun at me.

another note-
in a BAD situation i mean the real deal. on my head

[Pahoo]

Certainly to many to list them but a couple come to mind.

My Fault:
Never loan one of your guns as a favor to a friend, as more times then not, it will bite you in the rump and it will be your loss.The last time I did was to loan one of my Ruger MK-II with RedDot to a friend who lived in the country. He was thinking of getting something to use while in the field. The next time I saw it, it had some mud on it. He said he really enjoyed it and so did his kids as they took it out back by the creek and shot it all weekend.

His Fault:
Was invited as a guest, to a private range. While walking back after checking our targets, noticed one of the club's officers, handling my 1911. I said to him; Oh, you have one of those too. He said no and that is was mine. I said that's right and perhaps next time you will keep your ****ing hands off it.:D
He asked me if I was a member and I replied that I was a guest but would that have made a difference? ... ;)
The member buddy has not invited me to go back. ..... :D

Be Safe !!!

[RimfireChris]

I had a doozy. We were deer hunting, there was 5 or 6 of us where the trucks were parked, Everybody was gettin there gear set, loading their rifles, when this deer shows up. I didn't see it but was later told it was something like 400 yards away. Never the less, without so much as a warning or even a "Hey, look at that!" this one clown takes a shot at it, with the muzzle of his .270 being about 2-3 feet from my ear. Two of my friends jumped on me, and one of his hustled him to his rig and got outta there. I didn't go hunting that day.

[HiBC]

Viisited a buddy some years back.I noticed a new hole in the wall.Seems some friend showed up with a shotgun that was stuck shut or something.

Hunting,an old man had just shot at a cow elk that kept going.He had walked over me about 8:30 AM and took a stand near me.We were talking.He was holding the rifle in one hand,a Savage 99.The muzzle was pointed at me.I just sidestepped a few steps.He turned to face me.I said"When you are facing me,your rifle is pointed at me.That is why I step aside.Please don't point your muzzle at me"
He says "Its not loaded"
I don't hit people,especially not old guys.I left.Went back to camp.Unloaded and hung up my rifle.
Got out last nights cold dutch oven with left over chicken in it.Made chicken soup.Made coffee.Swore off ever hunting on public land again.
Two yahoos drug a cow elk into my camp and were going to go get the truck.I asked,"Is it tagged?"
"Uh,no"
"Great,you are going to leave a dead ,untagged elk in my camp? I am supposed to tell a game warden these two guys left it here?I do not think so"

Later,some of my party returned to camp.they saw blood and trample marks in the snow,but no drag marks out.Looking around,they found a dead Mountain lion buried in snow under a log.Shot and left.
Earliest opportunity,we found and told the warden.

I did enjoy giving hot soup and coffee to my guys.I did not go back out that year.

[FrankenMauser]

Last year we had the Chief of the Mongolian National Police testing some rifles on a family shooting trip. (Uncle of a family friend. - used the "weapons testing" excuse to get the government to pay for his visit to Utah.)

After being perfectly safe, and very courteous for a couple hours...
He decided that the american idea of firing lines was stupid. While I was crouched down, showing his wife how a Buckmark operates, he stopped 5-6 feet behind us and unloaded 20 rounds with a Mini-Thirty - as fast as he could pull the trigger, no more than a foot over my head.

The insane safety violation was bad enough, but he didn't stop there. He slammed the Mini-Thirty down on my dad's tailgate, walked over to my truck, and started shuffling my pistols all over the place; while banging them against my rifles. It was as if the guy had some how been insulted, and was now trying to get us mad. So... I locked up my ammo, ignored him (except for safety issues), and made every effort to help his wife have a good time (a tremendous, under-handed insult to him).


It's not quite the type of etiquette violation everyone else has here, but it's what came to mind.

[Single Six]

Here's the worst one that I recall: 'Twas many years ago, the late '80s, I was in my early 20s. Me and two other guys were at our local outdoor range. We had the place to ourselves. After we'd all shot for a bit, I announced that I was going down range to put up a new target. My mistake: I figured that, having proclaimed my intention to go forward, "cease fire" was a foregone conclusion! While I'm standing there replacing my target, one of my idiot companions decides to resume shooting his Marlin .22....AT THE TARGET RIGHT BESIDE ME. He let off 2 rounds at the target that was about 3 feet to my right. Immediately and at the top of my lungs, I called his attention to what should have been obvious ["HEY!!! DO YOU NOT SEE ME STANDING HERE, YOU IDIOT??!!"]. Thankfully, what he lacked in brains, he made up for in marksmanship, and I managed to leave the range that day without any new holes in me. But before we left, he had no doubts as to my feelings on the matter, and you can bet we never went shooting together again. Lesson learned.

[R.O]

a visitor took this gun out of his case and spinned the cylinder a few times
a commemorative that was untouched,you can see the dragline on the cylinder
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1107/1002431e.jpg

[Rifleman1776]

We have a really fine public range in the national forest near me. Problem is it is unregulated. No range officers.
While shooting one day I asked other shooters if the range could go cold so targets could be changed and checked. All agreed. I walked down to the 50 yard line and shots starting going. I hollered back to stop shooting as I was downrange. The replied "what the f*** are you worried about, we are shooting here and you are there....". I've never gone back.

When I had my gun shop in Indiana customers were generally good about proper handling, not loaded, etc. But, invariably, when a law enforcement officer brought in a gun it would be loaded. Made my kinda jumpy when I saw the law. And not for the usual reasons.

[Dr. Strangelove]

An old girlfriend pointed my (empty) 9mm at me at pulled the trigger. She thought it was a funny joke until I snatched it out of her hand and explained to her how close she came to being the first women I'd ever hit... we had loooong talk about gun safety...

Public range.. Guy walks up with wife and three younger kids in tow, has a really nice homemade action target. Proceeds to walk down the range with it not only hot, but people actively firing on both sides! He seems perplexed and a bit angry that everyone is screaming at him! Same guy - minutes later, starts taking pistols out of his range bag, everytime he pulls one out, he sights straight down the firing line before locking the slide back. Again, he is perplexed why everyone is yelling at him.

Public range again... I'm sitting adjusting a scope on my bench, when I get this "hinky feeling". I turn around, there's a 21 year old or so girl pointing a cocked 1911 at my back. As I'm opening my mouth, the two guys with her light into her something fierce and make her apologize to me.

[Single Six]

Rifleman: As a LEO, I hate to admit this...but you're right. Way too many folks in my profession are not "gun people", and it shows. Some are...most ain't. This is to our detriment.

[whipper]

Watched a gun storeowner handling a Remington 1100 semi with the bolt lock open, proceed to close the bolt by pressing the feed release on the bottom with two of his fingers in the chamber.:eek: Happened too quickly to stop him. Took a splint and 8 stitches to fix him up.

[egor20]

In the mid 80s while going through Ships Self Defense School we had an "individual" who's Remington 870 misfired. He turned 180 degrees and pointed it at the Range Safety CPO and said "Its Broke". Never seen that many people hit the dirt at the same time. If you know what a "Blanket Party" is.... we partied that night.

[1911rocks]

In the 80s we had a range we hot IPSC competition. The Range owner (great guy!) sponsored our group. This translates into giving us free range time if we bought our silhouettes there. After Thursday night practice one of the shooters who had a NFA weapon business would bring in new "toys" to tempt us with. The girl I was seeing at the time wanted to try a MP5K (shorty with the pickle front grip). They gave her a magazine with 5rds and she then shot the silhouette no problem. They then gave her a full magazine. She shot the target....then the overhead baffles. After ~15rds she realized she was out of control. She stopped, turned around swept the "crowd" with this loaded, cocked MP5K and said "someone take this POS" We were only too willing to help. We stopped dating that evening....she said when I screamed "DOWN RANGE!!!" I was being mean.:p

[SigP6Carry]

I was in a local shop and a gentleman had just purchased a chrome SAA that was transferred in. I was looking at .380's and commented on what a beautiful gun it was that he had just bought, he first reaction wasn't "thanks" it was "here, take a look at it!" handing it to me barrel first. I took it, quickly, and the clerk asked "you have a FOID, right?" (cause where I am, you need one to simply handle the guns in a store). I responded yes, handed him my whole wallet while holding the gun and proceeded to check that the cylinder is empty. I was a bit phased by that fact that someone who seemed to seasoned in firearms handed me a gun that he didn't check barrel first. Granted, it was new in box, but... still...

But, it was a very nice gun.

[m.p.driver]

Day before a hundred yard match,several of us sighted our M1's,AR's, and 03's in and called a cease fire to go pull targets.With buzzer and red light going off we got about 25 yds downrange, when a joker to the far left stepped in front of the firing line,pointed his BP rifle at the ground and discharged it.Those of us who have heard shots fired in anger weren't too pleased.His club badge was aquired and he was advised to vacate the premises quickly and not to come back.
Second instance was a husband who was instructing his wife in the use of a Glock.The second time i looked to my right and into the muzzle,which she was holding across her chest,finger on the trigger,while she talked to her husband at her right,i advised him to get her off the range and teach her pistol safety at home.
Third instance instructor in ccw class offered by the club,was asked if the fobus holster gripped the imi jericho he had snugly.He replied affirmative and then turned it upside down and shook it to show so.When the pistol hit the concrete it broke the hammer and jammed the slide solid.I looked at the class instructor,whose mouth was hanging open,and stated i hoped it wasnt loaded.Her reply was matching.
I dont belong to this club anymore,no hard feelings.

[Sefner]

This story was told to me by an instructor...

He was teaching a class indoors and was having a student up at the front of the class to demonstrate clearing an AR-15.

The student was doing fine, keeping the muzzle pointed away from the classroom of students... until someone yelled "WHAT?" after a sentence. The guy immediately turned around, sweeping the entire class. Then another guy on the other side of the room yelled "WHAT?" and the guy holding the AR on his hip turn to the other side of the room, again sweeping the entire class. The first guy again said "WHAT?!?!?" and at that point the guy holding that AR was shouted down by a someone in the class. He didn't come back the next day.

[Usertag]

The Worst Gun in the World is the Nambu Type 14. Because The Firing Pin Breaks after one Dry Fire. The Extractor Breaks After About 100 Rounds. The Ejector Rarely Ever Ejected The Bullets. It Jammed After About Every 3 Rounds. It had to be Cleaned way to Often. The Recoil Spring Was Always Over or Under Calibrated (The Push And Pull). The Magazine Was 1/16 Inch Bigger Than the Port. It had A High Oxidation Rate. And it Sometimes Would Get Fired And just Fall Apart. I'm Not Joking These Are All Complaint's I have Heard From Owners of this gun. Also A Story I have was, My Friend was Cleaning his Gun. And He checked the clips and the chamber to make sure it was empty. He Put in the clip, Charged Back The 10/22. Pulled the trigger And BOOM. His 32 Year Old Brother Loaded The Clip Right Before He Put in the Magazine. Without him Knowing.

[Nnobby45]

Some of what we refer to as lack of ettiquette is a matter of training. We've all known intelligent people who had no firearms training, and their gun handling "ettequette" reflected it. Yes, I know, those of us who are trained might think that common sense would enter into it a little more. To an untrained person, a gun that's been unloaded is "safe".

Scariest incident for me occured in 1967 or was it '68? I was target shooting off Charleston Blvd. past Red Rock Rd, past the West end of Las Vegas. Just pull over and shoot from the road,in a spot commonly used for the purpose, was how we did it at the time.

A man showed up with his girlfriend and wanted her to shoot his 30-06. She was hesitant and obviously didn't want to. She aimed at the target then suddenly lowered the gun, and, with finger still on the trigger--safety off, turned around toward her boyfriend (who was standing next to me), and said, "I can't". Muzzle was pointed directly at me. I was frozen in place before I moved out of the way, but didn't say anything. I'm not sure the moron boyfriend even knew what had just happened.

Obviously no instruction what so ever. The recoil would have been unpleasant for her, and I think the moron would have enjoyed that. I don't think it was her fault.

Being an invincible young man just returned from Viet Nam, I wasn't too scared at the time, but have thought about the close call a number of times through the years. I've been more scared when in less danger, since.

Been times when inexperienced friends I've introduced to hunting made some safety violations--like pointing their guns at me--and they were corrected--firmly.

Lastly: Some things are dangerous safety violations. Others are more matters of ettequette. Yes, I know, there can be a fine line.:cool:

[kozak6]

I was plinking with some friends in the backyard with bb guns.

One of my friends had the CO2 semiautomatic PPK, and proceeded to deliberately point it at the other friend.

The other friend, now a trained and badass marine, states that he has been trained to disarm anyone who points a pistol at him.

The other friend replies that it's just a bb gun, and unloaded.

So they start wrestling over it.

The pistol field strips by pulling down the trigger guard, pulling back the slide, and unhooking it from the barrel.

That is exactly what happened, and then the slide and frame landed in the dirt.

[Zak Smith]

Guy starts shooting, over the roof of his car, from 10' behind the established firing line, over our heads. It was not pretty.

[Regolith]

I was alone at a members-only range when a group of guys showed up. They were wearing all camo, seemed to be in their late 20s or early 30s. They called a ceasefire so that they could set up their targets. Two of them walked out while the other two stayed back with their rifles.

When their friends were almost to the target stands, the two guys who had stayed with the rifles started shooting in the opposite direction, towards the area behind the firing line. Apparently, they had decided to pull a prank on the guys who were setting up their targets and make them think they were being shot at. They all thought it was great fun.

I left.

[buy guns]

The Worst Gun in the World is the Nambu Type 14. Because The Firing Pin Breaks after one Dry Fire. The Extractor Breaks After About 100 Rounds. The Ejector Rarely Ever Ejected The Bullets. It Jammed After About Every 3 Rounds. It had to be Cleaned way to Often. The Recoil Spring Was Always Over or Under Calibrated (The Push And Pull). The Magazine Was 1/16 Inch Bigger Than the Port. It had A High Oxidation Rate. And it Sometimes Would Get Fired And just Fall Apart. I'm Not Joking These Are All Complaint's I have Heard From Owners of this gun. Also A Story I have was, My Friend was Cleaning his Gun. And He checked the clips and the chamber to make sure it was empty. He Put in the clip, Charged Back The 10/22. Pulled the trigger And BOOM. His 32 Year Old Brother Loaded The Clip Right Before He Put in the Magazine. Without him Knowing.

http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ClipMagazineLesson.jpg

[Kreyzhorse]

My buddy flipped the cylinder shut on my new S&W 637 Airweight while saying "I know you shouldn't do this but........" was bad.

The guy that pointed the muzzle of a shotgun directly at my temple from 12" away was the worse I've ever seen. Old guy at a gun show. I saw him point it at me as he put it up to his shoulder so I swept the barrel away and told him to watch it. He just looked at me, handed the gun back to the salesman and walked off.

[bottom rung]

My neighbor recently lost her husband. He was very unhealthy for the last ten years, but they managed to make a kid. We went over to drop off some flowers and sympathize a week or so later. She is one of these women who talks faster than most people can think. She asks me a few questions about her late husbands handguns and what she can do with them. Again she talks real fast and she said something about her 8 year old son getting a hold of one. We say our goodbyes and I walk back home. Then it hits me, "DID SHE JUST THE KID GOT A HOLD OF A HANDGUN!?" I run inside dig up some gun locks and scoot back over to her house. I knock and she opens the door. Before she has a chance to speak I ask her, "Did you just say your son got a hold of one of the handguns?" She says, "Yes". I say I need to see them right now, before something bad happens. I cleared them, emptied the mags, and locked them. She was very thankful afterward. Ignorance really isn't very blissful.

[bassfishindoc]

The closest call I have ever had was when I was young. My dad, his buddy, his buddies son, and I had purchased some pheasants to release to train our dogs. We released them on a farm and came back the next day with the dogs and our shotguns to begin the training session. The dogs performed great and we had got most of the pheasants when we decided to call it a day. We were standing at the trucks and a pheasant burst from a nearby bush in front of me, the other young kid was standing 2-3 feet behind me decided to raise his shotgun with the muzzle right beside my face and fire. I felt the hot blast and rushing of shot by my face, it knocked me to my side, and my dad lifted this young kid with one arm, snatched his shotgun with the other, tossed him to the ground, and told his father that we will not be hunting with them further.

[Jamas]

My friend... who knows nothing about handguns... bought a Glock. He asked me to go shooting with and teach him the basics and whatnot... Soooo I got to his house and he is sitting around watching tv holdong the gun, answered the door holding the gun, he made me a glass of tea while holding the gun... It was all cool until he compleatly flagged me with his finger on the trigger while it's loaded... It was only then that I lost it... He is now much more safety concious.

[Venison_Jerkey32]

About 4 years ago I was over at a "friend's" house while his parents were out of town. He pulled a 1911 out of a cabinet and pointed it at me and pulled the trigger. I remember thinking to myself while it happened, "this must be an airsoft gun, because no one is stupid enough to point a real gun at me and pull the trigger."

Turns out it was a real 1911 and his excuse of "it isn't loaded" really made me mad. Unforntunatley, at the time I froze up and didn't do anything, but I have since learned my lesson and have developed an extreme distaste for having weapons pointed at me.

[thesheepdog]

I haven't ever seen too many range incidents.

I have been shot at with BB guns; I no longer see those guys.

I have had several occasions where I was swept by a rifle.

[raftman]

Once went shooting with a group of 4 people, one of whom was a friend of a friend that I'd never met before. The guy claimed to have had "lots of firearms experience", even said that his father has a target range in his back yard. Despite his self-proclaimed expertise, he had the most idiotic shooting stance I'd ever seen, and he couldn't hit anything with any gun now matter how many rounds he used. He was hitting 4 feet below the targets (which happened to be apples) at 100 yards. Even at 25 yards he was still hitting a good foot and half low. He claimed it was because all of the guns suck and are inaccurate and he curiously didn't bring any of his own. Never could get him to account for why everyone else seemed to be on target more or less all of the time, even the Californian newbie that hadn't even seen those kinds of guns before was doing just fine. What's worse, the guy kept sweeping the rest of us repeatedly despite multiple warnings, each one more harsh than the last. Must have happened five times. At one point, the guy literally looked down the bore of a 9mm handgun finger on the trigger and all, I said something to the effect of "What do you think you're doing, you idiot?" He defended his action by saying, "What? There's not even a clip in the gun!" I came very close to making him walk home. Goes without saying but that idiot will not be allowed to come with again.

[K_Mac]

The one that always sticks in my mind is many years ago. I was rabbit hunting with an acquaintance, who more than once swept me with his 1100. I told him about it and changed to his right side hoping to avoid it. I was dumb kid; if it happened today we would have called it a day. Finally after stomping through brush, woods, and over a couple of fences we finally jumped a rabbit on his side. I saw it before he did and watched as he shouldered his gun and fired. He never touched the safety. When I asked him when he went from safe to fire, he said he never used the safety because he did not want to waste the time. We had a very heated conversation, and that was the end of the day. We never spoke after that incident.

The other incident that comes to mind was my fault. Again I was a much younger and dumber man at the time. I had been deer hunting all morning on a very cold December day. About midday I went to the house to warm up. A couple of cousins were just getting ready to target shoot a new used .38 snubby. After a couple of rounds they handed it to me. My hands were so cold I could not really feel it very good. A wiser man would have just handed it back. As I thumbed back the hammer to shoot SA my thumb slipped off the hammer and the gun fired. No harm done, but I will never forget the feeling I had when that gun went off.

[aarondhgraham]

Poor safety is when I am walking down the range,,,
After I raised the downrange warning flag,,,
Then have some nut walk to the line,,,
And start shooting his .22 revolver.

I started yelling for him to stop shooting,,,
He just yelled back that I was far enough to the side,,,
Was it bad etiquette on my part when I called a park ranger on him?

Bad etiquette is when I lay my handguns down on the range bench,,,
Step back a bit to shoot the breeze with some friends,,,
And someone walks up and starts handling them.

I'll almost always let someone shoot a cylinder or magazine from one of my guns,,,
A whole lot of people let me shoot their guns when I was choosing a 9mm,,,
But ya really need to ask me before handling them.

Bad etiquette is hovering right behind me when I'm shooting my rifle,,,
I've gotten to where I can eject a hot case into their face,,,
Ya hafta love those H&R break-open action rifles.

Bad etiquette is spanking me in an informal/friendly shooting match,,,
And then saying, "I don't know what was with me today. I usually shoot much better."

Aarond

[Fargazer]

As a kid, I remember my younger stepbrother practicing for his hunter safety course. He had my single shot .22 Remington Targetmaster, bolt removed, and was practicing his various shooting postures (kneeling, prone, and so on). I walked into the living room, and my stepbrother looked up and swept me with the rifle barrel.

I immediately got out of LOF and started chewing him out something fierce. Stepbrother got mad, not understanding why I was upset. Well, my father heard the noise from the kitchen, and came into the living room from the other side to figure out what the racket was all about.


Dad's, who's already angry about hearing racket.
Angry dad, who's a LEO.
Angry LEO Dad who just got muzzle swept as stepbrother turns to tattle on how mean I am.

That was one of the fiercest educational opportunities my stepbrother ever had the privilege to, um, be participated upon. I remember it fondly to this day :D

[mikey360]

Camping/fishing with a friend at Twin Buttes Reservoir San Angelo, TX late 70's. One fine fall Texas evening we hear several shotgun blasts from a distance. Ten foot scrub all around. Can't see from where the shots are coming. Seconds later, sounds of shot landing on picnic table shelter roof (corrugated metal) and on our two vehicles. A few anxious moments later, pistol rounds start coming in. Sounded like a .22. We opted to leave camp for safer ground. After an hour or so and a sweep by LE, we returned. LE found not a thing. Our tent was holed 44 times (bird shot size) and my friends '78 Nova had a bullet strike but no penetration (.22). From then on I stayed away from secluded campsites.

[ClydeFrog]

One more recent flubs I saw was a novice/entry level nitwit at a rental gun range in Orlando Florida carelessly wave a Beretta 92FS/M9 type semi auto around the crowded shooting range, :(.
I jumped back out of the way of the 9mm muzzle and the firearm's owner quickly snatched the pistol out of Mr Moron's hands.
I think the sudden loud noises and the use of hearing protection(lowered hearing volume) disorinents new shooters and they get reckless.

Care & caution should always be given with loaded firearms or on training ranges.
I always try to shoot on public-rental places in the off-hours or early morning to avoid crowds or gun owners with the "hey so what" mindset.
It's not always possible but it's a lot less stressful. ;)

[Brian Pfleuger]

Lastly: Some things are dangerous safety violations. Others are more matters of ettequette. Yes, I know, there can be a fine line.

I agree... well, except maybe the fine line part.;)

This thread is filled with examples of SAFETY VIOLATIONS and very few "worst etiquette" situations.

Safety violations are not etiquette. "Wrist flicking" someone's revolver closed is etiquette. Pointing a gun at someone is not a matter of etiquette.

[RimfireChris]

You guys make a good point, so I'll try again. I once let someone look over a double barrel shotgun I once had, don't remember the brand, old but not valuable. Any way, after he looked at it he flipped the barrel closed. I don't know if that'll hurt a break action shotgun like it will a revolver, but it seemed a very cavalier way to handle a gun that isn't yours.

[K_Mac]

Etiquette: conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion.

I think safety violations fall within the parameters defined above. My question is what difference do it make?:p

[MLeake]

... an etiquette violation will get you a talking-to.

A safety violation may get you an expulsion, or a quick punch in the head, depending upon what you do and to whom you do it.

(When I was teaching my then-12yo cousin to shoot, he very cavalierly asked what I'd do if he flagged me with a muzzle. I told him I'd punch him in the head. He wasn't sure if I were serious. His mother and grandmother told him to assume that I was, and that I had their blessing to punch him in the head if he did it. He's 15 now, and has never flagged a soul... He was also the top student in his hunter safety course, both for safety practices, and at shooting.)

[Brian Pfleuger]

I think safety violations fall within the parameters defined above. My question is what difference do it make?

Well, I would say that "etiquette" is simply a matter of social "awkwardness", not one of safety.

In this context, the only reason it matters is which type of response the OP was looking for in this thread.

Was he looking for "I almost got shot...." or "This dude wrist flicked my revolver...."

To me, when I think etiquette, I think about the latter, not the former.

[Donaldjr1969]

Bad etiquette is spanking me in an informal/friendly shooting match,,,
And then saying, "I don't know what was with me today. I usually shoot much better."
Now that is probably the most egregious etiquette violation possible!!! ;)

I nearly got swept by a guy at a gun show 2 months ago. I physically saw the gun was unloaded as the bolt was open and the chamber was empty. But it was crowded and he just did not pay attention to how he was handling the shotgun.

I've also seen people with break-actions at a local trap range who carry the broken open gun across their shoulder with the muzzle pointing backwards. While the gun is indeed safe, there still is nothing pleasant about potentially having a few teeth knocked out by somebody turning around and having the muzzle hit one's jaw. Most of the employees will catch this and tell the shooters that carry like that to have the muzzle pointing forward.

I am not perfect myself. I did a boo-boo at the same range. I forgot I had shot my 5th target on the one station. I had loaded a shell into the chamber but kept the bolt open as I shoot with a pump. I do not close the bolt until the person next to me has fired his shot. It is OK to load a shell right after one takes a shot, but safety suggests you do not close the action until it is your next turn. Anyway, I heard the scorer call for the squad to change stations. Not thinking, I left my round in the chamber as I did not want to delay the squad. I left the bolt open but a range employee who was shooting a round read me the riot act. I apologized but said the bolt was open. He said it does not matter as you never know what can happen. He was quite forceful in telling me he never wanted to see me do that again. After the round, he apologized for yelling at me. I told him not to be sorry and he had every right to yell if I committed a safety violation. I actually thanked him for what he did. Had he not yelled, I may have continued to walk between stations with a loaded round. Because of his actions, it made me always inspect my chamber before I move to the next station. His yelling, while something that should not have happened if I was paying attention, gave me a wake up call to pay 110% attention to safety. And I am glad because I have never done that since.

[markj]

When I was 15 my dad gave me a single shot 12 ga. My cousin who was older and was in teh AF at the time grabbed it and told me he would show me the parade ground stuff he learned. Well he tried the marine corp flip and broke tha durn thing. I was very upset and had to tell my dad. I am hesitant to let anyone touch any of my firearms.

[ClydeFrog]

One of the big things my local security training center stresses is ALWAYS unloading & clearing/opening a firearm before passing/handing it from one person to another.
It's a safe/smart method but many people do not do it. :(
I see unsafe firearm handling constantly at gun shops, security offices, gun shows etc. To use proper methods all the time is a good habit and will avoid ADs or problems.

Clyde

[Jamas]

Ok I'll try again since my other post was more of a safety issue... My granfather gave me my first ever rifle.... Winchester model 1892 short in .44 mag... I'm in the backyard shooting when my brother gets home and he asked to shoot... sure... He shot once then for some reason he decided to do the whole terminator thing and flip it by the lever to action it... well along with breaking two fingers he slammed the muzzle about three inches into the dirt... I considered that pretty poor etiquette :rolleyes:

[B.N.Real]

The more crowded the gun store,the worst the etiquette is.

If the gun store is packed with young people that look like they don't know their weapon from their gun-I usually leave.

[gyvel]

This breach of etiquette resulted in a fatality: Coconut Grove (FL) gun show in the 80's. A smartass lawyer (I believe), hides his loaded Beretta 9mm under his shirt so he doesn't have to have it checked and tied at the door.

Goes to his buddy's table, pulls the gun to show him and removes the magazine, whereupon it gets handed to the table owner's partner who proceeds to shoot the table owner's 16 year old nephew in the chest, unaware that a round was still in the chamber. It was a fairly big hall and the report sounded like a .22 going off, but everything got dead quiet for a minute.

Obviously MANY mandatory safety procedures were ignored here, but in my mind, the arrogant moron who decided that he didn't want his gun checked and tied at the door committed a HUGE breach of gun etiquette. The guns are checked for a reason!

[Krav Maga]

One that sticks out in my mind is when i had just bought my first carry gun,a Glock 20.I was showing my friends when one of them wanted to hold it.My best buddy would not give it to him,so the other guy tried to wrestle it away and ended up pulling the trigger while it was pointed at his face.

[SIGSHR]

I think a lot of safety problems come from poor procedure. I recall from BRMC in in BCT in 1967 several problems with recruits sweeping other, pointing the wepons in unsafe direction, the problem was we were told that once you pick the weapon up you didn't put it down until the cadre told you to. So a DI-usually, I noted the range personnel had a better understanding-would call out a recruit's name, the recruit would turn to face him-weapon in hand-and get yelled at for so doing. The range personnel would come up behind a recruit, tap him on the shoulder, and quietly tell him to ground the weapon.
Getting back for to firearms etiquette, my observation is people with poor gun manners have poor manners, period.

[44 AMP]

While also being a safety issue, the most blatent violation of firearms etiquitte I've seen lately has been those U-Tube videos where somebody gives an inexperienced shooter (often a girl) a hard recoiling handgun.

They all seem to think its a fine joke. I think its about the dumbest stunt, except possibly for showing the world what a jerk with a gun they are.

[raimius]

"OK, unload and we'll go to dry-fire for the next segment."
5 minutes into the next drill, a guy transitions to his pistol...then proceeds to launch a .45ACP round into a target, missing another guy's head by about 3 feet. :eek:

[LordTio3]

About the largest violation of ettiquet I've seen was when I was shopping for a new pistola in a local gun store here in Indiana. I'm just chatting away with the clerks, who are really friendly, when two young men come in; ~20 or so. Now, nothing against them, but within 2 minutes of them being there, I understand them to be of the "Call of Duty Club".

These are usually young men who don't know very much about actual weapons, but tend to memorize quite efficiently everything they can about the virtual weapons represented in popular warfare video games. They usually have next to no actual experience with guns or gun safety. Nothing against them as people; it's just that they tend to know just enough to get them into trouble, and not enough to know that they're in trouble until it's too late.

Back to the story-

They ask the clerks to pull out a few pistols and they handle them with varrying degrees of carelessness, but nothing unexpected. Then they asked the clerk if he had "An ACR or a Barret we can see". :rolleyes: The clerk looks over at me and the other guy helping me and smirks a bit. He turns back and tells them, "No we don't have either of those, but we do have a military-style rifle we just got in from Rock River. It's an A4-style AR15." And I'm thinking maybe I'd like to see this too. :D He pulls it down, takes out the magazine and inspects the chamber before handing it to them. It was pretty. Flat top receiver, free-float quad rails, ergo grip. Pretty.

They immediately start talking about "effective range" and how the "AK" will kill someone quicker, but how the ACR will shoot faster and farther.

Jeeze.

Somewhere in there, the kid with the rifle actually pulled back the charging handle and let it fall foreward. Several seconds later, he was just fingering the different parts of the weapon when he "accidentally" released the bolt. It must have surprised the heck out of him, because he just dropped the rifle. The front quad rail slammed against the metal case edge and it fell the 4 feet or so to the floor and slid about 2 feet. Both boys straightened up and looked at each other before taking off at a brisk walk without a word.

I walked over and picked up the rifle. Nice impact mark on the front quad rail and a nice long scratch on the side receiver. Poor weapon. Poor clerks.

~LT

[MLeake]

... they just let them leave?

Whatever happened to, "you break it, you buy it?"

[LordTio3]

I think they were more stunned than anything. The guy in front of me was cringing behind his hand and I think the other was dazed with disbelief and anger. It was a bad day. I bought a couple of boxes of ammo and appologized for the armchair experts.

~LT

[Glenn E. Meyer]

44 AMP is so correct. There was a poor little boy in TX who was given a 454 Casull or the like. The recoil drove the barrel into impacting his skull and killed him as it twisted back and up. Or the little kid with the full auto just recently.

[RickB]

Since pointing a gun at someone - even one's self - qualifies as bad etiquette, the most egregious example that I've witnessed was a gal who was trying to shoot a .38 snubby, and having decided that wrapping the off-hand index finger forward was the way to go, put it over the end of the muzzle, rather than around the front of the trigger guard. She didn't seem to understand how the gun worked, starting the hammer back with the trigger, then trying to catch it with her thumb to lock it for single action firing. After neither blowing her finger off, nor getting the hammer cocked, she decided there must be something wrong with the gun, and rotated it around so it pointed uprange and over here shoulder - at me - while she continued to manipulate the trigger and the hammer simultaneously. Finally, one of her "shooting buddies" (I think it was the guy who could hold both the gun and a cigarette in the same hand while shooting decent groups) who showed her how the gun worked. The Range Master was busy with a kid who couldn't keep all his rounds on paper at fifteen feet, and so missed the fun.

[Rembrandt]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/Rembrandt51/south_african_policeman.jpg

[Bud Helms]

Oh! That's very impolite.

[blkft1]

I was at a gun show recently and saw a family [parents w/one child]handling,dry firing several guns and constantly sweeping me while the dealer was preoccupied with a potential customer.What really burned me was the kid [8-10yrs old?] doing the same while his parents watched and did nothing,just kept going from gun to gun!?! I called the dealer over where he witnessed the situation also,he was quite polite and told them to move along.The dealer was thankful to me while shaking his head in disbelief.
A little later while I was inspecting a revolver [older S&W 36] at another table the father walked up and rudely told me to mind my own [expletive!]business,I just walked off like he didnt exist.I saw them a few more times during the show,they kept scowling at me as we passed,I just kept ingoring them.

[Vermonter]

A friend and I were planning to hunt with each other. We had skied together, worked together and been friends for a wile, when discussing spending some time outdoors together we spent the summer sizing each other up. We hiked and fished and started making regular trips to the outdoor range.

It is a public range with only one lane. It is customary there to not even approach the range if others are there shooting. He and I had left to come back later many a time.

We were supprised one day while shooting a smattering of our collections to have someone park and walk right up on us. This should have been a warning.

The "gentelman" and his friend began discussing how good of shots we were and how nice some of the firearms we were shooting were. They had one soft case and that was all. Their overall appearance gave me a bad feeling however we decided to pack up and see what they were up to.

We proceeded to watch the young man remove an AR of some sort from the case. He got some 223 out of the case and loaded up an extra mag. I then noticed problem number one. The first mag was in the gun loaded and the safety was off. He attempted to jam the mag into the mag well that was already loaded and it did not seem to fit correctly for whatever reason.

He finally forced the mag into this horribly beat ar and began trying to run the gun. As he took aim the mag dropped out of the firearm and I could clearly see that he had too different mags with him.

I gently told my friend to grab the rest of his stuff and we bailed before a shot was fired.

Vermonter

[Bud Helms]

The first mag was in the gun loaded and the safety was off. He attempted to jam the mag into the mag well that was already loaded and it did not seem to fit correctly for whatever reason.

He finally forced the mag into this horribly beat ar and began trying to run the gun. As he took aim the mag dropped out of the firearm and I could clearly see that he had too different mags with him.


Vermonter, I got lost right here. He jammed one mag in on top of another?

[Gehrhard]

The first one I DIDN'T see. A range officer kept yelling towards me to be careful of the muzzle. There was no-one around so I just thought I was absent minded. Finally he came running over, screaming. Turns out a neighbor, a psycho postal worker by the way, kept pointing his M-1 carbine at me directly from behind my back. A blind spot. We had both driven two counties away to shoot next to each other accidently, play on words intended.

That set me off for when I was a uniformed Range Officer for that municipality there myself a coupla years later. I saw a guy keep pointing his rifle into his son's stomach absent mindedly during a packed hunting-peak-season sight-in night. The third time he started to ignore my warnings I couldn't reach him so I leaned over between people and slapped him across the head with a clip board. I may have been wrong, but, I needed to get this jerks attention fast as well as once and for all.

[hnl.flyboy]

I recall hearing a short story by Paul Harvey (And now you know...the REST of the story.) about a crazed robber who attempted to shoot a woman with a revolver. Thank God, it misfired. The would-be robber then secured his Darwin Award by looking down the muzzle and trying the trigger again.

While coaching Marines on a Marine Corps pistol qualification course, a Marine loaded the wrong mag (8 rds instead of 6) and wondered why his slide didn't lock back. I was standing next to him, and he turned to me, sweeping my belly and the rest of the line to his right with the loaded pistol. My belly shifted out of the way as my hands guided the pistol back downrange. Now, I pay MUCH more attention to Marines and pistols.

[.300 Weatherby Mag]

I've been shot while hunting does that count as bad etiquette??? :eek:

[ClydeFrog]

The big thing to me with firearms/skill training is to learn-understand proper safe methods then re-enforce these safety rules when problems come up.

A few years back(4/5) I shot my state mandated security re-qual with my Ruger GPNY .38spl revolver(a DA only GP100 issued to the NYPD). In the lane next me, a young guy who stated he never fired a gun before, was loading his 9mm FMJ rounds backwards into the Glock 19 pistol magazine!
I went over and showed the security class student how to properly load and secure the handgun.
The armed security student shot a perfect 240/240 with the class Glock 19 too.

Some firearm owners, sworn LEOs and other armed professionals think marksmanship is the only important thing. Tactics and safe procedures are important too.

[8shot357]

#5

Mike Irwin


Friend of mine wrist flipped the cylinder closed on my S&W 042 Centennial carry gun.

I was not amused, and he thought it was a big funny joke.

So I found it amusing to grab his scruffy little Van Dyke goatee and drag him around the room by it for awhile, which he didn't find to be particularly amusing but which I enjoyed immensely.

He's never touched any of my guns since then.

For real?

It's just a gun after all.

I'd call that assault!

If you did that to me, you wouldn't be able to own a gun.

[Mike Irwin]

Of course it was assault.

He assaulted a fine piece of American engineering.

He assaulted one of the guns that I depend on to defend my life.

The entire incident also took place in front of a sworn Federal Police Officer, who found both sides of the incident highly amusing.


"If you did that to me, you wouldn't be able to own a gun."

Don't try to play forum tough guy with me, son. It doesn't impress me, and it certainly won't work. Maybe it makes you feel all upstanding and manly. Whatever. Go thump your chest and monkey hoot some place else. :rolleyes:

[raftman]

This one's definitely more an etiquette rather than safety issue... and maybe it's just me, but I hate it when people do a mag dump with any of my guns. I don't care if the gun can easily take it, I just don't like it. Maybe at least ask first or something.

[Hellbilly5000]

This happened about two years ago at an academy. I was buying 9mm ammo and saw a springfield 1911 asked to see it. The girl behind the counter goes this one looks cooler pulls out a taurus 1911 turns on the laser sight muzzle flashes me and also blinds me in the process. Was not a happy camper. tore into her which got a managers attention tore into him for putting an idiot behind that counter

[TXAZ]

A deer hunting incident in Texas many years ago. A few, but not too many other hunters in the area. Something is moving in the bushes about ~200 yards away from the three of us, and it's quickly obvious to the average 5th grader that it's a hunter in an orange vest. OK, no big deal, avoid shooting anywhere near him /no shots toward that area. We then see that he's looking around, we're behind some low bushes, when all of a sudden he looks our way, apparently sees our orange vests / slight movements. Then....he picks up his (now known to be 30.06) and points it right at us. We're wondering what the f this guy is doing. We start waving, making noise, he zeroed in on us and keeps looking at us through his scoped rifle, we're getting really concerned. I ask one of the others if they recognized this guy and were sleeping with his wife / daughter / ???
The guy has now had his gun trained on us for more than 30 seconds by now, and we're waving franticly.

One of our fellow hunters decides to bug out and circle around to where this guy is and try to figure out what the deal is. We move about 25 yards to get out of his line of fire thinking he's seeing something behind us we can't see, but he keeps tracking and point his gun at us, without acknowledging our waving and loud yelling, now really overtly, loudly. Don't know if the guy is ****** off at us, can't figure out we're neither tasty nor in season, or what. Tension is really high, and he's still tracking us. It's now really uncomfortable, and the trees aren't that wide.

We decide something is wrong, and he can't get both of us if we spread out, lock and load and sight the guy in, with the attitude to return fire if he fires first.

All of a sudden, Once he sees he's got a couple of weapons on him, he starts waving, acting like we did.

Our friend finally reaches this other "hunter", talks to him and waves us off.

It turns out the guys sight wasn't all that great, and he was using his scope (for more than a minute) to look at us. We suggested his technique of identifying friend or foe was going to likely get him killed, and that he needed to get better glasses. We found and talked to a Game Warden, but declined to file charges against him with the game warden. The warden basically told the guy he was finished this season, and had better get good glasses, and if he did it again, he'd likely be shot.


His attitude led me to believe he didn't think it was a big deal, and we probably should have filed charges.

[Deerhunter]

I was a newly promoted Specialist in the Army, deployed to Kosovo. We were short manned on our team so this SSG went out with us. While we were pulling security I needed to get something out of the truck. So I open the door and lean in. As I do I feel the barrel of his M-16 poke me on the backside. Funny how fast rank goes out the door. I laid into him pretty good as he claims that it isn't loaded (full 30 rd mag in but not one chambered) and that he "Knew what he was doing and was a boy scout and knew guns". I finished with I really don't care who you are, if you even point that thing at me again I swear I will shove it where the sun don't shine.

He stayed away from me after that.

[8shot357]

Don't try to play forum tough guy with me, son. It doesn't impress me, and it certainly won't work. Maybe it makes you feel all upstanding and manly. Whatever. Go thump your chest and monkey hoot some place else.

Ok, maybe I took it to seriously.

I have to admit, that was being pretty stupid of him.

I'm no better, me and my brother got into a mild scrap not so long ago, and we're in our 40s.


So I guess I'm not defending him, I had a guy/friend do that with my gun at the range with my 638 just before he shot it, but that was in a public range, all I did was say "Hay, that's my gun!", and he knew better. Not much I could do except scold him verbally, and it is my SD gun, but also I know they're not made of Chini.

It's all in the past.

[jake556]

At our CCW class a guy at range says he has a jam and starts yanking on his pistol aggressively while pointing it at all of us. The instructor took him aside(He failed the course).:rolleyes:

[SIGSHR]

I am not a hunter nor do I play one the Internet but I do know you do NOT use your rifle scope as a telescope. That's what binoculars are for.

[Tucker 1371]

It happens to me a little too frequently. I have been identified as the "gun nut" in the family so whenever someone wants to learn to shoot I get a call. I go over safety before anyone touches a gun and show them, using the gun as a prop, the right way to do it but every time someone always muzzle sweeps me or someone else and I have to grab the gun and rehash safety for a minute or two.

[PATH]

As a shooter and a Range Officer I have been afrighted mightily by some serious breeches in etiquette.

1) Fella throws home the bolt of a Nagant Carbine just as I am entering the range house door. Rifle was chest high. The jolt of adrenaline was intense as I threw myself to the floor. Fella looks down at me whilst still pointing the carbine at me and inquires as to why I am on the floor. My response cannot be repeated in polite compamy so you'll have to use your imagination.

2) Some of the fellas and I are shooting when off to my right I see some old man with a long white beard walk out to change a target as we are shooting some heavy calibre military stuff. I scream for a cease fire and we all clear the line. THe man's son comes up to us and apologises for his fathers behavior. By now we all have our hearing protection off and father time has walked back to his point and starts letting loose. The ringing was uncomfortable to say the least. We just packed up and left before things got to be less than polite.

3) As a Range Officer I have had more guns pointed at me and others than I care to think about. I explain the rules and many cop an attitude or ignore me. Needless to say breeches of etiquette are met with requests to get off my range! THe worst time of year is when folks take out the rifle to sight it in for the deer season. No wonder my hair is gray!

[blueridgerunner]

I was working in a PD in Florida a few years ago in dispatch alongside a girl who, while cute, was a complete airhead. She did, however, attract a number of male admirers. One of them was visiting her when she asked to see his S&W 9mm auto. He actually handed it to her loaded whereupon she pointed it at my head and said "bang". The officer took it back quickly and left. I quietly told her to never point a gun at me again. She took offense and said she was going to complain about my attitude. She found out what a bad attitude was after that, became hysterical and fled the room in tears. What a moron :rolleyes:

[MW surveyor]

Got back into shooting about 2 years ago after a long break. Have found that the level of safety by new and some older shooters at the ranges that I shoot at has gotten so bad that I try not to shoot on a weekend or holiday. Never been swept or noticed poor gun handling so many times on a range even with the ROs doing thier best to be observent. Weekdays I usually have the hand gun range to myself or there are a few other old farts like me that don't have to shoot on the weekends. :D

That said, I may have to take a chance today as I've been out of the US for the last 60 days and I feel the need to punch some paper! That is, if it doesn't rain. If it does rain, well have a few hundred rounds to reload and the list of honey do's is not getting any shorter.:(

[k in AR]

1973, beautiful Mustang with the vinyl top (I.E. covered, not rag a top). Gun a Korea war area 30 cal simi auto Carbine. Fired a lot of rounds at the old gravel pit that day using the auto roof & a range bag as a rest. He (thank GOD, not I) let the rifle "rest" as he turned to say something and BANG, she cooked off a round. It went between the vinyl and the steel on the roof making a really long deep crease in his pride & joy. We all learned something very special that day :o

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Older gentleman at the rifle range. Wouldn't respect a cease fire for new targets as he knew how to shoot. His son had to wrassle the gun away from him.

Did have a guy put a 45 ACP round a foot away from my foot when he was holstering his gun at an IDPA match. I was the score keeper - not really etiquette but scary. It was an inch from the SO's tootsie. He grabbed the gun as the shooter was panicked and about to wave the gun around.

[cosmicdingo]

Just watch gunvids on Youtube;million of 'em there.

[Single Six]

I'm enjoying reading all of these responses [and I'm always flattered when the moderators chime in]. Hope to see more. :)

[juntau]

On a firing line with someone who's been training with his firearms for years. His gun misfires and he then turns his gun pointing the the next person while he ponders why it wouldn't shoot.

Very scary

[700cdl]

The worst I've seen was in 1970. A friend had a revolver he thought was empty and pointed it directly at his girl friends chest ( her heart ) and pulled the trigger. He killed his first love!
My Brother in-law myself and a friend were deer hunting in New Mexico. When we had finished our day long on foot hunt we stopped at an old rock cabin to rest before completing the final mile or so back to the truck. I was standing against the oposit wall of my Brother in- law, directly across from him. He decided it was time to unload his 8mm Mauser and not noticing where the muzzle was facing, which was at my head, the rifle went off and blew a big whole in the solid rock wall not even an inch from my head. It left the side of my head bleeding profusely from the exploding rock and bullet fragments that almost cost me my life! I should have been paying more attention to him at that time because he nearly shot my friend and I several times that day, by taking shots at deer that got up in front of us. It was my first deer hunt and he was supposed to be teacing me the ins and outs of the sport.

[Single Six]

Now that I think about it, I've lost count of the times I've been swept by the muzzles of my fellow LEOs while we're qualifying at the range. For that matter, I know of a deputy that I refuse to be anywhere near whenever he's handling weapons. He has zero muzzle discipline and also a fondness for casual handling of his firearms...a bad recipe if ever there was one.

[DBLAction454]

My roommate bought a 45 Kimber even though he had no real gun experience. He kept it in the box leaned up against the coffee table. One day I \pulled it out to look at it and he had the hammer back and safety off. No bullet in the chamber but did have a loaded clip in it, but I still think it's bad practice to leave cocked guns around with the safety off. I said something to him and he told me I didn't know what I was talking about. Idiot

please please please stop calling a magazine a CLIP!!! A CLIP was used in M1 garands and was inserted into the internal MAGAZINE of the rifle... clips and magazines are two different things...please stop using them interchangeably

[Molly429]

IMHO this incident is particularly tragic because it may have happened to any number of responsible people...

A Gunsmith/Firearms Safety Instructor had a .22 rifle firmly chucked up in a felt-buffered vice; his objective was to remove a spent empty brass casing which was jammed in the chamber and would not eject.

He inserted a brass rod extension in the muzzle and gently pushed the end of it through the barrel to make contact with the inside-bottom of the empty/fired casing. Upon striking the brass rod with a small wooden mallet, hindsight revealed that there was still enough unfired primer residue in the rimfire .22 casing to explosively ignite and propel the brass rod at considerable speed out of the barrel to cross the room and impale the co-owner of the shop through the lower thorax/abdomen. The wounded man died on the hospital operating table; he was the best friend of the astonished man with the mallet.

Retrospective consideration certainly establishes that the weapon happened to be trained upon the person who inadvertently walked in front of the brass rod inserted in the muzzle, and that 'scenario' was in fact avoidable. On the other hand, imo, it was not an easily foreseeable event.

[HiBC]

This one is not particularly an etiquette issue,but some friends were going river tripping in AK .I put together a quick 20 in bbl 30-06 Mauser utility rifle and some 200 gr Nosler partition loads as a good tool to take along.I took them out to shoot and get familiar with it.
Another fellow who was going on the trip brought his .380 Bersa semi-auto pocket pistol along.This guy pulls it out,racks a round to the chamber,shoots 2 or 3 rounds,then,amazingly,twirls it,cowboy style!
I hollered"Stop what you are doing,hold what you've got",asked for his pistol,the watched him turn white as I explained the fact that the only thing that prevented him from shooting himself was the crappy trigger .
Another time,next door neighbor,newly facinated,but unfamiliar with,guns,decided to clean his roomates 22 WMR single action.He unholstered it,unloaded it,cleaned it,reloaded it,reholstered it.Then,he drank a pint of tequila.
He straps on the gunbelt,draws the pistol,thumbs the hammer back to cocked,and twirls it..gun is upside down,pointed at him when it fires.Goes in his lower abdomen and out his right butt cheek.Caused a big artery to develop a leak.Darn near killed him.

[k31]

that guy in orem utah the other day displaying his right to open carry.
not sure if this fits the bill but i dont know many folks even an open carrier that will walk around a mall with an assault rifle in a battle sling a hand on the grip and a finger near the trigger as well as not properly holstering a pistol but carrying it in a battle sling as well. as far as etiquette goes you dont handle a fire arm in a mall or any where when you are carrying in a public setting
a good way to get knocked to the floor with a gun held to your chest and even mugged and your rifle stolen

[k31]

another one i remember very well was the first time i took my father inlaw to a range (also to be the last so far) it was in the spring just before turey season and he had just passed his conceal coarse. he is the kind of guy that within seconds and without asking a question is an authority at what he is doing and will tell you the same regurgitated babbly the clerk told him to sell the product.
he shows up only to show me his new .38 s/w j frame . then says well i cant seem to get it holstered very well cause the hammer is internal i wish i thought about that first. then he shows me his crimson trace grip. that is the latest and best laser you could put on a gun so you can see where you are aiming. he turned it on only to realize its worth squat out side.
so to the main point. he just finished his class came to show off and as he got there a boy and his dad just set up a gobbler target to check out there patern with /with out thier choke.
we take a few pop bottles out of the tras and toss them down range at about 35yrds. get the all clear from the kids dad and start plinking with my rifles. the boy and his dad would shoot two targets and then go check. they did this several times and became monetarily routine we hear two shots empty our mags and wait. after a bit sid (my inlaw) goes to the car to get another pistol he loads them both as the boy and the dad are putting thier muffs on
then we start to shoot again i hear the two shots so i hurry my last few rounds so they could go check the dad nods of to see if im clear so i turn and ask sid if hes empty he says yes i give the boy and his dad a thumbs up the kid gets about20 yards out and sid starts firing away with gun two the boy dropped and covered his head and lay face down as i give my father inlaw the worst cussing i think any one has ever given him
he very quickly dropped the last few shells out the cylinder apologized and left. that is the only time that man has willingly gone somewhere to spend time with me and probably the last.

[Erik]

"What's the most blatant violation of firearms etiquette you've ever personally witnessed?"

I once witnessed someone lock the slide open via one hand by racking it off of a belt buckle on a NIB Colt 1911. And it was not his to do so.

[hnl.flyboy]

Forgot about this one...Playing "Trust" in Iraq...