[oldman1946]

Long story but I was assisting a State Trooper in searching for a peeping tom in our neighborhood. Both he and I were off duty and the weather was below freezing with sleet falling. We were out for about 1.5hrs. I came in and laid my .45 Colt 1911 on the nightstand. It was not cocked but had a round in the chamber. My wife was taking her make up off in the dressing room. I had walked over to the boot rack in the utility room about 20 feet away. The gun went off, sending a round through the night stand, through the sheet rock and into the outside brick wall, cracking the brick.

Not a soul touched the gun. There was no dimple in the primer cap. The gun recoiled off the nightstand and landed on the floor, fully cocked and with a new round in the chamber.

I had the shell casing examined in the crime lab. They determined the primer was not fully seated, the powder was cold and static electricity had arched on the cap setting it off. I have not shot a reload since.

I always place a gun pointed toward a wall so nobody was ever in danger other than myself due to my wife raising cane about her expensive new bedroom nightstand having a bullet hole in it. Now some 20 yrs later, we just put a table lamp in front of the hole and nobody notices it.
Note the photos below.