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View Poll Results: Have you ever accidently discharged your handgun?
Yes, I did. 236 29.80%
No, never. 556 70.20%
Voters: 792. You may not vote on this poll

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Old April 1, 2010, 05:05 PM   #276
hempy
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There's absolutely no such thing as an accidental discharge. Gun banners would love to be able to convince people that guns can in fact accidentally discharge. If your finger is on the trigger, there are only two options -Intentional and negligent.
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Old April 1, 2010, 05:45 PM   #277
BeerSleeper
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Had an AD deer hunting in about 6th grade or so.

I was shooting an Marlin lever action 30-30. The gun had no safety, you just put the hammer to half cock for safety. I didn't get a shot that I liked, and dropped the hammer while decocking.

Those of you who insist there in no AD, it's intentional or negligent, I stand ready to be judged. Which is it?

FWIW, the round was discharged directly into the ground. I was, at least, still mindful of rule 2 while decocking the hammer.
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Old April 1, 2010, 10:17 PM   #278
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So, do any of you all manually decock your loaded firearms?
Only if it's a double-action auto with a decocker. My 1911 I carry cocked and locked as it was intended to be carried. Personally, I find decocking a 1911 (condition 2) a rather foolish procedure without merit. It also promotes the subject of this thread.
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Old April 2, 2010, 12:41 PM   #279
old bear
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No, never had an accidental discharge, but on one occasion my high power did fire one round when I did not expect it to.
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Old April 2, 2010, 09:26 PM   #280
jtmckinney
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H&R 22 Hornet

This wasn't a handgun but I will try to be breif.

My Stepfather had a H&R 22 Hornet that had a really light hair trigger. I do not know if it was a modified gun as my Stepfather bought the gun used. This gun was a nail driver, the accuracy of this gun was never in question.

I had 2 incidents with this gun where it went off without my intention. Both were harmless as I knew about the trigger but were still disturbing. I also made a couple of the best shots I ever made with this gun but that is a different story.

My Stepfather gave this gun to my son's (probably 10 and 12 at the time). I knew a local gunsmith and took the gun to him to see if anything could be done. After his dry firing testing he declared the gun dangerous and said that it would probably cost more than the gun was worth to correct. After discussion with my Stepfather he took the gun back for a single shot 22 that the trigger had the opposite problem. This 22 is in the back of my closet and is the last one to get pulled but that is ok.

End of story,
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Old April 3, 2010, 04:19 AM   #281
dussandr
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I had a couple of negligent discharges with my autos. I now shoot revolvers.....

(following was with a PA-63)
At the range, I mentally keep track of my shots. 7 rounds in a mag. Fire 7, the slide locks back, drop mag, rack slide, discharge empty gun safely, re-load mag. Only, I go to discharge it, and it fires! As always I had it pointed downrange, so it didn't hurt anything, but it was an ND. Then, at home, a guy was coming to look at a WASR I had for sale. I alays keep a gun or two at hand, and I loaded the PA63 and was going to chamber a round, uncocked. I chamber it, start to decokc it, and the hammer is stuck- won't move. Damn, now I have a round chambered and the pistol cocked and it won't decock! I had read that sometimes PA63s will fire upon decocking, and I was trying to let the hammer down manually, when BAM! it fired into the wooden floor of my hobby building. Sonofabitch! I was so nervous, the bullet went through my desk chair and the floor too. I unloaded it right there and put it up for sale in the local online classifieds. Traded it 2 days later for a Charter Arms .38 Off-Duty that, while dinged a bit, is as accurate as my old 686.

I never keep a round chambered in an auto, ever....

I had a bad abcess that needed a root canal, and it was throbbing. Bad. I had taken a couple of Vicodin, and was at the computer, and I picked up my Glock 20, just enjoying the feel of it, and I noticed the trigger was in a different spot than usual. (Now, for those of you that don't own Glocks, you have to press the trigger after clearing it before you take the slide off.) So I think, why is the trigger in that position? I better press the trigger and let it down....
BAM! A 200 gr DoubleTap fired off, scared the **** out of me. As always, it was pointed at the floor, but at an angle; the bullet pierced my subwoofer enclosure, went in and out, through the floor of my hobby shop, and into the ground. Damn subwoofer still needs a new enclosure; it leaks air out the 2 holes. I moved up into the garage, waiting for the police, but no one had called them. Whew. I walked in the house...."Honey, you hear anything?" "Yeah, a loud noise. You lifting weights?" "Yes, YES, that was it, I uh, I dropped a 45 plate while loading for squats." "Ok, be careful. That was loud."



Whew. Both times drilled safety (point at floor) overcame sudden onset of stupidity (lets pull the trigger!) but I ain't takin' no more chances. I'm a wheelgun man from now on.

Glock got sold during the ammo scare due to the near impossibility of getting good SD ammo. So I have my .38 snub, and I may get another 586 or 686 S&W.
Oddly, no problem with rifles ever. Rack slide, rack slide, vis check chamber, rack again, point at ground, pull trig.
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Old April 3, 2010, 09:25 AM   #282
BeerSleeper
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Quote:
I had a couple of negligent discharges with my autos. I now shoot revolvers
You can't blame this on the guns. They were equipped with a negligent shooter.

ND 1) Pulling the trigger needlessly. Thankfully the gun was pointed in a safe direction.
ND 2) ...maybe this one is excusable. I'm not familiar with that model gun to know if what you were attempting to do was necessary or not.
ND 3) Fondling a loaded Glock while hopped up on Vicodin?

Please, please learn from this.

Quote:
Whew. Both times drilled safety (point at floor) overcame sudden onset of stupidity (lets pull the trigger!) but I ain't takin' no more chances. I'm a wheelgun man from now on.
If that is what you learned from this, please reevaluate the lesson.
ND 1) Pulling the trigger needlessly can cause an ND on a revolver, same as an auto.
ND 2) Revolvers can ND while decocking, same as an auto.
ND 3) This, also, was not an auto-specific accident.
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Old April 3, 2010, 09:51 AM   #283
ProjectCamaro
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Of course not, I follow the saftey rules.
I would not shoot or be around someone that "accidently" shoots their gun.
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Old April 3, 2010, 03:35 PM   #284
teejhot.40cal
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Yes i have had a negligent discharge. Fortunily, the 10 commandments of gun safety prevailed and i was following all of the other commandments
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Old April 4, 2010, 07:53 PM   #285
mbopp
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Handgun, no.
Remy 700 rifle - yes. Had the trigger mis-adjusted. I set the safety & pulled the trigger - nothing happened. OK, so I snick off the safety and it discharged. It was on the bags yet and pointed downrange.
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Old April 4, 2010, 08:04 PM   #286
Patchman
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Not with my handgun but when I was around 10 or 11 my dad got a 22 rifle with a hair trigger. Before he handed it to me he told me not to put my finger on the trigger because it was so light.

Well being the age I was I didn't listen all that well and as soon as he handed it to me I touched the trigger and it went off. Need less to say I never got to shoot that particular 22 again.
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Old April 5, 2010, 10:08 AM   #287
JoeBob
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I've never had a ND with a handgun, but have had a few delayed shots from a soft primer strike on an O/U shotgun before using reloads. As long as you follow safety rules, you won't have a problem in terms of injuries. I almost smoked a skeet puller cord, but didn't injury anyone with the firing of a firearm when I wasn't expecting it. I've been around countless ND's in military training/downrange with M9's and M16's . Sometimes military training isn't enough to overcome complacency and people being idiots. Luckily, never seen a ND end in an injury, because of safe muzzle control.
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Old April 5, 2010, 10:16 AM   #288
Sixer
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Quote:
Of course not, I follow the saftey rules.
I would not shoot or be around someone that "accidently" shoots their gun.
Really?

It's not a question of IF but WHEN... happens to the best of 'em.

Keep thinking that you're too "safe" to have an AD / ND, and you are just an accident waiting to happen.
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Old April 5, 2010, 10:32 AM   #289
Slamfire
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In his book, The Combat 45 Automatic, Bill Wilson states that the proper way to load a M1911 is to hold the trigger back while hitting the bolt release. Mr. Wilson claimed that disengaged the trigger parts and protects the sear surfaces.

You are supposed to put the magazine in, hold the trigger back, and press the bolt release. Well, even after having practiced, I got the sequence wrong. On one reload, I hit the bolt release and squeezed the trigger. Since this was during paper punching at the range, the bullet went downrange and into the berm. But that scared me.

Since then, I keep my darn finger off the M1911 trigger until I want to shoot. I have not had any problems with my trigger jobs so I really wonder if Mr. Wilson’s procedure protected anything.

The only other ND's I have had have been standing slow fire during XTC courses. There have been times in the snow and wind when my fingers were so cold that I was unable to feel the trigger. The results have been on target paper misses as I don't move the finger to the trigger until the sight is on target.
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Old April 6, 2010, 08:57 PM   #290
david58
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No ND, but have seen too many. I don't trust myself or anybody else with a handgun - I have a very healthy respect (fear?) of this tool and do my best to never be casual. More comfortable with long guns, but maybe that's more dangerous.

I have no problem jumping on a shooter at the range or in a competion that is being unsafe. I don't want me or mine, or anybody else with any extra orifice. The thought of an accidental discharge hurting someone scares the crap out of me.

And, I am the kid that got his "eye shot out" at age 12 with a bb gun (actually just damaged a bit). The sobering comment from my dad, as we drove to the hospital, was : "What if it had been a .22?" No words he EVER spoke stuck with me like those.
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Old April 9, 2010, 09:34 AM   #291
Enoy21
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Closest thing I had to an ND ( and it was a TRUE ND ) was when I was probably 8 yrs old , and I had my single pump Daisy BB gun.

Me and some friends were horsing around , and I unloaded the gun .... Or so I thought. Apearently there was one left in there and as I shot from the hip , the BB pinged off his stomach.


I thought he was faking when he said it got him. A tiny little break in the skin was all that was done.

Lesson learned ? I needed a stronger BB Gun.



Seriously though , once I realize it actually had happened , I really freaked out and that's probably the FIRST place I learned my respect for a firearm .... Next was dad's teachings over the years.
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Old April 10, 2010, 10:22 PM   #292
XR750
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No
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Old April 12, 2010, 09:58 PM   #293
towelie
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Nope. I have accidently discharged a 12 gauge at a skeet range. I was used to the remmington 870 20 gauge for trap shooting, and tried out a highly modified 12 gauge over under with a true hair trigger. I peppered the little pillbox that flings skeet clays into the air. Didnt really do any damage, it was already peppered from other shooters. Just 7 shot.
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Old April 12, 2010, 10:15 PM   #294
bobelk99
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Tain't no such thing as an accidental discharge. Most of the time it is a negligent discharge.

90% of the ones I am personally aware of were with an 'unloaded' gun.
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