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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%
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Old December 24, 2008, 11:47 AM   #1
Firepower!
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Have you ever accidently discharged your handgun?

I want to know how many (if any) of you guys have ever accidently discharged your handgun? Sepcifically, those of you who carry live rounds, i.e. one in the chamber.

Please feel free to discuss any specific incidents.
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Old December 24, 2008, 01:42 PM   #2
txbirddog
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And ALWAYS one in the pipe!!!
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Old December 24, 2008, 01:47 PM   #3
vox rationis
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I do carry with one in the pipe, and thank Goodness, my gun safety protocols haven't failed me thus far, and God willing they will never do so. It pays to be taught proper gun handling, and to be ritualistic, if you will, and a little obsessive compulsive, about gun safety.
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Old December 24, 2008, 02:14 PM   #4
ISC
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I am of the opinion that there are no accidents. Every weapons discharge is either intentional, negligent, or a malfunction.

OK, maybe if you are struggling with someone trying to take your weapon away from you and it discharges in the struggle then you could call that an accident.

Maybe
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:19 PM   #5
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I accidently discharged my 20 ga (age 10)while pheasant hunting, my dad then accidently booted me so hard I landed in the next cornfield. I learned a very valuable lesson and have not made the mistake ever again.
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:24 PM   #6
Brian Pfleuger
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Gee, I wonder if this thread will degenerate into the old "accidental" vs "negligent" argument. Since the first punch has already been thrown in post 4 above, I give it 4 more at the most...
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:33 PM   #7
Odd Job
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Yes, I had one ND, in 1992. That was with a Baby Browning.
I learned something that day.
Then I learned more on this forum and also The High Road.
I am making every effort to keep my ND total to 1.
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:36 PM   #8
Captain38
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I ADMIT to a total of three (3) over nearly UMTEEN years of handling firearms on a daily basis. Two with my Combat Commander .45 ACP and one with my Seecamp .32 ACP.

No casualties, whatsoever, unless you count that 190 grain Super Vel JHP through a rack of my BEST ties while trying to lower my Commander's hammer following a particularly harrowing 16 hour day solving crimes!
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:49 PM   #9
w_houle
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I tripped while carrying my M-16 and it went off. My finger wasn't on the trigger. I had it loaded with blanks and a BFA on the muzzle.
I guess you could call my next one a true ND:
I went to the range with my dad an got to talking to him about how to load an SAA. You put a bullet in and skip a chamber and bllah blah blah.. I then pulled the hammer all the way back and took careful aim at the target and said..."If I counted right, this shouldn't go..." BLAM! He looked in his and and said "Oh, did you want this?" and opened his hand to reveal one bullet.
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:58 PM   #10
Inspector3711
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I've never even come close to accidentally discharging any type of firearm.
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Old December 24, 2008, 03:59 PM   #11
natjohnb
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Quote:
No casualties, whatsoever, unless you count that 190 grain Super Vel JHP through a rack of my BEST ties while trying to lower my Commander's hammer following a particularly harrowing 16 hour day solving crimes!
That is why I would NEVER lower the hammer on a live round. My 1911 stays cocked and locked if it is loaded (which is 99% of the time).

Hammer down on an EMPTY chamber.
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Old December 24, 2008, 04:01 PM   #12
Son of Seeker
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I once put a .22 revolver down on the table, took my hand away, and then it just went off, and put a hole in the wall.
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Old December 24, 2008, 04:08 PM   #13
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Quote:
Gee, I wonder if this thread will degenerate into the old "accidental" vs "negligent" argument.
Seems some folks just cant sack up and face the music of having to admit their own negligence if/when they "accidentally" fire their weapon...

Just for the record, I have negligently fired my weapon once. I hope to never do it again.
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Old December 24, 2008, 04:15 PM   #14
Brian Pfleuger
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Well, I was wrong. It took 7 more posts.
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Old December 24, 2008, 04:28 PM   #15
troy_mclure
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had one with blanks, dropped my m4 with miles laser in the apc. it fired a 3rd burst and "killed" me, the driver, the gunner, and my squad leader.

i was in a continual state of smokage for the next 2 weeks.
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Old December 24, 2008, 04:56 PM   #16
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Well, I was wrong. It took 7 more posts
Wouldn't be the first time...or the last.
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Old December 24, 2008, 05:01 PM   #17
P35
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No
but I NEGLIGENTLY discharged a handgun once.
IMO an accident is caused by a broken/malfunctioning firearm.
human error is negligence
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Old December 24, 2008, 05:05 PM   #18
45Marlin carbine
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I did a 'negligent' discharge once - lucky I was aimed at a bug on the ground I was about drunk and did not realize a round was chambered in my 1911 .45acp. whew- close call - the dogs ran off and my camping/shooting buddy gave me one hell of a cussing.
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Old December 25, 2008, 11:02 PM   #19
Flyover Country
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Been very fortunate in my young life to never have ND'ed a firearm. I grew up shooting with an uncle who would have buried his foot in my rump if I ever violated one of Colonel Cooper's sacrosanct 4 Rules. The lessons stuck through hunting, trap and recreational shooting. I constantly try to remember that we are all human, and that firearms are devices made by the hands of man, and are therefore capable of failure. I'm blessed to have learned from men (and women) who viewed guns as both necessary tools (for SD and hunting) and recreational fun, but who always took safety exceptionally seriously. But, being from the People's Republic of Illinois, I am not ableto CC daily, so my chances of ND'ing are much lower than most of the Firing Line community.
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Old December 26, 2008, 12:05 AM   #20
Ridge_Runner_5
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I have had an ND, but it was with a 9mm carbine. Sitting down, dry firing on what turned out to be a loaded magazine...went right between my feet...
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Old December 26, 2008, 12:34 AM   #21
kitkat
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I did have one negligent discharge one time. I was in the processes of field striping my Sig pro 2340 357 Sig. The gun went off and went through a kitchen cabinet taking out about 5 ceramic dishes and lodged in the wall. It freaked me out and my ears were ringing so bad. I plan on keeping that my only 1.
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Old December 26, 2008, 12:42 AM   #22
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I've had one ND myself....I was playing with a new Ruger SP101 I had just bought, dry firing it for a while, cleaned it, dry firing it some more, loaded it and set it aside (I was gonna go out back and shoot it in a minute). Some friends came over to visit and by the time they left it was dark so I wasn't able to go out a fire it. I picked it up, forgeting that I had loaded it (and didn't check it ) and went to dry fire it. Well, it didn't dry fire but I had a nice hole in the wall, it went outside...never did find where it ended up.
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Old December 26, 2008, 12:55 AM   #23
INGunGuy
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I have been around firearms all my life. I have carried firearms for years. I have NEVER and I mean NEVER had any sort of a accidental discharge. I LIVE by the 10 commandments of firearms safety. I never pick up a firearm without keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and checking the breech to ensure the firearm is unloaded. I NEVER hand a loaded firearm to anyone, PERIOD! If I check the firearm and find it unloaded, I can be assured the firearm is unloaded, I still treat the firearm like it is loaded, PERIOD! If I sit a gun down and even if it NEVER leaves my site, the next time I pick it up, even if no one else picked up the firearm, I still check to ensure it is unloaded, PERIOD! I don't trust anyone to tell me a firearm is unloaded, ever, PERIOD!

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Old December 26, 2008, 01:36 AM   #24
mygunsbigger
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good buddy

One of my best friends and a person i would consider extremely competent with guns was relocating an XD40 from a SOB holster to the glove box while sitting in the passenger side of my truck and during the transfer, shot himself in the calf-right through his shin-through his shoe(without hitting his foot at all) and lodging a fully expanded 180 Gr.Speer Gold Dot into my fender. It made for a very long day. Since then, he'll only own a gun with a thumb safety. I don't blame him but I think it was over-confidence that got him that scar.
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Old December 26, 2008, 04:55 AM   #25
Sixer
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Had one ND no more than 2 months after obtaining my first handgun. It was something that I will NEVER let myself forget. I was handling my gun while watching TV. Big mistake! The round went harmlessly into a bookcase then bounced off the wall.

I wasnt hurt, but my pride sure was. I also had a hard time hearing out of my left ear the next day. I was lucky... It definitely gave me a fresh reminder of how easy accidents can happen. I have since become nearly obsessive with my gun safety habits. Lesson learned!
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