Worst mistake during a training session.

[booker_t]

At the range today, Sunday, around 6pm. Outdoor range at a state park, no range officers, pistol and rifle areas are separated. Rules are you must have a state hunting permit or pay $10/visit at the office on the honor system. Bring your own target stand & targets. The place is nearly empty, nobody on the rifle line and a couple people at pistol.

I'm plinking with my .22WMR rifle, put about 50 rounds downrange with a few trips to the 75yd target when another car pulls up, three people get out. A late-20s IC1 male, a 30-something #3 female, and a younger girl, likely mixed daughter. They have a pistol case and a Wal-Mart bag (Red Flag #1).

I'm loading up my mag while these three wander up to the bench about 30 feet from my location at the end of the line. Case, carried by the older female, goes on the table. Three of them gather around. Handgun comes out, looks like a two-tone XD or something similar.

I notice there's a trigger lock on it, and a red plug at the muzzle. Thought process: New gun (#2). New shooter(s) (#3). A group of people who have never handled a firearm let alone taken a safety course (#4).

Gun starts out on the table as it should be, some targets come out of the bag. Along the range, there are large wooden frame baffles at 20yd increments, faced with layers of rubber. Having not brought a target stand, I'm assuming they are going to put these targets on the baffles (#5). At this point I've unloaded my magazine and put everything in my range bag.

Male picks up handgun, inspects it and in doing so sweeps muzzle across the younger girl twice (#6 & #7) At this point, I yell over, "Hey, I'm going to get my target, can you put the gun down?" They do, so I bring my target back behind the line. Finish packing up my things and walk over to them, in a calm quiet voice say, "I know the gun has a lock on it, but when you picked it up just now, it was pointed at the young lady twice." He male who had about half his teeth said something like "Oh, my bad.." and the female gave me a dirty look, but quickly changed and said to me, "It's a new gun.." then to him, "Yes Yes, he's right.." At that point, I picked up my things and went to the car.

Having only shot 50 rounds, I wanted to continue my session, so I put the rifle away and got my .22 Ruger, and walked down to the pistol range. Things were going well there, the two shooters there were competent and safe. I put another 80 rounds into my target, trying to fix the half-flinch I'm still fighting, when the trio starts walking down the hill towards the pistol range. I'm thinkin' "you gotta be kidding me.." Quickly dumped my mags back into the box, cleared the pistol, and called for a break on the line. Got my target and walked on out, done for the day. Didn't even wait around to see them come up to the line again.

Did I handle that appropriately? Anything better I could have done? Should I have avoided saying anything to them and just left?

[samsmix]

...fails to go into battery. Rather than follow the simple "Tap-Rack-Ready" drill he was learning, he not so smartly struck the back of the slide with the palm of his left hand...BANG!

Blood, shame, and a beretta-slide-shaped wound: CLASSIC!

[SigP6Carry]

I've only ever had "near" accidents. But looking back at those "near" accidents, it always scares the hell out of me. I've learned hard and fast trigger discipline and "clearing" exercises, to the point of annoying some less than cautious store clerks. I've only ever "NA"'d once, and luckily it was downrange when I was 11 with a .22 rifle. Didn't think the trigger would be that light.

Anyone I've ever let handle my guns, I've always reprimanded for not practicing safe gun handling (ask this one guy I let handle my Sig with a snap-cap in it, that guy got really annoyed. Told me "I saw you load a snap cap in it without a magazine!" and I told him "what if you thought I loaded a snap cap and I loaded a live round?!" his reply was "would you be that dumb?" I took my gun away immediately). To me: safety is literally the biggest concern to me regarding firearms.

I don't mean to be condescending, I just want to convey my opinion of firearm safety, which is something I've adhered to since the first day I picked up a gun. But, yeah, my default position for holding a gun is with my trigger finger pointing forward and higher than the trigger. It scares me so much that so many of you guys have come across such scary situations. And it's not surprising that some of us on the forum have had some of the safest NA's I've ever heard about. But, wow... some of these stories are just scary...

WAIT! No, I got one! The first time I use a S&W M&P 9mm. I loaded a magazine with 10 rounds, slapped it in, racked the slide, pointed it down range, pulled the trigger and I got nothing. I tried again. Nothing. So, I dropped the magazine, racked the slide and a live round popped out. Then I slapped the mag back in, racked the slide again (of course for me back then, it was a really hard to pull "rack") and tried again. I got nothing out of it. Again and again. So, I popped the mag, pointed it back down range (as safety dictates, I should only point a gun downrange when my finger hits the trigger) and pulled it again and "BANG!" and the gun fell to the ground. I forgot to rack the slide, but all of the other safety rules saved me from doing something stupid. I still haven't been able to recreate the trigger problem with an M&P, I think it was just "beginners Tupperware bad luck." But that one shot scared the hell out of me.

Sorry for the long post.

[jad0110]

Worst I've done:

Got a muscle twitch in my strong arm just as the shot broke and hit the target carrier at the indoor range dead center. IIRC, I was shooting either my 1911 or S&W 686 with lead reloads. Splattered lead all over my target, some coming back and stinging me in the face . It was embarrassing, but I was wearing safety glasses and as always, it could have been worse.

Worst I've seen someone else do:

The lady standing 2 feet from me during the live fire session of the concealed carry class shot herself in the foot with a 22.

2 rules violated: keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot, and don't point the weapon at a target you don't intend to destroy.

[DAP90]

While in Basic/AIT we were turning our weapons back in to the armory. The Lieutenant on duty accepts my M16, turns it around, puts the muzzle in my stomach and pulls the trigger saying “that’s how we’re checking weapons today”.

This was after cleaning so I’d completely disassembled the thing and knew it was unloaded but still. We’d already had one misfire during a weapon check when one guy who’d supposedly cleaned his weapon somehow left a blank in the chamber and fired it while turning it in.

[FreakGasolineFight]

Not during a training session (at least not an official one) but I went out to my local range once and there were two punk kids with some kind of weird knockoff M4 lookalike chambered in .22. They had managed to make it jam and were for some reason pounding on the body of the gun in an effort to un-jam it. To their credit, they at least kept the muzzle (mostly) pointed downrange.

No range officer at my range, so you get all sorts of people. Just have to be careful ...

[qualfang]

Heard a story from friends shooting at the range, they were doing bullseye shooting. There was one other guy on the range, several booths over. He manages to hit the target holder and knock it down.

So he ducks under the table and walks out to pick it up and put it back on the holder.

As soon as my friends see him walking out- they stop shooting- of course. They look at each other, but don't make an issue out of oddness of what they just saw.

This happens again maybe 20 minutes later, with my friends calling 'cease fire' to each other at the same time. The guy turns and looks, says something to the effect of "That's okay, you can keep shooting, y'all ain't missed shot on that target all day."

Nice vote of confidence, i guess, but not terribly safe...

[war_elephant]

Serving as range safety NCO at the time, a first Lt decided to give a safety lecture, took a .45, racked the slide caught the round, then took the magazine out and proceeded to start the safety lecture, while I and another instructor tried to get to him before he did what officers do best, which he did 3 seconds later when he shot himself through the hand. After the corpsmen took him away, I then explained to the other marines present, magazine out first, then rack and lock slide, then visually check and ensure it is clear.
As a LEO, and firearms instructor, and later range master, too many to count. Day I was off, officer put Glock back in holster with finger on trigger, BANG, bullet went in his thigh, and out next to the knee. Violated Rule #2, finger off trigger until ready to shoot.

[briandg]

Very embarrassing. I was holding my pistol, a ruger mkII, and was stung by a horsefly or some other beast on my lower back. My safety wasn't on. without thinking, I swept my hand back to knock whatever it was off of my back, it went off, and the stinger cratered the asphalt between my heels.

Just a moment of senseless panic while I was thinking of something other than the pistol that was in my hand.

[fiznat]

^^^ LOL


I'm a new shooter, only been at the lanes 3 times, but I've made a few errors already. I guess this isn't as bad as it coulda been, but my friend and I were taking turns shooting two different handguns on the same lane. One was a 9mm Sig, the other a .40 H&K. I loaded up the H&K, and apparently a 9mm round snuck in there somehow. Guess we weren't keeping the ammo as separate and neat as we should have been. When I fired the round it felt really light and didn't recock the gun. The brass looked all warped and mangled. I brought it to the RO to ask *** happened (I still hadn't recognized the error). He knew what happened immediately of course. That was embarrassing. Probably wasn't great for the rental pistol, either....

[LordTio3]

The only one that strikes me immediately was when I was about 12 years old, my friend and I were with my uncle shooting some 22lr target semi-autos at some dirt clods on fence posts. Right in the middle of firing, my friend to the right of me started yelling and doing the "Hot Brass Dance". Apparently, one had landed right in the neck of his shirt and started rolling down inside. Still didn't excuse him swinging his .22 around like crazy while he was getting it out.

Uncle made sure we were done shooting after that.

~LT

[Daugherty16]

I work in NYC, ride the subway downtown. I go down to the platform and the NYPD is staging there, in riot gear as they sometimes do to shake up their routines and discourage terrorism...

So this guy is wearing a 3-point sling with an AR15, but unlike his colleagues whose barrels were all pointed straight down, he is level and sweeping the crowd continuously with his muzzle, hand on the psitol grip. I immediately put a big pillar between us, called one of his colleagues (supervisor, i think) over, and explained the problem in very clear terms. He wasted no time getting over to his colleague and i saw some animated gestures as i watched around the pillar.

His muzzle was pointed down very quickly and he didn't look very happy, i saw as i boarded my train. The really unbelievable thing - all those sheeple standing around there were totally oblivious to what he was doing. Maybe that's what happens when you disarm an entire city.

[Wilkenstein]

Mike, glad to hear you survived that one.

I've taught about a dozen male and female friends firearms basics, usually on request. Either they've never held a gun before and want to, or have but want to know a bit more.

I like to start that training/instruction away from the range. When there are other shooters dumping mags and you're wearing muffs, it's really hard to clearly communicate the basics of handling and safety, harder still to be confident that the messages are getting through, and you're on the clock, the meter is running, so you're both inclined to rush.

I start in a safe, quiet location, away from distractions. Using a rubber training gun, or a firearm that I've cleared & checked, usually with a removed barrel, we start with the basic 4 rules. Then go over basic functionality of the weapon in question. Then a break.

After the break, we review by having the student teach me what they just learned. We correct mistakes and fill in gaps.

This style of learning continues, working through trigger finger position (where their "default" position is off the trigger), loading/unloading/clearing, and finally basic aiming and trigger manipulation. Very little instruction about aiming, trigger control, or any of that. First lesson is about familiarity with the weapon's functionality. Aiming is limited to "see the front sight, put it on the target." Trigger pull details are limited to simply "pull it slow, let the gun wobble."

Then I let it soak in. A day or two is good. We reconvene and again, I have them teach everything I taught them back to me. Train the trainer. I observe their handling procedures, and introduce snap caps into the procedures for clearing, loading, chambering, firing.

At this point, I make an assessment. Are they ready for the live range? Do they have the steps down such that they can safely shoot at the range with minimal direction from me? If so, we head out. I like to go at an off-hour if possible, so the range is quiet. Once at the range, it's another basic review of safety, and my main focus is on the muzzle and their trigger finger. When we start to shoot, it's with an empty gun. Drill through the process several times dry. When the live ammo comes out, it's with 1 round in the gun at a time. Each time, the gun is returned to the bench, mag out and cleared. By this time, I know whether this person is going to get it or not. We've run through the basic steps at least 30 times. I've only had one person (male) who "didn't get it," and I ended the session respectfully, simply stating that I felt that my teaching style and his learning style weren't compatible, he should seek another instructor. The others were ready to start learning trigger control and front sight picture to improve their shooting.

The 1 round at a time thing is huge with me. And I always stand behind the student, never at the side unless the weapon is up and presented to the target. Slow and steady each step of the way, with repetition and train-the-trainer to ingrain the concepts by forcing the student to think through them on their own.

My best student was a 110lb 25-year-old female whom I had been friends with for 6+ years. In 4" heels she was shooting the .22 so well, didn't make a single range error after a good 45min of shooting, I decided to let her pop off a 10mm. At 25 feet she put it dead through the X. Second round was in the X ring. The range officer wasn't too thrilled with me letting her shoot the 10mm until I showed him her results, then he wanted her to come back for ladies' night.

Booker_t's post should be stickied. I think most regular shooters will be presented the opportunity to train someone who is totally or almost totally new to firearms at some point in their life.

[Retired15T]

-I was at Fort Campbell's civilian firing range when a guy up on the benches turned around with his handgun in hand, pulling the trigger repeatedly. He flagged me and the two others I was with while doing so. I yelled at him to stop pulling the F'ing trigger on a firearm pointed at me. Turns out he had had a misfire and was pulling the trigger trying to figure out what was wrong while turning to ask someone to help him!! Two weeks later, I was in a briefing about overweight Soldiers and NCOES schools. The Post CSM got up on stage and imagine my surprise to recognize him from the range.

-We were at the range as an aviation company. After having fired multiple iterations in flight from our M134 mini-guns, we had to clear the range, land and shut down so the big guns could come in. About ten minutes later, three Blackhawks go hot onto the range but the trail aircraft isn't firing anything. That bird come into the hotpad, also the FARP, and starts troubleshooting their systems. Next thing you know, with two Blackhawks on the range firing, this 2.75" FFAR leaves one of the tubes of the Blackhawk on the hotpad and arcs out over the entire range, passing in between the two aircraft on the range firing their M134's manually, and disappears somewhere over the berms. No one was hurt and the rocket detonated somewhere in the woods off of our range. The pilot who did this was an instructor pilot who had mistakenly hit the fire button after being told by his CE that the tube was disconnected. It wasn't fully disconnected.

-Balad, Iraq. We are getting the snot mortared out of us. An OH-58 is spooling up to go look for the mortar team. As the pilot pulls pitch, he does an AOAS (Altitude Over Air Speed) take off. This is normal for being in real dusty conditions since hovering and then nosing it over will cause the aircraft to be enveloped in blowing sand causing the pilots to lose visual with the ground and horizon. So you pull an armpit full of collective and pop up to 100' and then nose it over. As soon as they nosed over, a 2.75" FFAR Flechette rocket leaves their tube and impacts about 20 meters from the outside wall which has guard towers. No one was hurt and the cause was found to be due to erratic electricity. You get a TON of static electricity built up in the rotors and the aircraft when taking off from a sandy location and evidently, this is what caused the rocket to fire. I later read that a new grounding wire was installed to prevent that from happening again.

-Back in 1996, I was crewing my MH-60K and working with some new SEAL's. Their team leader and his assistant were the only "real world" operators/SEAL's on the aircraft. The other six guys being brand new from BUDS. The mission was just fast rope training, but the students had live rounds as they were going to fast rope into their shooting facility. We had just come to a hover over the target building and the first guy on each side was getting onto their ropes when I hear a discharge. I look to the back, right of my guy getting on the rope to see the guy behind him slowly leaning back with his face bloody mess. The trainee on the rope had reached out to take the rope in his hands when he felt a bad dig into his right side where his Beretta was holstered. He took his hands off the rope and tried to readjust his pistol, firing it into the face of the trainee behind him. The trainee had just turned his head to the right, so the round went through his face from left to right, taking out a lot of teeth and cheek skin in the process. If that dude wouldn't have turned his head and leaned back a little to hear what the SEAL Instructor was saying, he would have caught it between the eyes. The guy on the rope was on his way back to "Fleet" THAT NIGHT! The victim lived and eventually completed his training and served for some time on the teams.

**Personally, I've had one AD. It isn't an "Accident" in my mind, but a momentary loss of common sense. The gap left by the loss of common sense allowed Dumb@$$ to step in for a bit.

My AD cost me a new kitchen sink. I was standing in the kitchen, checking and clearing my weapons. Three of them were still clear from the range, but my CCW had one in the pipe. I dropped the mag, pulled the slide back, the ejector had broken and I didn't know it, and then I rotated the slide release and let the slide start moving forward. When it got to the mid position, I had to pull the trigger to finish releasing the slide. This is on an XD 45ACP. Since I didn't check the chamber for clear, and the lack of a round popping out didn't grab my attention, when I pulled the trigger to let the slide go, BAM! Kitchen remodeling by Springfield. I hated that damned sink and faucet anyway, but it sure didn't deserve to be shot! The .45 round, a PDX1 Bonded JHP, made a hole in one side of the sink about the size of the round, but when it went through and exited the other side of the sink, it took out a chunk about 3" in diameter. I had numb hands, ringing ears, bad powder burns to my stomach and a much worse headache.

While at the range, the ejector had broken off on the last round. I had packed everything up, put my SD magazine into the weapon, released the slide, put it on safe and into my IWB holster. When I was in the kitchen, I had a hard time pulling the slide back. Thinking it was due to my headache, which leaves my left side weaker and "buzzing", I had pulled the weapon into my stomach while putting more force on the slide, but still pointed in a safe direction just out of habit. When it went off, I got bad powder burns. I also got laughed at by my wife when she came home from work. She said she was very glad I didn't hurt myself, but she was even more glad that finally, she had an excuse to get rid of that sink. So the new sink and faucet ran a tad over $500. A costly bit of stupidity, but the lesson learned has stuck with me! I thank God no one else was around and no one, specifically ME, was hurt!

So now, whenever my wife wants to replace something in the house, she says, "Hey Tom, you want to do some Springfield remodeling? I think the couch is in need of replacement!"

I'm a firm believer that no matter how long you've been around weapons, no matter how much training you've had, and I've had a LOT after 21 years active duty, you will, at some point, have an AD. The only way to ensure that you minimize the damage and mitigate the risk of injuring yourself or another is to always keep your weapon pointed in a safe direction.

[ice9_us]

I know kids are kids… and I am very ashamed to admit.. but….
I Took my son to the range.. he is young "9" and impulsive/keep in mind… The range went cold.. he was reloading a clip, and KNEW BETTER!!!! When he was done reloading, the range was clear but not hot thank God!!, he started blasting…
I wanted to whack him a good one, but was very angry….. I yelled stop… smacked him lightly in the head to make sure I had his attention.. when he stopped.. I laid into him verbally and told him to get in to the jeep.. Took guns away for a very long while, and had him crawl over safety during that time.. I have him recite them (safety rules) every time he touches a gun… If I had romped his butt at that time.. I am sure I would have over done it I was so mad.. to this day I am ashamed.. not at him, but at myself for thinking he would have control over his impulse.. I was yapping to someone standing next to us when it happened, and only sort of watched him reload.. never again… While no one was at risk.. I still feel like crap.. and for good reason…

2nd. time resulted in embarrassment for my navy friend, but rules are rules…..
Based on less 1 above.. I never shoot when I have new (or fairly new) shooter anymore. Oh yea!! Because they say they know about guns, you can only take that lightly unless they prove to really understand as much as they would have you think....

Based on above issue: I don’t speak to people around me when i have new shooters to make sure i pay attention, and explain why so as not to appear rude…

My buddy was shooting, and once done, started to turn with the gun and would have muzzle swept us … I was next to him and grabbed his hand forcing the pistol to stay down range. He looked at me puzzled and as funny as can be my son yells.. OOOOHHHHH!!! Always keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction down range…. Those are my 2 my son did redeem himself…. And I really hope those issues are the last…

[therealdeal]

worst mistake I ever made@range and I pulled thru+was able to keep it to myself was towards the beginning of my 4yrs military in 05:

100+degrees and on m16range. I didn't realize my canteen was empty until I was on the range because I forgot to fill canteen(I filled 99% of time but was in a rush that mrng or whatever). I became dehydrated and felt like I might faint. I bummed water from my buddy SGT Hall&another person without explaining the seriousness. nowadays, I have@least 5 water bottles in each of our two personal vehicles(just one of the lessons the army taught me and/or one of the habits the army formed).