Have you ever accidently discharged your handgun? - Page 4

Atomic · January 27, 2009, 08:34 PM

Never. I can only remember one ND with a firearm in my life. I was around 12 or 13 and my dad had bought me a used breach loading 20 gauge shotgun. It was loaded and I had the hammer cocked. I was going to release the hammer forward so it would no longer be cocked but my thumb slipped and it released too fast. Of course it was pointed in a safe direction.

Brian Pfleuger · January 27, 2009, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Never. I can only remember one ND with a firearm in my life. I was around 12 or 13 and my dad had bought me a used breach loading 20 gauge shotgun. It was loaded and I had the hammer cocked. I was going to release the hammer forward so it would no longer be cocked but my thumb slipped and it released too fast. Of course it was pointed in a safe direction.

So what you mean is "Yes, once when I was 12 or 13..."

ranburr · January 28, 2009, 01:32 AM

I've had two over a 36yr period. If you carry them and train enough, it will eventually happen to just about everyone. The important thing is to have them pointed in safe directions when it happens. My first one happened after cleaning and reloading a smith revolver. My hands were slick with oil and I dropped the revolver. My natural reaction was to catch the revolver. Which I did, unfortuneately, I caught it by the trigger and it went off when I jerked the gun back up. The second time was about ten yrs later. I was dry firing my pistol with an empty chamber and a loaded mag. I sat the pistol down and went to answer the phone. In the mean time, my buddy picked up my pistol, dropped the mag and checked it out. Once he was done messing with it he put the mag back in and chambered a round without thinking about and sat it back down where he found it. I got off the phone, came back into the room and you can probably figure out the rest. I have seen every kind of so-called special-ops, police officers, and gun guru instructors send a round off on occasion when they didn't intend to. It happens.

ranburr

Hawk-i · January 28, 2009, 10:29 PM

This is my first post here ... been visiting this site for several weeks though. After reading this thread I joined up just to say THANKS to all who posted their Lessons Learned. I feel reading your testimonies will help me to continue my 40+ yrs of safe shooting. Complacency is a constant enemy.

Mr. James · January 28, 2009, 11:25 PM

Once, inside my own home, with a S&W M66. :barf:

Idjit. At least I didn't have it pointed at my son or my dog. . . I gave serious thought to abandoning gun ownership altogether, but after my pulse slowed and my hearing returned, I decided to learn from it and press on. By the grace of God, nothing close since.

LoneWolf6284 · January 28, 2009, 11:35 PM

I am by no means a gun expert but i have done a bit of shooting but one night after drinking a little bit i picked up a pistol grip 12 gauge and completely not thinking i shot the damn thing through the floor of the bedroom i was in. Luckily for me i did have the weapon pointed in a safe direction, so nothing was damaged except for some wood and my ego. Although this was a dangerous and potentially devastating situation it definitly taught me 2 very important lessons at the same time. Dont EVER HANDLE A GUN WHEN DRINKING, regardless of experience with weapons and ALWAYS CHECK TO SEE IF LOADED. If you cant tell, you probably should not be handling a weapon. But lesson learned and i have much more respect now! Hopefully this will be my only ND ever!

Firepower! · February 4, 2009, 05:53 AM

25% of us here have AD/ND. It means that there is a compelling amount of need to school us folks to better handle guns. Any suggestions?

Brian Pfleuger · February 4, 2009, 10:36 AM

I don't think it's a matter of schooling in most situations. It's a matter of complacency. It's the same type of behavior that gets people in trouble in all kinds of situations.

It happens to police officers who have made 5000 traffic stops without incident and so their guard goes down, just a little, and it happens to gun owners who have handled guns safely 1000s of times and so their guard goes down, just a little.

I suspect that there is a significant number that COULD have had a ND but did not simply because the gun actually WAS unloaded and they just got lucky, there's no way of knowing. Even when it happens to us directly we tend to forget or say "Well, it wasn't an accident." when it clearly would have been had the gun been loaded.

cchardwick · February 4, 2009, 11:46 AM

Quote:

25% of us here have AD/ND. It means that there is a compelling amount of need to school us folks to better handle guns. Any suggestions?

Wow, this thread scares the crap out of me! It does have a lot of good info though, and we can all learn from others posts. Basically it comes down to this:

Drinking and handing a gun
Dry firing
Worn out weapon

It seems like dry firing is number one on the list and is listed in most postings. I never have dry fired in my life and after reading the posts I never will. Seems it gets your mind used to a 'click' instead of a 'boom' and tricks you into thinking your gun will not go off.

I always buy new guns, not to say that a new gun won't malfunction, but several people have listed defective weapons as a cause.

I used to carry a Glock until I realized that many ADs are caused by having no safety, similar to the revolver that was dropped and 'caught in the air' before it hit the floor, accidently pulling the trigger. Now I will only carry a 1911 type pistol with several safety mechanisms, including a nice large easy to manipulate thumb safety, grip safety, and drop safety.

I've also reloaded several thousands of rounds of ammo and read that if you don't seat the primer deep enough that you can have a slam fire AD when chambering a round. Talk about an AD that you have no control over. I imagine a factory round or especially ammo bought in bulk could potentially have a primer that is not seated deep enough causing a slam fire situation. Now I always point the gun in a safe direction (outside) when chambering a round.

Also another lesson learned, pointing the gun at the floor or at the ceiling is not a safe direction. Someone could be in the basement or in the upstairs bedroom or worse, you could be pointing it at a hidden gas line!

By the way, I've never had an AD but my wife's grandfather shot himself in the foot with a shotgun while pheasant hunting. I guess he did it in front of the whole family who then became very anti-gun because of the incident. Not only does an AD make you think twice, but it has an effect on all of those around you, even though you may not have hurt anyone directly!

Alert · February 4, 2009, 11:57 AM

does an unplanned double tap at the range count?

Brian Pfleuger · February 4, 2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

does an unplanned double tap at the range count?

Yep, goes under "accidental" instead of negligent but it counts.

Maromero · February 4, 2009, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Hammer down on an EMPTY chamber.

Best advice.

Accidental vs. negligent. [color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color]? Could someone please explain?

NAKing · February 4, 2009, 01:12 PM

An accidental discharge is a weapon malfunction. A negligent discharge is a mistake made by the shooter.

I have never had an accidental or negligent discharge. I'm obsessive with double checking everything.

**OldMarksman** · February 4, 2009, 02:06 PM

I once had a new Smith & Wesson Model 39 fire when chambering a round.

Shortly thereafter, the thing fired three rounds with one pull of the trigger at the range. Turns out to have been caused by sear failure.

Rich Miranda · February 4, 2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Accidental vs. negligent. [color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color]? Could someone please explain?

Please, please, please do not start this again. :barf: :barf:

madmo44mag · February 4, 2009, 03:41 PM

Once when hunting down a rail road track.
While coon hunting with a 30cal. Ruger blackhawk SA and just cocked the hammer back for a shot and my prey moved.
I quickly moved forward, finger outside the trigger guard, stumbled on a cross tie and in trying to keep my balance somehow squeezed the trigger.
Put a round down the side of my boot but no damage to me.
Needless to say, I was done for the day.
Have never hunted from R/R tracks since then.
Never had a premature discharge from my gun since that day. Can't say that about my weapon though!

ezenbrowntown · February 4, 2009, 05:58 PM

Ironically, just this weekend....

I was at the range, shooting my 9mm. I had the gun pointed toward the ground in front of my me and had my hand on the trigger ready to raise up for another shot. I know better, and haven't had an nd in my life.....up to this point. It hit the ground, but I defintely was not planning to shot. I was embarrassed to the say the least, and a bit humbled.

curt.45 · February 4, 2009, 07:17 PM

seems this guy had a AD

http://www.jg.net/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...919/1002/LOCAL

DieHard06 · February 4, 2009, 09:56 PM

Quote:

I used to carry a Glock until I realized that many ADs are caused by having no safety, similar to the revolver that was dropped and 'caught in the air' before it hit the floor, accidently pulling the trigger. Now I will only carry a 1911 type pistol with several safety mechanisms, including a nice large easy to manipulate thumb safety, grip safety, and drop safety.

Sorry man, I don't really buy into that. I am just stating my opinion, and I am sure that I am less experienced than you. However, my ND was with a 1911 that had all of those safeties. Afterwards I became more trusting of my Glocks or should I say at least equally trusting. My Glocks have a longer trigger pull before coming to a clean break and then firing. My 1911's trigger only needs pulling a little bit and it fires. I know I am in the minority, but I trust my Glock, which I carry all the time, more than any other gun. Then again, I am also more careful with it as I always keep mine loaded.

Webleymkv · February 5, 2009, 12:27 AM

Without going into all the details or getting into a debate of semantics, I'll say that I've had a few unintentional discharges over the course of my life. In each and every case, the bullet went harmlessly into a safe direction with no harm to anyone except the fact that my ears rang.

Alert · February 5, 2009, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Yep, goes under "accidental" instead of negligent but it counts.

darn light single action triggers

SW1911CT · February 5, 2009, 02:08 AM

ND vs. AD? Stupid nitpicking we're all talking about the same thing here come on...

I shot a gouge out of my entertainment system and it bounced down into the wall space, didn't go out the other side.

I felt like a real a hole that day. I don't think I will ever do that again. Stupidest part was I meant to pull the trigger, I just didn't mean to have one in the pipe!!

SW1911CT · February 5, 2009, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Never. I can only remember one ND with a firearm in my life. I was around 12 or 13 and my dad had bought me a used breach loading 20 gauge shotgun. It was loaded and I had the hammer cocked. I was going to release the hammer forward so it would no longer be cocked but my thumb slipped and it released too fast. Of course it was pointed in a safe direction.

Quote:

So what you mean is "Yes, once when I was 12 or 13..."

lmao... Glad I wasn't the only one who read that a few times to make sure!

308win · February 5, 2009, 02:29 AM

Today, in the military there is nothing called an accidental discharge only a negligent discharge is referenced when a round is discharged at a non-welcomed time.

JustKev55 · February 9, 2009, 09:29 AM

I've never discharged any firearm unintentionally. I learned, at an early age, to never treat any rifle, shotgun, revolver or pistol as being empty. I personally check every firearm I handle the minute I pick it up. Always have. And I intend to continue that habit. Will I never have an accidental/unintentional discharge of a firearm? I pray that I won't but know that it can happen to every person out there who handles a firearm. Keep that muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times ladies and gents, and I say this as a reminder only. Keep it safe and live to play another day.

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

January 28, 2009, 01:32 AM	#78
ranburr Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2006 Location: TX Posts: 1,278	I've had two over a 36yr period. If you carry them and train enough, it will eventually happen to just about everyone. The important thing is to have them pointed in safe directions when it happens. My first one happened after cleaning and reloading a smith revolver. My hands were slick with oil and I dropped the revolver. My natural reaction was to catch the revolver. Which I did, unfortuneately, I caught it by the trigger and it went off when I jerked the gun back up. The second time was about ten yrs later. I was dry firing my pistol with an empty chamber and a loaded mag. I sat the pistol down and went to answer the phone. In the mean time, my buddy picked up my pistol, dropped the mag and checked it out. Once he was done messing with it he put the mag back in and chambered a round without thinking about and sat it back down where he found it. I got off the phone, came back into the room and you can probably figure out the rest. I have seen every kind of so-called special-ops, police officers, and gun guru instructors send a round off on occasion when they didn't intend to. It happens. ranburr __________________ ranburr "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people asking questions".

January 28, 2009, 11:25 PM	#80
Mr. James Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2001 Location: The Old Dominion Posts: 1,521	Once, inside my own home, with a S&W M66. :barf: Idjit. At least I didn't have it pointed at my son or my dog. . . I gave serious thought to abandoning gun ownership altogether, but after my pulse slowed and my hearing returned, I decided to learn from it and press on. By the grace of God, nothing close since. __________________ "...A humble and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Ps. li "When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law." —Frederic Bastiat

February 4, 2009, 10:36 AM	#83
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	I don't think it's a matter of schooling in most situations. It's a matter of complacency. It's the same type of behavior that gets people in trouble in all kinds of situations. It happens to police officers who have made 5000 traffic stops without incident and so their guard goes down, just a little, and it happens to gun owners who have handled guns safely 1000s of times and so their guard goes down, just a little. I suspect that there is a significant number that COULD have had a ND but did not simply because the gun actually WAS unloaded and they just got lucky, there's no way of knowing. Even when it happens to us directly we tend to forget or say "Well, it wasn't an accident." when it clearly would have been had the gun been loaded. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

February 4, 2009, 11:57 AM	#85
Alert Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2007 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 203	does an unplanned double tap at the range count? __________________ "One man with courage makes a majority" Andrew Jackson

January 27, 2009, 08:34 PM	#76
Atomic Junior Member Join Date: January 27, 2009 Posts: 3	Never. I can only remember one ND with a firearm in my life. I was around 12 or 13 and my dad had bought me a used breach loading 20 gauge shotgun. It was loaded and I had the hammer cocked. I was going to release the hammer forward so it would no longer be cocked but my thumb slipped and it released too fast. Of course it was pointed in a safe direction.

January 28, 2009, 10:29 PM	#79
Hawk-i Junior Member Join Date: January 28, 2009 Location: In the Land of Cotton... Posts: 1	This is my first post here ... been visiting this site for several weeks though. After reading this thread I joined up just to say THANKS to all who posted their Lessons Learned. I feel reading your testimonies will help me to continue my 40+ yrs of safe shooting. Complacency is a constant enemy.

January 28, 2009, 11:35 PM	#81
LoneWolf6284 Member Join Date: July 10, 2008 Posts: 89	I am by no means a gun expert but i have done a bit of shooting but one night after drinking a little bit i picked up a pistol grip 12 gauge and completely not thinking i shot the damn thing through the floor of the bedroom i was in. Luckily for me i did have the weapon pointed in a safe direction, so nothing was damaged except for some wood and my ego. Although this was a dangerous and potentially devastating situation it definitly taught me 2 very important lessons at the same time. Dont EVER HANDLE A GUN WHEN DRINKING, regardless of experience with weapons and ALWAYS CHECK TO SEE IF LOADED. If you cant tell, you probably should not be handling a weapon. But lesson learned and i have much more respect now! Hopefully this will be my only ND ever!

February 4, 2009, 05:53 AM	#82
Firepower! Senior Member Join Date: February 3, 2008 Posts: 2,109	25% of us here have AD/ND. It means that there is a compelling amount of need to school us folks to better handle guns. Any suggestions?

February 4, 2009, 01:12 PM	#88
NAKing Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2008 Posts: 304	An accidental discharge is a weapon malfunction. A negligent discharge is a mistake made by the shooter. I have never had an accidental or negligent discharge. I'm obsessive with double checking everything.

February 4, 2009, 02:06 PM	#89
OldMarksman Staff Join Date: June 8, 2008 Posts: 4,022	I once had a new Smith & Wesson Model 39 fire when chambering a round. Shortly thereafter, the thing fired three rounds with one pull of the trigger at the range. Turns out to have been caused by sear failure.

February 4, 2009, 03:41 PM	#91
madmo44mag Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2008 Location: Ft.Worth, Texas Posts: 1,522	Once when hunting down a rail road track. While coon hunting with a 30cal. Ruger blackhawk SA and just cocked the hammer back for a shot and my prey moved. I quickly moved forward, finger outside the trigger guard, stumbled on a cross tie and in trying to keep my balance somehow squeezed the trigger. Put a round down the side of my boot but no damage to me. Needless to say, I was done for the day. Have never hunted from R/R tracks since then. Never had a premature discharge from my gun since that day. Can't say that about my weapon though!

February 4, 2009, 05:58 PM	#92
ezenbrowntown Member Join Date: October 21, 2008 Posts: 51	Ironically, just this weekend.... I was at the range, shooting my 9mm. I had the gun pointed toward the ground in front of my me and had my hand on the trigger ready to raise up for another shot. I know better, and haven't had an nd in my life.....up to this point. It hit the ground, but I defintely was not planning to shot. I was embarrassed to the say the least, and a bit humbled.

February 4, 2009, 07:17 PM	#93
curt.45 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2008 Location: Fort Wayne Ind. Posts: 866	seems this guy had a AD http://www.jg.net/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...919/1002/LOCAL

February 5, 2009, 12:27 AM	#95
Webleymkv Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 10,446	Without going into all the details or getting into a debate of semantics, I'll say that I've had a few unintentional discharges over the course of my life. In each and every case, the bullet went harmlessly into a safe direction with no harm to anyone except the fact that my ears rang.

February 5, 2009, 02:08 AM	#97
SW1911CT Member Join Date: January 3, 2009 Location: Raleigh Posts: 90	ND vs. AD? Stupid nitpicking we're all talking about the same thing here come on... I shot a gouge out of my entertainment system and it bounced down into the wall space, didn't go out the other side. I felt like a real a hole that day. I don't think I will ever do that again. Stupidest part was I meant to pull the trigger, I just didn't mean to have one in the pipe!! Last edited by SW1911CT; February 5, 2009 at 02:09 AM. Reason: sp

February 5, 2009, 02:29 AM	#99
308win Junior Member Join Date: February 5, 2009 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1	AD's Today, in the military there is nothing called an accidental discharge only a negligent discharge is referenced when a round is discharged at a non-welcomed time.

February 9, 2009, 09:29 AM	#100
JustKev55 Member Join Date: January 8, 2009 Posts: 66	Never I've never discharged any firearm unintentionally. I learned, at an early age, to never treat any rifle, shotgun, revolver or pistol as being empty. I personally check every firearm I handle the minute I pick it up. Always have. And I intend to continue that habit. Will I never have an accidental/unintentional discharge of a firearm? I pray that I won't but know that it can happen to every person out there who handles a firearm. Keep that muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times ladies and gents, and I say this as a reminder only. Keep it safe and live to play another day.

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