OldMarksman
Staff
Many years ago I knew a man who had, among other things, two Ruger Super Blackhawk revolvers.
He kept one of them loaded for home defense. He kept the other one empty, and on Saturday evenings he would strap it on in time for the beginning of Gunsmoke, so he could try to outdraw Matt Dillon.
I'm sure you know where this is going.
His wife considered his antics to be stupid and immature. To no avail.
One fine evening, he strapped on his belt rig, lifted his whiskey glass with his weak hand, stood up, and prepared to draw.
BLAM!
Wrong gun.
The expensive color television set was destroyed, the picture window broken, and some of the bricks from the front of the house were visible through a hole in the breached wall in the yard on the green green grass of summer.
The bullet, or fragments of debris, ricocheted off the driveway and struck the automobile of a family who were arriving home across the cul de sac.
His wife came in screaming, but he could not hear her--at all. The neighbor ran over to investigate, but he could not be heard either. Nor could the shooter hear the arriving officers.
He suffered some major permanent, noise induced hearing loss.
All of the talk after that at the gunshop where the man worked part time for fun was about poor gun handling. The same man had been extremely cynical of a man who worked there who had caused damage when a new 870 that had been shipped with a shell in it went off in the store.
Firearm safety is a big part of the story, but we really should think a bit about just what we want to set off in the house, should the need arise.
He kept one of them loaded for home defense. He kept the other one empty, and on Saturday evenings he would strap it on in time for the beginning of Gunsmoke, so he could try to outdraw Matt Dillon.
I'm sure you know where this is going.
His wife considered his antics to be stupid and immature. To no avail.
One fine evening, he strapped on his belt rig, lifted his whiskey glass with his weak hand, stood up, and prepared to draw.
BLAM!
Wrong gun.
The expensive color television set was destroyed, the picture window broken, and some of the bricks from the front of the house were visible through a hole in the breached wall in the yard on the green green grass of summer.
The bullet, or fragments of debris, ricocheted off the driveway and struck the automobile of a family who were arriving home across the cul de sac.
His wife came in screaming, but he could not hear her--at all. The neighbor ran over to investigate, but he could not be heard either. Nor could the shooter hear the arriving officers.
He suffered some major permanent, noise induced hearing loss.
All of the talk after that at the gunshop where the man worked part time for fun was about poor gun handling. The same man had been extremely cynical of a man who worked there who had caused damage when a new 870 that had been shipped with a shell in it went off in the store.
Firearm safety is a big part of the story, but we really should think a bit about just what we want to set off in the house, should the need arise.