A sobering event (a long post)

C

Cobra 4-6

New member
I thought long and hard about posting this. Hopefully, it will be taken in the spirit it was written and not be the trigger for a 'flame war'.

First, a little about me. I'm mid-50s, a former Army Captain with 3 yrs in Nam, have handled weapons my entire adult life. I've never had an AD, never hit anything I didn't aim at and never (to my knowledge) swept anyone with the muzzle of a weapon (unless intended). I've been carrying legally for about 20 years in various locales.

The other day I received a Hogue Handall for my HK USP Compact 40. I carry the HK because of its external safety; I like the extra degree of certainty and I have trained myself to flick off the safety during a draw.

Before installing the Hogue, I removed the mag and ejected the chambered round. I then visually inspected the weapon, as I always do. After installation, I hefted the weapon, aimed it where I knew it to be safe and dry-fired it. Obviously, as I'm sure you've already guessed, the pistol discharged. The round went through my office wall and into the storage room adjacent to my office.

I should explain that I own a computer software business, this happened on a Sunday and I was alone in the office. Further, I NEVER remove my pistol from my briefcase when I'm not alone in the office. Also, I long ago determined where the pistol should be aimed when dry-firing (not at a window, not towards the street, etc.).

I guess that I re-loaded the mag and chambered a round without even being conscious of the fact. It was a VERY sobering event. Even though one part of my training disappeared, at least the part that taught me where to aim the weapon remained. The outcome could have much worse. I still, even after 2 days, cannot remember loading and chambering.

If you have something constructive to add, please do; but, please, no flames.

[This message has been edited by Cobra 4-6 (edited May 23, 2000).]
 
Thanks for posting.

Just goes to show that no matter how long we have been handling weapons, no matter how safe we try to be - **** sometimes happens.

It also goes to show that if you follow ALL of the safety precautions of gun handling - the chances are slim that anything bad will happen.

Case in point above. The gun was pointed in safe direction so that when discharge did occur - nothing was in danger.

Good Post. These kinds of stories are helpful in that they keep me on my toes.

------------------
Thane (NRA GOA JPFO SAF CAN)
MD C.A.N.OP
tbellomo@home.com
http://homes.acmecity.com/thematrix/digital/237/cansite/can.html
www.members.home.net/tbellomo/tbellomo/index.htm
"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression.
In both instances there is a twilight when everything remains
seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all
must be most aware of change in the air - however slight -
lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
--Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
 
*Whew*

Be glad that it happened when and how it did. No flames from me, I've had 2 close ones myself.

There are FOUR rules of gun safety. If you follow all four, the likelihood of someone being seriously injured/killed is as close to zero as it possibly can be.
 
Thanks for sharing Cobra. Your post illustrates the adage about those who have, and those who will, but more important is your point about multiple layers of safe practice. They're there precisely to backstop the shooter in the event that one rule is disregarded, the others may save your butt. In this case "always keep it pointed in a [relatively] safe direction" prevented injury (hope you didn't ventilate your CPU :)) when rule 1 failed. Glad everything turned out OK, and thanks again for the reality check.M2
 
Cobra,
You are a fine man.
You admitted a mistake that will make us all more careful. Right out in the open with NO excuses.
You had a brain fart that made you forget that you had put a round in the chamber. HOWEVER, you automatically pointed the pistol in a safe direction BEFORE you pulled the trigger. I'm sure that you feel badly about this, but look at it this way. I'd bet my bottom dollar that this will NEVER happen to you again, and by admitting this little incident you have made us all safer and more careful.
I salute you, sir.

Will
 
Coinneach:

"Cobra, no flames here. You've just reaffirmed the old adage about two types of shooters."

Sorry, what are the two types of shooters?
 
The two types of shooters are those shooters who have already had their Accidental Discharge, and those shooters who are going to have theirs any day now.

You done good, Cobra. No flames here.

LawDog
 
Been there, done that. The memory makes me shudder but like you I had picked a "safe" place to point the pistol before I "wet-fired." Thanks for the post and welcome to TFL.
 
Cobra,

So the sequence of events was:

1) Cleared the weapon (You're sure the chamber was empty, right? You saw the chambered round eject and the empty chamber afterwards? I'm not trying to be accusatory; I'm just trying to rule out a mechanical failure to eject when you opened the slide.)

2) Installed the Handall

3) Inserted the magazine and chambered a round

4) Aimed and fired a round through the wall

So after the discharge, you had a loaded magazine inserted, the slide in battery, a round in the chamber, and the hammer cocked, right?

I'm just trying to figure out what the problem was. If you're positive about step #1, then it must be that you performed step #3 without thinking about it, right?

Were you rushed, tired, distracted or otherwise impaired in your ability to concentrate?
 
Matt VDW:

I guess, after thinking about it, is that I let my mind wander. Sometimes, when we do a procedure enough times, we sometimes are able to do it on auto-pilot. That is all I can come up with. I am now officially out of the auto pilot business!

There was no mechanical failure; it was operator failure, pure and simple. Once the round was fired, I removed the mag and unchambered the new round. I then went bullet hunting.

[This message has been edited by Cobra 4-6 (edited May 23, 2000).]
 
No flames from this child either, but I can relate to the stunned disbelief:
A close friend, who was well schooled in firearms safety and handling, had just picked up a new Browning HP, and was dying to show it off.
(Now, unbeknownst to me, he had undergone a root canal 3 hours prior, and was under the influence of codeine. Had I been informed of that little fact, I'd have insisted he wait for a more suitable time!)
He dropped the mag, retracted the slide & locked it open; checked the chamber, then inserted the mag & released the slide stop. Before I could say a word, he drew a bead on the corner of the ceiling and "BAM!"
He quiclky put the weapon on safe, & slid it under the couch. It was THEN he informed me of his impaired condition, and asked for my help in tracing the bullet path (Fortunately it stuck in a truss of the one story home!)I unloaded the HP, and took the ammo with me upon leaving, promising to give it back when he was in a more suitable frame of mind.
This happened over 20 years ago, and I still have not let him forget it!
We are human, and as such, will err on occasion....but by practicing the 4 rules of safe firearms handling, we can minimize any damage caused by our mistakes!
 
No flames from this quarter either. Last year I was showing a friend one of my pistols. Having some of them loaded (chambered round) and others not, I didn't remember which ones. I removed the arm from the safe, released the loaded magazine, and began to hand it over to him. Remebering ALL my safety training, I quickly brought the gun back under my control to pull the slide to the rear and lock it, handing it back to him butt first. As the slide came back, a chambered round flew out! Needless to say, except for the one I choose each evening to use as a home defense weapon, ALL my guns are now unloaded in the safe, but treated as if they are loaded. "All guns are always loaded all the time."

------------------
Safe shooting - PKAY
 
The four rules are there. Just like how the government *should* be, they act on a balance of power sort of. Thanks for the post. Personally, I will always now be even more attentive. Things happen, and they always happen when you aren't expecting them. Your post will drive me to be of an "expecting mind-frame." If it can happen to YOU, it can easily happen to me. That's a major wake up call to me. Thank you!!


Hueco
 
No flames from me, either. I had my C.D. (I call them "careless discharges) with a Colt .45, while unloading it, in my office at home. Blew a hole through a very nice walnut desk. This after approximately 250,000 .45 rounds in practice and competition.

What's that old saying? "Familiarity breeds contempt."

To this day, I'm not exactly certain how I had that C.D., but I did. At least I was following rule #1. Never point a gun at anyone unless meaning to shoot that person.

J.B.
 
The very first training session I ever
had when I got back into using handguns
was from a police officer friend. He
was so highly respected that he was
contracted to train virtually all of the
area police; even those in other depart-
ments.

What sticks in my mind was how he ALWAYS
performed a "finger check" of the chamber.

After visually inspecting to see the gun
empty, he would insert his finger into
the chamber. I thought that odd..had
never seen it before.

Since he was the expert, I took up the
practice.. Lo and behold, a few days ago,
I was fiddling with my government model.

I had inadvertantly chambered a round.
Was getting ready to dry fire when that
little voice said "finger check".

Yup. I narrowly avoided an A.D.

Thank goodness for the finger check
because I would not have liked to explain
to my wife why the tv needed to be
replaced.

Funny thing, I never see anyone else doing
this...I, though, will continue the
practice.
 
Cobra,
No flames from me. Your post is a good reminder that accidents WILL happen. If someone with your background and experience can have an accidental discharge it can happen to anyone. Thanks for sharing your "sobering experience".
 
No flames here either. Guns are tools and sometimes, no matter how cautious you are, things happen. I've had accidents in cars, I've had bits of metal from a drill fall onto my skin (metal heats up fast when it's being drilled!), etc.. But all things have come out well due to following the other rules of safety (in the car, using the seatbelts; wearing eye protection while drilling). With guns I am somewhat overly cautious. I will check and double check (sometimes triple check) the chamber before dry firing or giving the gun to others to view. In the mental health world I guess I would be "Obsessive/complusive". When handed a gun I will check/double check the chamber. Not that I've had my AD yet... but I've seen friends that have. First it scares the s**t out of you, then you change your underwear, then you learn and educate others. We learn from other peoples mistakes as well as our own. Thank you for sharing. USP45usp
 
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