Bad habit = ND

J

jim8115

New member
Even though I know I will get beat up for this (deserve it ), I am going to post it . If it prevents even one accident, it will be worth it. First, I am not a rookie, have been shooting for 30 years, mix of autos and revolvers. We go to the range once or twice a week, and shoot one to two thousand rounds a month. Anyway, at the range I have developed a habit.. BAD... when i finish with my auto , either switching guns, or packing up, I clear the gun, then point it down range and pull the trigger, to be sure ( instead of visibly checking the weapon).
Anyway, yesterday, we decided to go to the range. It was getting late, and I was in a hurry to get packed up. I got my .40, dropped the magazine, and unloaded it. This is where it gets a little fuzzy ( i am still very scared / upset ).
Apparently, i did dot rack the slide and clear the loaded round. Pointed it down and pulled the trigger. It want off. I was terrified, ran into the bedroom, on the other side of the wall to check on my wife ( she was in there getting dressed ).
Thank God , no one was hurt.
 
Total damage was a laptop computer, a book, an afghan my wife made for me, and the chair it was draped over..... all in all, a small price to pay. I have to admit, it traumatized me more than you could imagine
 
I know of cases that have had much worse endings, and appreciate your willingness to take the criticism you are likely to get, so that you can prevent others from doing anything similar.

May I suggest you set up a dedicated clearing area in your house, where you know you have a safe backstop? A bucket of sand in front of a bookcase, something like that.
 
"May I suggest you set up a dedicated clearing area in your house, where you know you have a safe backstop? A bucket of sand in front of a bookcase, something like that. "

Believe it or not, I usually point them at a sofa that we dont use much, just out of habit.. not as good as a sandbag, but a fired round would go through the sofa, into the floor / crawlspace, therefore no one would be hurt... Like i said, i was in a hurry, distracted, whatever......but I think I may take your suggestion..............
 
"How is your wife handling this? "
Rather well. She loves guns/ shooting as much as me. She has 4 revolvers and is an excellent shot. But she has never liked autos. First response was " get rid of the auto ", but she is ok now. I explained, it was no fault of the gun. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. I PULLED THE TRIGGER on a loaded gun........
 
Well you got away with one thankfully. I'm pretty damm sure you won't do that again. Sometimes it takes a near miss to make us start thinking safety again. Simular thing happen to me but at the range. Thought the Walther P22 was empty and pointed it at the floor, pull the trigger and BANG, scared the s--t out of me and luckily no one was around to get hurt or see me. I can sure tell you I won't be letting my guard down again.
 
Am I just reading this wrong, or were you inside your house when this happened? Thank the Lord it was only some stuff that got hit by the discharged round! God is truly merciful.
 
"Am I just reading this wrong, or were you inside your house when this happened? Thank the Lord it was only some stuff that got hit by the discharged round! God is truly merciful. "

Yes, in the den
 
Hey, Jim, . . . same backstory, . . . been shooting over 50 years, . . . never an ND until just a couple years ago.

In the living room, . . . dark of the evening, . . . wife in the shower, . . . thought I had cleared my 1911, . . . put a round through the floor down into the crawl space.

We have a rug over that part of the floor now :D (me) :mad: (wife)

May God bless,
Dwight
 
Familiarity breeds contempt. Statistically, the more often you handle guns, the more likely this type of thing can happen.

No one was hurt and a lesson was learned. Slow it down.
 
It was getting late, and I was in a hurry to get packed up.
Click to expand...

This is when "schtuff" happens frequently. When we're in a hurry, stressed or tired. On the extreme, I've been dehydrated twice in my life. Once with the Army and once while hiking and the simplest task required extraordinary thought and took much longer than usual. But even distractions that put us out of our routine can lead to major problems. That's why I double/triple check things. A little compulsive, perhaps, but thanks to my training, I've never had any close calls. Will do everything I can to keep it that way.

Sounds like you aren't complacent as you do have a good routine in terms of keeping it in a safe direction. So put that into your calculation while you're beating yourself up. At least you did the safe thing in terms of only pointing it at objects you're willing to destroy while squeezing the trigger. Just saying, weigh all the possible outcomes on the spectrum of

IT NOT HAPPENING AT ALL <-----------> SOMEONE GETTING SHOT...DEAD

Your situation lays somewhere in the middle, more towards the left side I'd argue.

Why do you pull the trigger? I'm not familiar with this gun. You pull the trigger so the hammer isn't cocked?

How is your hearing after firing a gun indoors?

Seriously, learn from it and be very thankful/happy/satisfied that you practiced good discipline in aiming the weapon in a safe direction.

Thanks for the honesty.
 
I would venture to guess this happens much more than is reported. It takes a man to admit when he made a mistake and you have done that. I had a similar incident that luckily did not lead to injury, however scared the heck out of the wife and I. Consider the fact there was no injury in this situation a blessing. I hope it will resolidify the tenants of firearm safety in your mind as it did mine. There is never too little time to recheck a firearm before pulling the trigger to drop a hammer or to dryfire. Once the shot is fired you can't have it back.

These incidents can be traumatic. I recommend you take a moment to refect, relax, hug and kiss your wife, consider it lesson learned, and vow to never under any circumstances let it happen again. Worked for me.

Happy Holidays
 
I am glad no one was injured and thankful that you unselfishly posted of this incident. Safety requires constant vigilance and good habits! A reminder like this, often, teaches us the price of becoming lackadaisical or in a hurry with such important matters.

Thanks again, very much, and safe shooting to all.
 
Thanks for sharing. I will bet that NEVER happens again. You learned a valuable lesson that did not cost you as much as it could have.

I am glad you are ok.

Geetarman:D
 
There is a solution to this problem.

See Trigger Trap!, by John Chapman, SWAT Magazine, September 2011, p. 52.

This is the way I was taught. Pulling the trigger to verify a visually cleared weapon is clear, even in the barrel is just contrary to my version of firearm safety.

It is a good article and well written.

Opinions will, no doubt, vary. Especially from those who learned from the military. Fortunately, my father was of the same opinion and taught me before I got dipped and clipped.
 
Thanks for posting this, and I'm glad to hear that no one got hurt. It took some courage to admit what happened here.

I count on others to do these things for me, so I don't have to learn the hard way.
 
No one got hurt and you learned a valuable lesson. Other than being scared and embarrased, consider it a lesson well learned and move on. Thanks for sharing.
 
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