Explain this gun accident

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AL45

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A football player for the University of Alabama blew his finger off with a shotgun. He said he was tying a rope around the barrel and the stock so the gun wouldn't fall off of his lap. It was when he was tying the rope around the barrel that the gun went off. he said he never touched the trigger. None of this story makes any sense to me. How does tying a rope around a gun keep it from falling off of your lap? Why do you have a shotgun laying across your lap? How does a gun go off without pulling the trigger unless it has some severe mechanical issues?
 
Ah yes, the old rope around the gun on your lap with a blown off finger. Lol, seriously, I haven't a clue how these morons do what they do.
 
We may never know. It is fortunate that he only lost a finger.Being paranoid about safety is a good thing. If we get too comfortable disaster is just around the corner-Take care
 
Makes sense to me, trying to prevent a loaded shotgun from falling off your lap. They can be dangerous without safety ropes tied to them.

Dumb jock probably got a full scholarship, too.
 
According to another article, he was riding on a 4-wheeler. Obviously didn't have a scabbard or gun rack on the 4-wheeler.

Of course there is the other thing - this is an Alabama football player after all. They might can play great football, but ... :eek:
 
I just saw the article about an hour ago, it happened several days ago and is just now being reported. FWIW, he is from GA. He graduated from a local school here, plays for Alabama. I've known the kids dad since high school. We live in the same county and played against each other back in the 70's. Never met his son, but they are good people. Kid screwed up and isn't making excuses. Says it is no ones fault but his own.
 
Most of the people posting here probably never hunted. I don't hunt from trees, but I know of a lot of guys that dropped their guns while in a tree stand. It usually involves falling asleep first.
 
Not abnormal to tie a gun somehow when up in a tree stand, at least in the groups I have hunted with.
The trigger probably caught on a twig or clothing.
 
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Not abnormal to tie a gun somehow when up in a tree stand, at least in the groups I have hunted with.
The trigger probably caught on a twig or clothing.
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He wasn't in a tree stand. He was riding a 4-wheeler. Gun should not have been loaded AT ALL.
 
From what I read, he was tying a rope around the barrel and the stock.....probably a makeshift sling for the 4-wheeler ride. It would be interesting to know what kind of shotgun he was using. Maybe a H&R or other shotgun with outside hammers? Altho anything modern would have a hammer stop(all my external hammer S&Ss still need to have the trigger pulled even if the hammer is dropped from partially cocked). Did he loop the rope thru the trigger guard or did it catch somehow? In many of the reports I've seen, he claimed he was hunting....the later ones he states emphatically he was "target shooting". I'd assume the UofA lawyers advised him of local hunting regs regarding loaded weapons on 4-wheelers. Either way, his story is vague and has changed. Sounds like it coulda been one of those Redneck "here, hold my beer while I try this!" kinda things.
 
Maybe he needs some more training, he violated how many of the four rules?

First thing his dad should be asking him is why were you doing this with a loaded gun? One minute of time to unload the gun would have saved him the humiliation of having to explain what happened. He's also lucky that someone else didn't get shot while he was fumbling around with the gun.

Stupid mistake that will stay with him for the rest of his life! Hopefully there won't be any lasting issues that would have him shy away from firearms.
 
I will hold my opinion. All I see is one article and it says nothing about a 4 wheeler. You cannot believe half the news anymore.
 
I will hold my opinion. All I see is one article and it says nothing about a 4 wheeler. You cannot believe half the news anymore.
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from ESPN.....
Ball, whose left hand was heavily wrapped during Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl media day, said he shot his index finger off with a 12-gauge shotgun while riding four-wheelers during a hunting trip Dec. 15.
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from The Sporting News
Ball explained that he and a buddy were four-wheeling near Calhoun, Ga., two weeks ago when he decided to tie a rope around the gun to keep it in his lap.
Click to expand...

from AL.com, news directly from the UofA.
Ball was enjoying some downtime with a friend in the break before bowl practices, riding four-wheelers and doing a little hunting. They were riding along when it happened.
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In virtually all the accounts I've read, there was a 4-wheeler involved. Only change I saw to the story, was after the story first came out, Ball changed his story from hunting to target shooting, again, probably so he didn't get into trouble with a loaded gun on the 4 wheeler while hunting. This also tells me that Ball is probably not telling us the whole story. My opinion(not withholding) is he's lucky to be alive and that he didn't kill/injure someone else with his stupidity.
 
All we really need to know about this is that Mr. Ball did several ill-advised things with a shotgun, and that's without being sure that we know the whole story. Why was the gun loaded? Why did he think he needed it "on his lap" while riding an ATV? Why was it loaded? Why did he think tying a rope to it was a good idea? Why was it loaded?

There's already so much wrong with this picture that I don't think we'll gain anything from knowing more, and we certainly won't gain anything from speculating.

The young man is lucky it was "just" his finger, IMHO, and not his friend.
 
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