Hydra-Shok vs. Plate glass windows

M

maxinquaye

New member
An essay on stupidity.....

Wow.

Well, I certainly can't sleep. Seeing how I just explained to the four kind officers who showed up at my door how I could have possibly been STUPID enough to have shot my plate glass window while dry firing.

I have had four years of USMC training on firearms safety, in additon to a few civilian courses. Yet, somehow, a round found it's way into the chamber while I decided to dry fire.

This all happened about an hour ago, and since I was sitting on the floor and aiming up, the round has not been found yet. No charges have been pressed, but I'm praying that I don't wake up to the police telling me that that round ended up in some crib a mile away. Or get sued by the owner of the car I shot.

Perhaps I'll get lucky and the worst is over. In that case, all I'm out is the cost of a double pane sliding glass door and all my neighbors (yes, I live in an apartment) thinking I'm a moron.

Which I suppose I am.

Moral of the story - NEVER get lax on gun safety. If you are dry firing, make sure the clip and rounds are AWAY from the gun, preferably in another room or something. And always, always be aware if there is a round in the chamber or not.

I hope this is all over, that the round did not hit anyone or anything. I hope this will be something to laugh about in a year.

Wish me luck.
 
So did someone else call the cops?

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"Anyone feel like saluting the flag which the strutting ATF and FBI gleefully raised over the smoldering crematorium of Waco, back in April of ‘93?" -Vin Suprynowicz
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by deanf:
So did someone else call the cops?
[/quote]

Thats what I want to know. Girls upstairs make so much friggin' noise, they wouldn't know if anything smaller than a .38 went off down here. :D

hmm.. maybe I should shoot at the ceiling instead of using the broomhandle..

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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
 
KaMaKaZe-- NOT funny. (Sorry; my sense of humor is very undeveloped about some things.)

maxinquaye-- Good post. Firearms safety is utterly important at EVERY level, in EVERY situation. You make a very good point in stating that the absolute best case scenario is that you're out some expensive personal property damage in a double-hung sliding glass door, and that you're universally thought of as a dummy by your neighbors.

Worst case scenario is so bad we don't even want to consider it. I'm glad for you that it isn't any worse than it is, and that you will take it seriously in conducting your life in the future. I'm also very grateful that you shared your experience with us.

This gaff was just an act of complacency. People, before you judge, remember: you must be vigilent about safety ALL THE TIME. A slip is easy, and thus means we MUST NOT SLIP!

Even the best case scenario hurts us all.

Regards,

L.P.
 
Just be glad you weren't watching some kind of video and dryfiring at your TV.
 
Ok Since We're Confessing.

Forgive me Board for I have sinned...

I have broken the Second Commandment By think a firearm was unloaded.

I was cleaning my .45 and deciding if I should have some work done on it.

I Dropped the Mag.
I racked the Slide.
I looked in the Breach.
I set the gun down.

I picked up the magazine and unloaded the rounds in it. I then reloaded it with another type.
I put the magazine down.
I read a bit in a tech manual.
I picked up the gun to test the trigger pull.
I racked the slide.
I Pulled the trigger.
I shot a hole in the wall.

I made the mistake of not being fully conscience about my weapon, and when I was done with the magazine, I must of placed it in the weapon with out thinking about it. I later found the round between two pillows. about 12 inches way from my head. Spent the rest of the day getting some drywall to fix the hole. The only thing that saved me was the FIRST Commandment of Firearms, "Thou Shalt never point a gun at anything you don't intend to destroy."
 
Yes, someone did call the cops, but since it was 3 A.M. I'm hoping that it went for the most part unnoticed. They told me that only one person had called.

I did not get any charges pressed on me. From the way they were speaking, I think I definitely COULD have been arrested.

Tragically, one of the officers told me that just last week one of their deputies had accidentally shot himself in the fleshy part of the hand while cleaning his service pistol. On the other hand, (no pun intended), if that had not happened to one of their own, and so recently, I think I would have probably been arrested last night.

Meiji, that's pretty much what happened here. I'm an insomniac, and a lot of times I will dry fire my Glock when I cant sleep. I took the mag out, cleared the chamber, and practiced aiming ay my NRA sticker stuck to the window. At some point, I must have paused, perhaps intending to stop, and slapped the magazine in without noticing. BOOM.

Well, guess I'll go back to sweeping the glass up now, and calling the office to see how much that window's gonna cost.
 
The point is......... did you learn from this?
I am waiting for something stupid like this to happen to me. I did get lax at the range last weekend once, and fired when I didn't mean to. Not exactly the same, but still an unwanted discharge. Believe me, I learned!

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"Any world that I'm welcome to.....Is better than the one I come from"
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Long Path:
KaMaKaZe-- NOT funny. (Sorry; my sense of humor is very undeveloped about some things.)[/quote]

Um.. I believe that was supposed to receive a grin:
disturbed.gif



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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
 
MAD MAX.
You ain't alone been there done that. I shot through wall and into shower, no problem the tile contained the acp round. BTW what caliber was it?

Maybe you just have an unconsious hatred of the nra like "RUGER 45" ;)

KaMaKaZe, "Girls upstairs make so much friggin' noise, they wouldn't know if anything smaller than a .38 went off down here." :p Talk about a hot foot.

[This message has been edited by oberkommando (edited August 14, 2000).]
 
Glad to hear everything's OK, so far. Best wishes.

Do a search on TFL for AD's / ND's. You'll find similar stories from time to time. It does make clear how important the 4 firearm safety rules are ... in every TFL member story I recall, the result was embarassment, but no injuries ... because one of the remaining safety rules saved the day.

Thanks for the reminder.

How did they determine it was your apartment, at 3am?

Live and let live. Regards from AZ
 
Well, no calls / visits from LEO's today, so I am assuming that the round found it's way into someone's yard or something.

WHEW

oberkommando: It was a .40 135 grain Hydra-Shok. Went through two panes of heavy glass on my sliding patio door like butter, completely shattering the whole thing. No nice round hole. I have a renewed respect for the destructive power of handguns.

Jeff Thomas: The way my apartment is laid out, we are on the second floor and my apartment looks in to a courtyard. Anyone walking by who bothered to look could see the absence of glass in the door. Combined with the fact that I would have to call the apartment office to get the the door replaced and I am an existentialist who takes responsibility for everything in my life anyway, I was waiting on the steps for the cops when they shoed up (all 4 of them). I was sure someone would call, and felt that trying to cover up would only exacerbate the situation.

I'm relatively confident that this will be one of things I recall and laugh about, having learned a great lesson, and I appreciate you guys being here to let me talk about it. I'm sure it seems like a trifle thing, but it is nice to hear feedback from people who are less prone to judge, and offer advice instead.

STAY SAFE!
 
P.S. Wanted to add that, surprisingly enough, the cops were surprisingly understanding and seemd pro-gun, which was a relief here in Kali. Only one of them seemed to have a bad attitude, and the other three were VERY professional and even joked around a bit when they saw how dispondant I was at the sheer stupidity of what I had done. The first officer asked to come in, looked around, asked what kind of gun it was. I told him Glock 27, he said "Nice gun, I have one myself." He then asked to see it, and asked to remove the barrel while he was there. I saw no problem with that, especially since he did not put in his pocket or anything, but just set it down away from the rest of the parts across the room.

After seeing that shattered door, and considering the fact that I had already had an AD for the day, I would have wanted the damn thing disassembled myself if I were in his shoes :)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by oberkommando:
KaMaKaZe, "Girls upstairs make so much friggin' noise, they wouldn't know if anything smaller than a .38 went off down here." :p Talk about a hot foot. [/quote]

Yeah, its a good thing I didn't mention the dog downstairs. I can only imagine what kind of response I would have received for that. :D

maxinquaye -- don't sweat it. You made a mistake, no one was hurt and you've reinforced a lesson to us all. I'm sure the utter embarassment (and cost to replace the door) should be a sufficent punishment. :D

Just remember -- it could have been worse.

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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
 
Maxinquae, not to be the hair shirt here, but you can but a 6" by 6" peice of bullet proof material to hang on your wall for dry fire practice. Gunsite used to sell them...I'd bet they still do.
 
It is pretty funny that the one officer removed the barrel. I guess he was not going to take any chances considering your recent history. :-)
 
Let me explain briefly why I wanted to know how they determined it was your apartment.

I also take responsibility for my actions. However, IMHO, it is prudent to get the 'lay of the land' before offering yourself up for punishment.

A knowledgeable attorney friend told me the following story. Recently, a fellow in Scottsdale had an ND while cleaning his sidearm. The round was contained in his home, but he called the police to let them know about the incident, and that everything was OK. Per my friend, this fellow has been charged with a felony by the DA ... criminal endangerment, as I recall. I'm sure of the facts, because this attorney is a shooter, CCW instructor and tries firearms cases from time to time.

The lesson I learned? Unless there is damage to people or other's property, keep your mouth shut. Don't expect to be treated fairly by the system.

May not sound 'proper' to some people, but I think a felony charge for an ND under such circumstances is way out of the ballpark of logic. IMHO.

Live and let live. Regards from AZ
 
Basically, if I pick up a gun and handle it, I recite the mantra

1. Remove mag/open cylinder
2. Rack slide TWICE
3. Check chamber
4. THEN, and ONLY then, point the gun at a backstop
or something that will hold it (like a TV, or a cushion seat)
and pull the trigger.

And ALWAYS do that, unless the gun was disassembled at the beginning,
and you didn't assemble it.

Anyway, an AD is always a good thing for the shooter - it tells him in
a VERY frightening way about gun security. Although, sometimes, at
detriment of others.
 
maxinquaye - I'm glad no one or thing was hurt except your pride and your wallet. Like the others have said, it only reinforces safety in those you tell the story to. So, I'm glad you were brave enough to tell us.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hope I never loose my paranoia about "unloaded" guns. I'm sort of like mussi, I check, double check and then check again. I don't know how many times I have checked the cylinder, find it empty, start to dry fire, and then a little nagging voice says, "Are you sure, did you really check it close enough?" and I open the slide again to triple check. Paranoia - it's a fear you can live with.
 
Jeff Thomas: Wow, the possibility that I could be charged with as a felon never occured to me. I agree with you, that is outrageous. In my case, and under the circumstances, I think it would have been very difficult to hide the fact that I fired the round. Considering that the round did not stay contained in the apartment, I simply felt that bieng up front about the whole issue was the best policy. I never meant to imply that you asked your initial question with anything other then honorable intentions.

I have certainly heard a lot of stories about the system treating people unfairly. Your right, I DID assume I would be treated fairly. Luckily, I was. I think maybe I'm a bit young and have never been screwed / personally known anyone close to me that has been screwed in a big way. But you are 100% correct in pointing out the fundamental flaw in my thinking that "assumed" everything would be fair, neat and tidy.

I'll have to work on that one. Healthy suspician is just that, *healthy*.
 
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