Just had an ND

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The safety issue is being beat to death. Suffice to say.

1. Following the four rules perfectly will result in NO NEGLIGENT DISCHARGES EVER.

2. Humans are fallible! That is why there are FOUR rules. Should you mess up on ONE of them the other THREE will prevent you from doing irreparable harm.

3. It takes cajones to step up to the plate and admit error. Thanks to the OP for doing so.

That all said THIS is what peaked my interest...

I used the slide lock release to drop the slide, and as per usual, pulled the trigger to put the spring at rest.
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There is absolutely no reason to do that. The weapon is designed to be left in the ready to fire state. If you wish to leave the chamber empty then fine but DO NOT PULL THE TRIGGER.

Mechanically you are accomplishing nothing since with properly designed springs it is CYCLES which result in fatigue far more than STAIN in any one position within design limitations.

From a human elements standpoint you are conditioning yourself to "Drop Slide, Pull Trigger." You have probably done this time and time again and the basic neuro-impulses are burned into your brain. Hence when you went through your "routine" as you always do your body did exactly what you had trained it to do on autopilot in that situation (going to bed), "Drop Slide, Pull Trigger."

Never pull the trigger when you do not have a valid reason to. Relieving strain on the spring is NOT a valid reason.

In addition to the safety advice you have already been given you need to immediately "re-train" yourself to NOT pull the trigger on that Glock when you put it to bed each night.
 
When doing an "administrative" load or unload which is conducted under anything other than hostile conditions, we were taught to add two steps that might be of assistance to some who currently don't do it.

1. Lock slide to the rear and then physically (with a finger) and visually inspect the chamber to make sure nothing is lodged in there. The finger part helps if it is low light.

2. When loading the weapon watch the round,or no round, depending on what you are doing, go into the clear chamber.

I am not talking about combat reloads, tactical reloads, etc. Those should obviously be executed as quickly as you can. When you are doing and administrative upload/download, you have all the time in the world.
 
I almost had a ND a few weeks back, which would have ended quite badly if it happened...
Friend of mine wanted to take a picture of his Israeli chick friend with my AK47, god knows why... So I started emptying rounds from the magazine. Unfortunately, either being distracted by those around me or from the double column design hiding one of the rounds from view, the magazine still had one round in it when it was inserted into the weapon... Luckily for me I make a habit of pulling back the charging handle at least 3 times and then visually inspecting the chamber before I hand it off to anyone... Should of seen my surprise when a brass 7.62x39 came flying out of the ejection port on the second pull... Had my "system" of checks not been in place, someone could very realistically have been hurt cuz those round laugh in the face of common household walls... Ive been mentally kicking myself ever since...

I guess the point of this is, as others have said, set a system down for handling your weapon... Making a few mistakes in sequence is a lot harder to do than only making one... Mistakes will happen, and I made mine...
And dont ever let your friend take pictures of his girl with your gun at a party full of anti-gun liberal hippies... That just ends badly :P
 
Scary. Personally, as a rule I never dry fire a pistol with a magazine in place. When I put my "nightstand" pistol away after cleaning, I lock the slide, inspect, release the slide, pull trigger and then insert fully loaded mag. And when I take it out to go to the range, the first thing I do is drop the mag, lock the slide and inspect. Been doing it for years and, to me, its a very safe process.

I don't understand what the point is of inserting an empty magazine while at rest. Better to just know that every mag you insert is loaded. No confusion then.
 
Please understand.

I commend the OP for using his event to educate and remind. Admitting fault is something that people weak of character rarely ever do, and I feel that the OP's post speaks very well of them.

My only point is that we need not accept that everyone will eventually have an ND, regardless of carefulness.

I apologize if I seemed to imply anything else.

VR

Matt
 
I had a similar situation occur... It took about two days for the ringing in my ears to stop. I will NEVER make the same mistake again. It honestly put the fear of God into me!

My ND also happened with a Glock (G23). I was pre-occupied with the TV while disassembling my gun. The trigger was already in the "fired" position as I proceeded to push the slide forward and off. It got stuck about half way. I first thought that it had come off the rail, so I forced it back into the original position.

Well... the reason it got stuck had nothing to do with the rail. The loaded magazine in the gun was the actual problem. As I kept most of my focus on the TV I jammed the slide back which then chambered a round. I then pulled the trigger and recieved one of the biggest suprises of my life! Luckily the JHP round fired harmlessly into a bookshelf where it lost most of its energy. I think I was in shock for the next 30 min. It makes me shutter everytime I think about it, but I wont be forgetting it anytime soon!

The fact that it was a Glock had nothing to do with it. Any other gun being taken down would have had the safety off. It was my own stupidity that led to the accident. Lesson learned :o
 
Just outa curiosity, do you have to file a police report for a ND? I mean, if a neighbor hears it and calls the cops and they show up askin what happened... I guess I mean are there legal ramifications assuming no one gets hurt?
 
^^^wow. Like I said in my last post, the magazine is the very first thing I remove before doing anything else to a pistol. Its amazing to me to think that someone would start cleaning a pistol without removing the magazine first, regardless if they thought it was full or not.
 
PAX said:
Thereby guaranteeing that when you make a predictable human mistake, and the gun is loaded when you don't expect it to be, you will put a hole into someone you love or at least whom you don't intend to kill.

The first rule is all guns are always loaded. Some people state it as treat all guns as if they are loaded, and that's perfectly fine too. What that first rule simply means is that the safety rules always apply to every gun and in all circumstances, no matter who has "checked" it, no matter where you are, and no matter what you intend to happen when you handle the gun. It doesn't mean "if I think it's unloaded, then I can carry it around with my finger on the trigger while it's pointed at my toddler." It doesn't mean, "if I think it's unloaded, then I can point at my own left hand while pulling the trigger so that I can look cool while disassembling the gun."

The rules are designed to prevent this kind of thinking -- not encourage it!
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Please don't get me wrong. I never said that I'm careless about where the muzzle of my firearm goes when I know its unloaded. I don't point it at ANYTHING that doesnt want it to be pointed at. I completely see where the first rule comes from, and if its followed, it would be a great rule to prevent a ND.

However, there are times in training or practicing where you have to point the weapon at something you don't actually intend to shoot. Like dry firing, or practicing drawing from the holster. And I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but I believe that if both parties agree to it, and both parties have checked the weapon, that it's okay to point a weapon at another person during training, or demonstrations. I mean, they even make plastic drop in barrels now just for the added security, so that you can use a real firearm in training demonstrations. This is just how I was taught, so if it makes me a danger or a threat, then thats your opinion. When I was in my firearms class, the instructor taught us that the muzzle of the firearm ALWAYS has to pass over something. Whether it be the floor, the ceiling, your own leg when its in its holster on your waist, you're ALWAYS point it at something you dont intend to shoot. He also taught us that the gun CANNOT physically go off unless you do something to make it go off, like PULL THE TRIGGER. That being said, if someone takes a loaded weapon, sitting in a holster, and places the weapon, holster and all on the table, and the muzzle is pointed in my direction, this doesn't make me uneasy (assuming of course he/she didnt do it intentionally). I mean, come on, Im paranoid about firearms, but I'm not THAT paranoid to the point where I'm afraid of the weapon even when its so blatantly obvious that its unloaded, or I have to worry about it firing itself.

I definately see where you're coming from in your statement that this is why the first rule is there, but like I said, please dont mistake me for someone who goes around pointing the firearm at everything and everyone just because its not loaded. I definately use common sense and display some form of cautiousness and courtesy even around unloaded firearms.
 
I don't point it at ANYTHING that doesnt want it to be pointed at.
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So if someone says, "Please point your gun at me." you would?

but I believe that if both parties agree to it, and both parties have checked the weapon, that it's okay to point a weapon at another person during training, or demonstrations.
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That's scary...and not NEARLY good enough for me. Sorry. That's what they make plastic replicas for.
 
I can still replay the cartoon in my mind from over 40 years ago I might have been 15.I had just approached my first big game animal down.We loaded up the animal,and drove back to town.Was hanging it up to skin.
Handed my Rem 700 7 mag to my little brother,told him to take it in the house.
The I said "Come back here" I just felt like I should go through the "formality" of sending him in with an open breech.
I can still see that loaded 7mag round spinning through the air.I had just looked at what a 160 gr Sierra does to a human sized antelope when it hits shoulder.I approached the down critter rifle hot,then set it down.It rode home that way.
Sure,some of us are too perfect to mess up.Or some of us think we are,and just haven't gained enough experience,yet.
Do eveything right,and still,never forget a death ray comes out the muzzle.
 
GLP Standard "I believe that if both parties agree to it, and both parties have checked the weapon, that it's okay to point a weapon at another person during training, or demonstrations."

As unlikely as it may seem, a mistake is still possible and in this case it could surely get somebody hurt or killed.

Never point a weapon at somebody or something your are not willing to destroy.
 
This is why I have no fear of guns whatsoever, but I'm terrified by people with guns outside of a structured range environment.

P.S.- I put a .22 round through a house as a kid and scared the living sh*t out of me, which makes me hyper-paranoid about checking chambers before releasing the trigger.
 
And I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but I believe that if both parties agree to it, and both parties have checked the weapon, that it's okay to point a weapon at another person during training, or demonstrations.
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Yes, that's the procedure this person followed: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/dea-agent-shoots-himself-with-his-glock-40/1055649446 I'm sure he thought he was following a safe procedure when he unloaded his gun, checked it, and then also had another person check it.

What he did might have even been his department's policy, but ... well, it wasn't safe, and it isn't safe, to point functional firearms (even unloaded ones) at body parts belonging to human beings whom you are not willing to shoot. I'm glad it was only his own leg that got shot, and not the chest or head of a training partner, or any of the children sitting in front of him.

By the way, there's neither glee nor sarcasm here. I'm not one to rejoice in the misfortunes of others, especially not some poor guy who injured himself in such a spectacular manner that he will literally never live it down because it was caught on video and went viral. There but for the grace of God and all that: people make mistakes.

Please don't think I'm flaming you. I'm really not. I am begging you to reconsider a dangerous habit, and giving you reasons why you might want to do so.

By the way, I agree with you about those plastic barrels. They're the cat's pajamas, all right. :) They turn a functioning firearm into a non-functioning replica which fits all of your gear, and allow you to do all the basic manipulations you'd ever want to do without endangering anyone.

pax
 
Just outa curiosity, do you have to file a police report for a ND? I mean, if a neighbor hears it and calls the cops and they show up askin what happened... I guess I mean are there legal ramifications assuming no one gets hurt?
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No LEO's ever showed up in my situation. It was strange because I live in pretty nice neighborhood and it happened around 8pm. You'd think somebody would have called the cops.

I actually sat in disbelief for a couple hours, waiting for a knock on the door. Fortunately that never happened. I wasnt about to call and tell on myself either :)
 
I know of no police or military firearms instructor that teaches you to handle the weapon as you did. I see no reason to drop the hammer/striker and several reasons not to. Reconsider your method of storage. Your hunting experience isn't helping you in this case.

Someone else mentioned administrative procedures for unloading. My agency is taught to do the following:
1. Drop the magazine.
2. Rack the slide five times.
3. Lock the slide back.
4. Visually inspect the chamber.
5. Physically check the chamber.
6. Show it to a buddy on your left and then a buddy on your right to verify. (At home you don't have a buddy, so check it three times. Count in your head and say "it's clear" or "it's empty" each time.)

PS I won't admit to doing something very simliar with a 22 rifle when I had a clean face and couldn't buy beer.
 
Sixer!

you are wrong... that IS a Glock-related ND...

you see, even WITH a loaded mag in it, you do not need to pull the triggeer in ANY of my Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Ruger, or Dan Wesson, semi-auto pistols...

you can't take them apart with the mag in, so THAT part would be the same... BUT, you don't have to pull the trigger and THEREFORE, your Nd IS Glock-related...
 
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