Learn From Their Mistakes

L

LordTio3

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Guns attract retards like lights attract moths. Spend some time on AR15.com if you have any doubt that this it the TRUTH.

You could have a 500 page thread if everyone contributed their stupid people with guns stories.

~demigod
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This is a quote from demigod on a separate thread and it got me thinking... one of the common practices I engage in when teaching a new shooter to handle weapons is to use anecdotes from my past involving idiots and their guns. I find that they are an incredible teaching tool; along the lines of "This guy right beside me did (X) and it was a completely negligent and dangerous practice. Can you tell me why?" It helps new shooters to be engaged and use their brains instead of just being "preached at".

I really do have a TON of stories about stupid people with guns, and some are even very educational. So I propose a thread involving anecdotes from our experiences that hold a grain of wisdom for those that need to learn or those of us that are still learning after many years. They can be simple or long as long as they are either A) Funny B) Provocative C) Educational D)Novel and Weird. -pretty much anything that will hold interest.

I'll go first with a simple one...

I was at my not-so-local range on a very busy day. I was shooting in the outdoor pistol booths and had a gentleman directly to my right and one a few lanes down to my left. I could clearly see that my neighbor was getting continually frustrated with his shooting. He was aiming at a silhouette target about 5 yards down and after every few rounds would grunt or cuss. He also seemed to be getting more FTEs than I would expect from a PT92. Finally after several minutes of his ongoing I asked him if everything was alright. He replied with, "This gun can't hit a damn thing."

I inwardly sighed and calmly replied that if you don't regularly clean your weapon after you shoot it, a common side effect is that it can become a bit inaccurate and have increased malfunctions. I then asked him if his guns internals were clean... and immediately regretted it after I saw the puzzled look on his face.

He slowly looked from me to his weapon, then muzzle swept me with his loaded gun, finger on the trigger, as he turned his wrist up so that he could look down the barrel and check if all of his internals were clean.

I was fuming and gave him a semi polite rip about trying to kill both of us, (which in hind sight probably wasn't the most constructive decision), before packing up and leaving for the day after about 20 minutes of mostly not shooting.

Pearls of wisdom?
1. No matter how incredibly stupid someone is with a weapon, don't fly off the handle when they have their finger on the trigger pointed toward you or them. Ask them assertively to change that fact, then tear away. You don't want to startle them into movement. You could be shot.

2. Clean your weapon. It'll work better.

3. When inspecting the internals of a modern firearm; bore lights work much better than hollowpoints for accurate observation.

Here's hoping toward that 500 page mark.

I know I have at least a couple of pages worth.

~LT
 
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After "a number" :) of years spent at ranges in at least four different states, in different parst of the country, I honestly cannot add anything that I can attribute to pure stupidity.

I could tell you about the guy trying to put 9x18 ammo into his new HK, but that was because the shop that sold him the gun gave him two boxes of "9mm ammo". He couldn't understand why it would not feed, and I had to look at the box before I "got it". It was his first gun, and I blame the shop for that one.
 
Most of my experiences with poor gun handling is directly related to malfunctions of the weapon. Many times, I have seen shooters sweep across a firing line while trying to clear a FTE.

I usually try to use "Please" as the first word when correcting others, It seems to smooth the critique.
 
It seems to me that someone who calls himself "demigod" might have a just a little ego problem.

Jim
 
I have stories of stupid people from many aspects of life.

It is not limited to gun owners. Truly experienced gun owners tend to be a better than average bunch.

I can tell you stories of how one employee ended up with his hand and arm pinned under a loader bucket, and niether he nor the other guy on the job site even had a key to start the machine. For a hint, it involved a car jack, and they were supposed to be inside the house hanging drywall.

Daryl
 
I've seen plenty of stupid things at the range, but if you REALLY want to see stupid, just get into boating. There are more idiots trolling our lakes and waterways than you'll ever see at a shooting range.
 
My favorite one was the other day at the gun store I work in... all our guns are kept clear, obviously, and I clear them before handing them to the customer. I won't go into the particular model of the firearm but it was one that less knowledgeable people new to firearms tend to gravitate towards due to price point. It was equipped with a laser on it.. He was checking it out after his portion of the paper work, when I went to do my section I noticed a red dot, making its way loosely around my vital organs.... in my head watching the red dot I am thinking OK thats my lung.... my heart now.... my other lung.... back to my other lung, I look to to see the customer pointing the firearm directly at me.....:rolleyes:
 
Here is one on me. Not about gun handling but about not being fully engaged on the loading bench.

I have been shooting a lot of .308 with 168 gr. Noslers and had a loading last week that shot very well.

I have been shooting H380 but the load last week was BLC(2).

I knew I needed more powder, so I bought 8lb of BLC(2) and got set up to load.

What I did was look at the wrong table.

I loaded 50 rounds using the the H380 load data and BLC(2) powder.

46.3 gr. of BLC(2) using the data for H380 charges the cases with about 3 gr. more than the maximum listed in my manual.

I keep good notes and I was trying to reconcile what I did. Then it hit me that I was looking at the wrong load data.

After kicking myself, I pulled all the bullets and dumped the powder and reset up to load them again.

I don't want to speculate what could have happened. I am glad I caught it.

Geetarman:(
 
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Geetarman, I constantly check, recheck and recheck again when I'm reloading. GEEZE there seem to be ten thousand and one ways to screw up!!:rolleyes:
 
I was at a local gunstore just talking to one of the guys that work there about some .38 special supplies, when two "young-ins" (probably closer to 20-21) walked up.

I'm sorry if this seems offensive at face value, but within 2 minutes of being near them, anyone could tell without a shadow of a doubt that they were two of the "Call of Duty" crowd. The first thing they did when they got up to the counter is ask if they could see an "ACR". :rolleyes: This is a store that specializes in hunting rifles and pistols. The rep begins engaging them in polite conversation and tells them that if they wanted to see a sporting black rifle, he's got an AR-15 by Rock River that's "Kind of like the M4". He walks to the end of the rack and pulls out a brand new A3 Flat Top. Its got free-float quad rail handguards, the 6 pos. stock, and a nice vertical fore-grip -beautiful.

He hands it over and asks the kid to be careful with this. The kid takes it and points it upward while he pulls out the magazine and looks inside the receiver (fine by me; but it is readily apparent that this kid has never properly handled a rifle). Him and his buddy start talking about how "The ACR and this M4 shoot the same bullets but the M4 is still more powerful," before discussing how many shots from all kinds of different guns it takes to kill someone. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

My rep friend is just quietly chuckling to me when they are finding the charging handle on the RRA. We talk a little more and I look over as the one holding the rifle fingers the bolt release on the side of the receiver. He must not have been expecting the movement/sound/shift because his first instinct was to drop the rifle mid-air and jump back. This poor brand new Rock River AR-15 A3 fell at least a foot onto the corner of the glass case before falling the other 3 feet to the ground. He looked quickly at his friend and they both turned around and quickly walked out of the store.

I walked over and picked up the rifle. There was a noticeable ding in the forearm and a nice scratch on the receiver. I appologized for the unfortunate incident, bought some shells and went home. Never saw those kids back in there again.

Pearls of Wisdom:
1. Besides the basic rules of gun safety, there is an overarching rule called:
The Golden Rule of Gun Safety and it is simple.
"Don't Be Stupid".

2. If you are handing a weapon, loaded or unloaded, to a person that seems or is completely green; try and offer a little more instruction on function and handling than "Just be careful". They really might not know ANYTHING about guns no matter how much they think they've learned from TV and Video Games.

3. Being good at Call of Duty does not mean that you have gained a single step in handling real firearms. Approach any situation with the appropriate level of respect no matter how much you THINK you know. Even experts can be surprised.


Keep em' coming.
~LT
 
My favorite does not concern weapons handling; however, it’s germane to the topic. One of our local idiots decided to make a statement concerning his constitutional right to carry a Firearm. He walks into our public Library openly carrying a pistol, which in itself is O.K.; however, this moron has to push it. He walks into the children’s section during “Toddler Story Time” and stands over a dozen soccer Moms with their children, hands on hips daring someone to challenge his right to Bear Arms. All he accomplished was to scare the hell out of a dozen Mother’s, Library staff and children who if they didn’t have any prohibition concerning the 2nd amendment… now do.

Way to further the cause ace.:barf:
 
They walk amongst us....

I enjoy the shooting sport. I do take care to not get shot by others intentionally or by accident. Went to local public range before deer season opened which was full of shooters with others waiting there turn. I was amazed to see individuals shooting at their targets while others at the same time walked down range to replace the old target directly beside the other guy that was still shooting. There was no barrier or wall between them. I politely SCREAMED OUT telling all that I did not want to see a killing and left the range........Lemmon
 
I was amazed to see individuals shooting at their targets while others at the same time walked down range to replace the old target directly beside the other guy that was still shooting. There was no barrier or wall between them.
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:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: That's tops so far...:eek:
 
I got a bunch of them, I know several idiots.

So there we are in the reloading room, sons, and BIL. I am sitting down with my back to them (trimming brass I think) and my BIL has a new gun, a Patriot pistol. I have admonished him before about chambering weapons inside and he thinks I am too harsh about safety sometimes. So now he is out to get my goat so with the pistol empty he racks the slide and I am supposed to react to the chambering of the shell, haha. I could hear that it was empty so did nothing but continue my task. When he finally asks why didn't I say anything and I tell him that I heard the emptiness. So he slips the mag back in and lays it down on the table. Ding dong his friend is here that went shooting with us a few times.

I go back to trimming and he is showing his friend his new pistol and I hear BIL say it's loaded to his friend as he hands it to him. I pause for a moment because I know my cue when I hear it! He racks the slide and there is no mistaking the warhead slipping into the chamber sound and I am turning and getting up and see him dropping the mag now and has the pistol pointed directly up at the ceiling. No time for words, I leaped across the room and grab his gun hand and take pistol. Friend "Dude its cool, I unloaded it" as I rack the slide and the round dumps onto the floor. His eyes go real big and he says dude thanks I was just about to pull the trigger. So we chat about sequence of operation...
 
I recently purchased a firearm from a pawn shop in my area whom I have dealt with before. Their policies had apparently changed and weapons are now taken from the "cage" where the firearms are on display to the front counter and sales handled by general staff.

After taking my weapon from me I was SHOCKED to watch not just an employee, but the manager repeatedly sweep me with the muzzle with his finger on the trigger. At one point he pulled the hammer back and pulled the trigger in a direction FAR too close to me. Outraged, I asked him calmly to stop pointing that weapon at me or he would no longer have my business. He became noticeably upset and started nearly yelling "Im not stupid, ok! The gun isnt loaded!". I explained to him that he had not checked the weapon, and even still, guns should always be pointed in a safe direction and treated like they were loaded. He responded with, "Yeah, im sure you know more about it than me pal.:rolleyes: look!" At that he dropped the magazine and showed me it was empty, obviously not understanding how to operate the slide to check the chamber. He ignored the rest of what I said, but at least quit pointing it at me.

As this was happening a woman brought in a PGO 870 to sell, saying it was her husbands. She took it out of the case and handed it to a woman behind the counter. She took it, raised it to eye level, and pointed it around the room at ALL of us. I sort of ducked out of the way as she shucked the slide and CA-CHUNK, CA-CHUNK, CA-CHUNK, CA-CHUNK- it was loaded with four shot shells. :eek:


I actually feel bad for completing the purchase (It was such a good deal!!:( ). The gun counter employee apologized to me and said it wouldnt happen again. I paid my money and said I will never spend another dime here until your employees receive some basic gun safety training.
 
I always check the chamber to make sure it is empty. I was at a gun show in KC and talking to a dealer there. He said one time he had some kids load one of his display guns while he was talking to another person.

The kids apparently loaded it and then moved on to another table. Although I have never read about an incident like this actually happening in any of the news media, I believe there was a post awhile back in which someone actually claimed to be at a gun show where it happened.

Saw a guy rushed in to the emergency room at Lackland AFB (Wilford Hall ?)with a shotgun wound to his side. He had been out hunting with some friends and they placed their shotguns in the bed of the p/u truck. When he went to get the gun, he pulled it to him, barrel first, and it discharged. (I do not know if it was his gun or a friends, but it was a nasty looking wound. Luckily it caught him on the side and not full gut on.)
 
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That might have been my post Uncle Buck,,,

It happened about two years ago at the Wanamaker (sp?) show in Tulsa,,,

I think the kids (punks) were charged with malicious mischief.
They were just walking table to table,,,
Loading one round in handguns along the way.

.
 
One thing that comes to mind happened a couple of years ago.

I'm lucky to have a very good gunshop where I am a frequent visitor and customer. I come into the store and walk back to the counter where they have the semis I wanted to look at.

Standing there are two young guys in new hunting clothes. The clerk hands a gun to the one on the right. He immediately points it at his friend's side and makes shooting motions with the gun accompanied by shooting sounds out of his mouth.

What I really couldn't believe is that not one of the clerks said a word. I took it upon myself to speak up and say that was a really stupid thing to do. I then walked out.

The next time I was there when this clerk happened to be there, he apologized for letting something like that happen and assured me that the staff had spoken about it and I wouldn't see anything like that happen again.
 
My most memorable happened while my teamate and I were working with a Middle Eastern militia outfit. Most of them were pretty professional, but there were more than a few, I'll be polite and say, less than stellar students. One evening after an uneventful patrol we were in the office of one of the leaders winding down and debriefing.

This leaders brother-in-law was sitting in a chair to my right and I looked over and noticed he had removed his sidearm from its holster. I watched him rack the slide and neatly catch the ejected round in his hand. He saw he had an audience so he turned to me grinning. He then dropped the magazine and caught it right before it hit the floor bringing it up twirling between his fingers. I wasn't sure where he was going with his little show until he decided that instead of hitting the hammer drop lever of his Sig he would just pull the trigger. I guess he thought he'd cleared the weapon. Instead he blew a hole in his brother-in-laws desk. Everyone who hadn't been watching the show jumped up pulling their own weapons and doing quick personal checks to make sure they hadn't been hit. The only one besides myself that didn't pull a weapon was his brother-in-law/leader. Looking closer I saw that there was more than one bullet hole in the side of that particular desk. My teamate and I started reffering to this style of gun clearing as the "Ahmad drill". I give him credit for at least pointing it at something non-living when he pulled the trigger. His bro-in-law and all his buddies found it a lot funnier than we did at the time, though we did manage to find humor in it once our pulses slowed down.
 
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