I am feeling like a complete fool today. I hope sharing my tale will help me feel a little better, but I doubt it.
I have been shooting since my father bought me my first .22 40 years ago and have never had an unintended (negligent) discharge until last night.
I was removing all of my rifles from the safe to check them and oil the ones that required some care. Call it spring cleaning. I was taking each one out, opening the action to verify that it was not loaded , examining it and then leaning it against the wall. My collection consists of a mixture of bolt action, lever action and semi-autos.
After nearly an hour of removing rifles and inspecting them, I was down to the last one in the safe. A pink stocked Remington model 597 that I had purchased for my daughter 10 years ago. This gun has been sitting in the back of the safe for years, unused. Realize that by this time I have checked and inspected 18 different rifles. This was the last one. As I pulled it from the safe, I noticed the mag was installed. I don't know why I did it, but instead of removing the mag first before checking the action, I reversed the order. I cycled the action, nothing ejected, so I removed the mag and pulled the trigger. CRACK! To my surprise I had loaded a round and fired the rifle!
The slug embedded itself into the header above my window. I am not sure why it happened? Was I tired? Was I thinking that there was no way that rifle had ammo in the mag? Was it because the gun has not been used? I don't know! All I know is that I am so sorry for messing up and scared that I could have hurt someone! Luckily I was alone and the rifle was pointed in a safe direction!
I have been thinking this through all night and I hope my story may help me and others to be more vigilant!
These are the lessons I have learned:
-This negligent discharge was put in motion years ago when I put the little .22 rifle into the safe with ammo in the magazine. I don't know when it was or remember doing it. It had to have been years ago! DO NOT EVER PUT A GUN WITH AMMO IN THE MAG IN A SAFE! You will forget!
-I should never take on chores like cleaning/inspecting multiple guns when I am tired or distracted. This is a chore to be taken on when I am 100% alert and with no distractions!
-And finally, ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT EVERY GUN IS TREATED AS LOADED AND POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION - NO MATTER WHAT!
I am 50 years old and have been shooting for 40 of them. This really shook me up! I hope others are smarter than I was last night!
I have been shooting since my father bought me my first .22 40 years ago and have never had an unintended (negligent) discharge until last night.
I was removing all of my rifles from the safe to check them and oil the ones that required some care. Call it spring cleaning. I was taking each one out, opening the action to verify that it was not loaded , examining it and then leaning it against the wall. My collection consists of a mixture of bolt action, lever action and semi-autos.
After nearly an hour of removing rifles and inspecting them, I was down to the last one in the safe. A pink stocked Remington model 597 that I had purchased for my daughter 10 years ago. This gun has been sitting in the back of the safe for years, unused. Realize that by this time I have checked and inspected 18 different rifles. This was the last one. As I pulled it from the safe, I noticed the mag was installed. I don't know why I did it, but instead of removing the mag first before checking the action, I reversed the order. I cycled the action, nothing ejected, so I removed the mag and pulled the trigger. CRACK! To my surprise I had loaded a round and fired the rifle!
The slug embedded itself into the header above my window. I am not sure why it happened? Was I tired? Was I thinking that there was no way that rifle had ammo in the mag? Was it because the gun has not been used? I don't know! All I know is that I am so sorry for messing up and scared that I could have hurt someone! Luckily I was alone and the rifle was pointed in a safe direction!
I have been thinking this through all night and I hope my story may help me and others to be more vigilant!
These are the lessons I have learned:
-This negligent discharge was put in motion years ago when I put the little .22 rifle into the safe with ammo in the magazine. I don't know when it was or remember doing it. It had to have been years ago! DO NOT EVER PUT A GUN WITH AMMO IN THE MAG IN A SAFE! You will forget!
-I should never take on chores like cleaning/inspecting multiple guns when I am tired or distracted. This is a chore to be taken on when I am 100% alert and with no distractions!
-And finally, ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT EVERY GUN IS TREATED AS LOADED AND POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION - NO MATTER WHAT!
I am 50 years old and have been shooting for 40 of them. This really shook me up! I hope others are smarter than I was last night!