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Don't ever say it can't happen to you...

.40 Cal

.40 Cal

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I sure as hell did, and was humbled. I am hesitant to write this because I do not consider myself a novice gun owner, but for education purposes I will post my experience.

I had an accidental discharge today that put a 230 gr round of JHP into my carpet (thankfully I was alone in my house). This morning, I had cleaned several of my firearms. I gave 4 of my guns a light cleaning, but neglected to get a fifth (Springfield 1911). I had removed all the magazines from all 5 prior to cleaning, but I had forgotten I had chambered a round for my wife to keep while I was out on the trails yesterday in the forest. I always follow the rules of firearm safety, but today my head was in the clouds (I've been sick for a week now and am on anti-histamines). When I grabbed my 1911, I wanted to check for trigger grit to make sure I had cleaned out all the dust particles. I had not cleaned this one, even though I thought I had. Next thing you know... BANG!

Nothing serious happened, but I learned a valuable lesson: One weapon at a time! Once your done cleaning one, put it away and grab the next.

Flame away if you must, but I thought I'd share my experience in hope that it might keep you from making a similar mistake. It could happen to you, even though I never thought it would happen to me. I believe Legba said it once: if you handle loaded firearms enough, it will happen to you.

edited for spelling
 
J

jaredbelch

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I'm very glad you are alright, and no injuries came from this...

I worry about this happening all the time, and it really freaks me out. Especially since I live in an apartment and there isn't really a "safe" direction...
 
C

Carolina40

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just happy that no one was hurt

nice to see someone willing to go public with such an incident -- helps keep the rest of us on our toes.
 
L

Legba

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My usual way of expressing that sentiment is "if you throw the dice enough times, you'll crap out." That applies beyond table games at casinos. In the history of the company I work for, they have had something like 6 accidental/negligent discharges, and none of them by me. Not that it can't happen, obviously.

-ljp
 
I

IdahoCorsair

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Glad you're ok!

Chamber check. Then when you're about to pull the trigger for whatever reason, chamber check again. You can NEVER do it too many times. Glad you were following muzzle discipline though... the redundant rules paid off!
stay safe!
 
skidmark

skidmark

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.40 Cal wrote:
I had an[accidental] negligentdischarge today.
Click to expand...
I believe Legba said it once: if you handle loaded firearms enough, it will happen to you.
Click to expand...

There - fixed it for you.

Yep, it will eventually happen to just about everybody. Glad yours only killed a portion of the carpet. Hope the wife goes easy on you for ventilating her floor covering.

Only lecture you will get from me (not a flame) is the one my daddy always gave me: "There are too many folks out there repeating the same old one mistakes over & over. It's about time somebody came up with a new mistake."

stay safe.

skidmark
 
F

FogRider

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skidmark wrote:

There - fixed it for you.

Yep, it will eventually happen to just about everybody. Glad yours only killed a portion of the carpet. Hope the wife goes easy on you for ventilating her floor covering.

Only lecture you will get from me (not a flame) is the one my daddy always gave me: "There are too many folks out there repeating the same old one mistakes over & over. It's about time somebody came up with a new mistake."

stay safe.

skidmark
Click to expand...
If it makes your daddy feel any better, I have come up with a few novel mistakes. But that's a different story for a different day. Glad you did no serious harm .40 Cal.
 
E

Evil Ernie

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Well we know that alcohol and guns don't mix, now we've learned a new one!
Guns and anti-histamines don mix! Jeez, we just can't get away from the "anti's" can we?
Glad you're ok, I held a moment of silence for the carpet for ya...:celebrate
 
F

FightingGlock19

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, Kentucky, USA
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empty the chamber, lock the slide back, drop the magazine, check for an empty weapon visually & by tactile sensation, then move all ammo & magazines to another room. That's my drill from cleaning my weapons.
 
deepdiver

deepdiver

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It certainly can happen to anyone in a moment of distraction. As others said, glad you followed the other rules and there was no significant damage (except maybe to your pride).
 
E

eyesopened

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The important things are that no one was hurt and hopefully you've learned from this experience. I'm still relatively new to gun ownership so I'm "paranoid" when handling the firearms. I'm not scared of them, just havean extra bit of respect for them. I hope to never get complacent around them and treat them with less respect.
 
B

Bravo_Sierra

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.40 Cal wrote:
I sure as hell did, and was humbled. I am hesitant to write this because I do not consider myself a novice gun owner, but for education purposes I will post my experience.

I had an accidental discharge today that put a 230 gr round of JHP into my carpet (thankfully I was alone in my house). This morning, I had cleaned several of my firearms. I gave 4 of my guns a light cleaning, but neglected to get a fifth (Springfield 1911). I had removed all the magazines from all 5 prior to cleaning, but I had forgotten I had chambered a round for my wife to keep while I was out on the trails yesterday in the forest. I always follow the rules of firearm safety, but today my head was in the clouds (I've been sick for a week now and am on anti-histamines). When I grabbed my 1911, I wanted to check for trigger grit to make sure I had cleaned out all the dust particles. I had not cleaned this one, even though I thought I had. Next thing you know... BANG!

Nothing serious happened, but I learned a valuable lesson: One weapon at a time! Once your done cleaning one, put it away and grab the next.

Flame away if you must, but I thought I'd share my experience in hope that it might keep you from making a similar mistake. It could happen to you, even though I never thought it would happen to me. I believe Legba said it once: if you handle loaded firearms enough, it will happen to you.

edited for spelling
Click to expand...
There is never a good excuse for an ND... good you're okay, but man.... wow.
 
.40 Cal

.40 Cal

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COTEP FOREVER!, North Carolina, USA
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There is definitely no excuse for an AD/ND of this nature.My routine was interrupted, and my complacency and lack of respect kicked in.My carpet paid theprice. Thankfully, the roundwent inat about the same spot where my coffee table legstands. The round ended up under the carpet pad, I assume in full mushroom bloom because I was able to pound it flat with a hammer. If I play my cards right, I won't have to talk about it until after we decide to redo the carpet in that room. I will never lie to my wife, but I will do my best not to upset her (which always seems to end up hurting me more than her).

I spent the rest of yesterday pondering the "what ifs?" of the situation. I will say that I have always follwed and trusted the 4 rules, but I have been "born again" in this faith.Please do not judge me too harshly, as I've been involved with firearms ona day to day basis for over 10 years. This is the one mistake I have made, and I thank God that it was minor. I hate that carpet anyway.
 
B

Bravo_Sierra

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It can happen to the best of us... all we can do is to do are best to hope it doesn't happen.

My method for all my pistols is to: lock the slide back first, which at that time I physicallysee the chambered round flyout and hit the ground. I THEN remove the magazine. Next I check the chamber with my pinky and release the slide. I then point the weapon in a safe direction and press the trigger.

This is stuck so far into my muscle memory that it's subconcious.

Again, I'm glad nothing bad happened.
 
X

xRapidDavex

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FightingGlock19 wrote:
empty the chamber, lock the slide back, drop the magazine, check for an empty weapon visually & by tactile sensation, then move all ammo & magazines to another room. That's my drill from cleaning my weapons.
Click to expand...
Your instructions are a little out of order .....
 
X

xRapidDavex

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I don't understand why everyone is locking the slide back first.... the gun doesn't fire when you hit the mag release....

Drop the mag FIRST!!!! Logic tells us at this point there can be at most one round in the gun (chamber).

Set the mag aside and only then unchamber any round that might be in the gun.

Then lock the slide back, visually inspect the chamber & mag well. Use finger test to see if a round is anywhere, and hold muzzle up to bright light, looking through breach (NOT AT MUZZLE SIDE OF BARREL) and check that light is coming through.

At this point the gun is unloaded and completely safe.
 
MetalChris

MetalChris

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FightingGlock19 wrote:
Bravo_Sierra wrote:
I then point the weapon in a safe direction and press the trigger.
Click to expand...
pressing the trigger is NOT part of the unloading process
Click to expand...
Um, yes it is if you're gonna field strip and clean your Glock. :)
 
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