Safety Reminder...

[Matno]

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but today I was reminded of the importance of ALWAYS double checking your firearms to make sure they're unloaded before doing ANYTHING other than shooting them. Saw a guy today who was cleaning his 9mm, thinking it was unloaded. Racked the slide (apparently with a finger on the trigger) and put a bullet through his forearm. That was 6 months ago, and now he can't move his thumb due to scar tissue. Also still has numbness on the back of his wrist and thumb. All things considered, his injuries are actually very minor compared to many others I've seen. (I'm a hand surgeon).

Important thing to remember is that this was not some crazy kid or a guy who works on his guns after downing a 6-pack. He actually thought he was being careful. You can never be too careful...

Also knew a guy who grabbed a .30-06 out of the back of his vehicle (by the barrel) and completely blew his arm OFF just below the elbow.

I, myself, recently had an accidental discharge. (Stupid, stupid, stupid). My first, and definitely last! Fortunately, I never pull the trigger on a gun that's not pointed in a safe direction, and the only casualty was my wife's fancy wall clock. (She was out of town and will never hear the true story of what happened!)

[SgtMerc]

Fortunately, I never pull the trigger on a gun that's not pointed in a safe direction, and the only casualty was my wife's fancy wall clock. (She was out of town and will never hear the true story of what happened!)

I guess that depends on what your definition of "safe direction" is.

Were you dry firing to practice trigger pull? or in the process of cleaning and forgot to clear before the function check?

I'm really interested in hearing what the details of this are. It's always a good reminder.

[tradecraft]

Also knew a guy who grabbed a .30-06 out of the back of his vehicle (by the barrel) and completely blew his arm OFF just below the elbow.

How did that happen?

[Fjold]

How did that happen?

He probably grabbed the barrel about 6' from the muzzle and pulled it towards him. The bore lined up with his forearm and the trigger caught on something in the car.

[Matno]

I guess that depends on what your definition of "safe direction" is.

Were you dry firing to practice trigger pull? or in the process of cleaning and forgot to clear before the function check?

I'm really interested in hearing what the details of this are. It's always a good reminder.

I had installed a new trigger earlier that day and did a lot of dry-firing. Then I put a loaded magazine in it and holstered it (which is how it normally is). I was up late working on a project for work (all-nighter), and about 4 a.m. decided to retest my newly installed short reset trigger. Completely forgot that I had put a loaded mag back in. Dry-fired once, then held the trigger while I manually racked the slide, released the trigger and pulled it again.

Lessons learned:

1. don't handle weapons when you are sleep deprived. (I don't drink, but that would clearly fall in the same category).
2. Always point in a safe direction when dry firing. I make a point of pointing only at walls that don't have people on the other side of them. I think dry firing is an important part of developing shooting skills, but don't want anyone to make the same mistake I did, so be careful.

And yes, the .30-06 incident was from grabbing the barrel and snagging the trigger on something. Never put a loaded gun in a vehicle. Not worth it. When my dad was a young boy scout, a kid in his troop did the same thing with a shotgun. Fired it right in the middle of a dozen scouts pulling it out of a station wagon. Miraculously, no one got hurt. (Except the kid who did it - my grandpa was the scoutmaster and an NRA instructor, and he just about ripped the kid's head off...)

[fighterpilot562]

Damn his whole arm!? damn!

[FourLoko]

amazing how so many triggers get "snagged"

people really are dumb