Accidental Discharge

[Hair Trigger]

Not related to handguns, but a case of negligence anyway, as well as a bad habit that I see a lot on clays ranges.

I worked years ago for DOC and we had a bunch of hunters among the officers at the unit I was at. Two in particular hunted together a lot and were big duck hunters. They were in a standing blind one day, it was cold and they were talking . The one guy had the muzzle of his LOADED Rem 1100 propped on the toe of one boot to take the weight off of holding it all the time. He got sidetracked and wasn't really thinking about what he was doing and was fiddling with the trigger guard with his trigger finger while they whispered and waited. He hit the trigger and BOOM, he blew the 2nd toe of his right foot cleanly off. It singed and blistered the toes on either side, but the missing toe didn't even bleed due to the muzzle blast cauterizing the wound. They had to walk about half a mile to get to their pickup, I'll bet that felt good.

I see this habit all the time at the clays ranges, propping the shotgun on the toe of a boot or shoe. Now, on the ranges, you are required to keep the gun unloaded with the action open or the gun broken (doubles) until you step to the shooting box, but this sort of muscle memory could easily carry over to a hunting situation and I always point it out when I see it, and relate the above story .

 

[Model29-26.5]

I’m glad to read this thread and need to a a constant reminder of safety practices.

 

[Autonomous]

 

[DV0]

My dad was pd starting in the late 50s, he told me many stories:

How he got his service revolver from a guy that would sell to the department out of his trunk. 3-4 choose from with accessories , cash deal. Model 10s he thinks that unfortunately he does not own anymore.

One of his piers was at home cleaning and servicing his weapon on off hours, he was done and reloaded it to be ready for his next shift. He saw one spot that he wanted to clean better and somehow slipped into the hammer while doing it and it discharged, he was holding it with the muzzle pointed at himself.
He killed himself next to his family in their living room.

That’ll stick.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Great PSA thread and reminder.

In the old days no one wanted to point out cops committed suicide so it was passed on as an Accidental Discharge or Negligent Discharge.

The famous FBI Agent Melvin Purvis died from a self inflicted gunshot in 1960.

 

[sigp220.45]

I went to a crime scene seminar put on by the medical examiner of a very large Texas county. He believed every “accidentally shot himself cleaning his gun” case was actually a suicide, either staged by the victim or afterwards by family members upon discovery. This was to avoid the stigma of suicide, or in the belief life insurance wouldn’t pay otherwise.

 

[max503]

There's this itty bitty demented part of me that wants to sneak up and push on that trigger.

 

[DR505]

Bill Jordan’s fatal AD.

Border Patrol Inspector John A. Rector, United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, U.S. Government

Rector’s daughter chimed in on another forum. She didn’t blame Jordan, and said he was so distraught he had to be heavily medicated.

Somewhere around 1990 I was talking to guys at the USBP San Diego sector, at the San Ysidro station. The old timers didn't have anything nice to say about Jordan.

 

[glowe]

There's this itty bitty demented part of me that wants to sneak up and push on that trigger.

The rest of the story was that gun was a 30" full choke!!!!!!!

 

[DARE]

If you reloaded the revolver and then proceeded to pull the trigger, why was there any surprise that the revolver actually discharged???

Because I thought the gun was unloaded. Do not normally discharge guns in my living room. There was some time involved and guess I did not remember reloading. Or maybe a brain short circuit. Imagine Mr. Jordan was surprised when his gun fired as well.

 

[familyman357oh]

South Africa, allegedly. Here's another one.

 

[oberon]

If there is a best case scenario, it would be properly handling the firearm, having the thing pointed in a safe and harmless direction, and experiencing a malfunction. I don't know exactly why the pistol fired, but I was prepared for it. I have had misfires and squibs also. A misfire can be a hangfire very easily. Same approach, regardless.
They are all loaded all the time. Keep that in mind whenever you pick up or are handed a firearm.
There are guns in the pile that are stored unloaded. No matter, to my way of thinkin', they are loaded. The mindset forces one to drop the mag and visually look in the breech. Likewise, one is compelled to open the revolver and have look, and/or open the loading gate in half cock and clear the cylinder.
It is simple, but on occasion, is overlooked, and KB results. Handling firearms is essentially handling loaded deadly weapons. So, heads up!
Conversly, one must be absolutely certain that his carry piece is ready for action if necessary.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

South Africa, allegedly. Here's another one.

Rampant carelessness in the LEO as well as the Military Community.

 

[familyman357oh]

Rampant carelessness in the LEO as well as the Military Community.

I don't think South Africa is exactly known as a paragon of excellence in recent history.

 

[CALREB]

Several times during the 17-18 years I worked in the armory at my department, I was spoken to rather condescendingly by officers about my very cushy job. Usually by supreme gunfighter types with less than 5 or 6 years on the job.

Sometimes I would just agree and tell them to get out I had a good DVD to finish watching before EOW. More often I would laugh and tell them there were 18 years or more to get to my job, and that I had way more loaded guns pointed at me working the armory, than I ever had in the field. Which unfortunately was the truth.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

As I told a lady at church "Safety-like fitness and privacy and Christianity-is not something you achieve, it is something you practice. "
Regarding the Jordan story, I note that he retired from the Border Patrol in 1965 and died in 1997. I tend to be a little leery of stories about people who are long gone and cannot refute them.
Jeff Cooper wrote that his correspondents in The Sandbox were appalled at the careless weapons handling they saw and I met very few gun guys in my Army days. And I heard all sorts of stories, none with any documentation, all 3rd and 4th hand.
When checking an SA revolver I check each chamber TWICE, DA revolvers I visually check the cylinder then hold it muzzle up and push on the ejector rod.
I prefer the older 10 Commandments of Firearms Safety.