Don’t know how to clear the chamber? Don’t ask this guy for help.

[Jinglebob]

Over the years I’ve read many a story concerning morons with weapons. This one has to be near the top of the list.

A 31-year-old man in Pennsylvania told police that he fired a bullet that hit his neighbor’s house because he was unfamiliar with weapons and it was the only way he knew how to clear the chamber.

Cops: Man Fired Into Neighbor's Home to Unload Gun - ABC News

 

[Jack Flash]

He couldn't at least shoot it into a pile of dirt?

I tried your link and got an advertisement about Ellen or something. It was hard to get rid of. Maybe some more polite website has the same story?

 

[DeadAye]

Boy - Is he gonna be surprised when he finds out the pistol chambered another round all by itself.
I'm glad I don't live next door to him.....................

 

[labworm]

Ya mean there is another way of clearing it.

Think of it this way, he will keep the plasterer in business at his house.

 

[gdnagle]

Makes you wonder if these people are for real or just a ploy to make it look like people with firearms are idiots and firearms should be banned.

I wouldn't put anything past a anti.

 

[old bear]

That is more common than you would think. Readers Digest version of what happened to a friend’s son:

Friend gave son and DIL S&W M-12, for home protection.

DIL, home alone, heard noise grabbed revolver and thumb cocked.

DIL ascertained everything was OK, except she had loaded revolver and no idea how to lower hammer. DIL used good sense, placed cocked revolver on top of ice box.

Son returns and wife advises of above. Son had no idea how to safely lower hammer.

Son walks into back yard and drops hammer, Ya you guessed it, by pulling trigger.

Only good thing was son aimed revolver into a large pile of fill dirt.

Both son and DIL are college educated, successful, down to earth, sharp folks. Sadly not everyone has been trained in the safe use of firearms.

 

[Hunter8282]

OMG... that is crazy!

 

[Brian41]

Years back I was deer hunting on public property and was leaving at noon for lunch. Met a fellow leaving too and told me he needed to unload his gun. Fellow aimed into a stump and fired all the rounds out of his auto loading rifle. Turned to be and said his brother loaded it for him that morning and didn't know any other way to unload it.
I hunted elsewhere that afternoon.

 

[Rustyt1953]

You mean to tell me that all those guns I threw away could have been reloaded?
Don't I feel silly!

 

[LVSteve]

Ever watched an episode of Cops when they pull an unfamiliar firearm from the perp's waistband and try to clear it? It does not make pretty viewing, especially if the weapon has a heel release mag and/or no slide lock.

To be fair, it's not their weapon so one could ask why should they know, but somebody with reasonable firearms knowledge should be capable of clearing pretty much any weapon he/she encounters. I guess it's true what many LEOs here say, we don't always hire "gun people".

Worst one I saw was an officer struggling for at least two minutes to clear a Star Ultrastar. I don't know if the weapon was damaged or he was having an issue gripping the slide with his big paws. That pistol has reversed frame rails and not much slide above the horizon. My late wife, a total non-gun person, said, "He needs to put that down and let somebody else do it before he shoots himself".

 

[H Richard]

This is one of the reasons that when I teach a basic pistol course, I carry in one of about every type action the students may come in contact with. I want them all to be able to know enough to check any gun safely to tell if it is loaded.

 

[sipowicz]

A cop in my dad's precinct shot his model 10 into the toilet and shattered it...seems he never learned how to uncock it since they only taught DA at the range. Another cop cocked it and when he realized he didn't know how to uncock it, he taped up the hammer and brought it into the station for help.

 

[shouldazagged]

Makes you wonder if these people are for real or just a ploy to make it look like people with firearms are idiots and firearms should be banned.

I wouldn't put anything past a anti.

Lord, even I'm not that paranoid.

There is plenty of real, unfeigned idiocy and ignorance about guns out there to cause incidents like this. I've seen and heard unbelievable things along those lines, no conspiracy needed.

Ever meet a "sound hunter"? Or a guy who puts a bullet through two walls (including his child's bedroom) "dry firing" a gun? I have. There are enough cretins around to make us look bad, without anyone having to fake a damn thing.

 

[Alk8944]

A cop in my dad's precinct shot his model 10 into the toilet and shattered it...seems he never learned how to uncock it since they only taught DA at the range. Another cop cocked it and when he realized he didn't know how to uncock it, he taped up the hammer and brought it into the station for help.

Was your Dad NYPD by chance?

About 40 years ago, at S&W for the Armorer's School, I was told this same story by a NYPD Lieutenant in their training division. It was about a Patrol Officer on a burglary call. Cocked his weapon while clearing the house/apartment, didn't know how to lower the hammer safely so he fired it into the toilet! Considering the source I can't do anything but believe the Lieutenant was telling the truth.

 

[venomballistics]

I often read the manual a few weeks after adding a new piece.
Shock me, but loading ,safety operation, unloading, and even firing are in there!
They also cover these silly suggestions, like " not pointing it at anything you don't intend to shoot" How nonsensical is THAT!

 

[CCantu357]

What gets me about these scenarios, is why don't they just put the gun down in a safe place, and then call a friend or a local gun shop with a gunsmith, and proceed to get some advice before pulling the trigger? Or even Google the information. They sure don't teach critical thinking that well anymore. To be honest, you can learn how to safely decock a revolver from watching Danny Glover block the hammer with his thumb in the first Lethal Weapon film!

 

[Cooter Brown]

With the cost of ammunition these days, that's a silly way to unload a gun.

 

[vito]

I think it likely that this individual was not telling the truth and just trying to avoid legal problems for shooting through his neighbor's window. But after reading the other comments to this thread I guess I have to accept that some people are really that ignorant so it might be true.

 

[Jack Flash]

It could well be that there is more to the story. You often hear of people "posing" in front of a mirror with a weapon. If they have an accidental discharge (of the weapon of course!), they would have to provide some kind of explanation for the police.

 

[NZshooter]

That is more common than you would think. Readers Digest version of what happened to a friend’s son:

Friend gave son and DIL S&W M-12, for home protection.

DIL, home alone, heard noise grabbed revolver and thumb cocked.

DIL ascertained everything was OK, except she had loaded revolver and no idea how to lower hammer. DIL used good sense, placed cocked revolver on top of ice box.

Son returns and wife advises of above. Son had no idea how to safely lower hammer.

Son walks into back yard and drops hammer, Ya you guessed it, by pulling trigger.

Only good thing was son aimed revolver into a large pile of fill dirt.

Both son and DIL are college educated, successful, down to earth, sharp folks. Sadly not everyone has been trained in the safe use of firearms.

All I can say to that is ... wow

Reminds me of the first day I worked at an indoor range, young couple walks in with their semi auto S&W something or other and they rent a lane. Don't need a rental, they have their own so of course I assume they know how to use it, they already own it and are well dressed enough and speak English well, etc. They come out, umm my gun is jammed I need help... I'm like "OK first of all your ammo is in the magazine backwards and then your magazine is in the gun backwards". In hindsight I guess I should have been happy at least the bullets were facing the correct direction. Later I caught him trying to load the ammo into the magazine (still in the gun) through the ejection port.

Ahhh, the joys of working at a range. It was all downhill from there.