Negligent Discharge - Happens in an instant!

I don't believe it happens to almost everyone. If it were true, then I myself would actually be in favor of more control instituted about who is allowed to carry or even own a gun.
 
I don't believe it happens to almost everyone. If it were true, then I myself would actually be in favor of more control instituted about who is allowed to carry or even own a gun.

Interesting point. It does seem to be something that plays into the gun-grabbers' hands. Parroting nonsense about everyone having negligent discharges makes gun-owners appear to be a bunch of bumbling dangerous fools.
 
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A question for the OP: why was the muzzle pointed in that direction? Would it be possible to point it in a different direction for function testing?

At my house I point my guns toward an exterior wall when function testing or doing dry practice. It's not perfect, but at least keeps it away from other rooms.
 
A question for the OP: why was the muzzle pointed in that direction? Would it be possible to point it in a different direction for function testing?

At my house I point my guns toward an exterior wall when function testing or doing dry practice. It's not perfect, but at least keeps it away from other rooms.

I was sitting at the table cleaning the guns. I wasn't doing dry fire practice at the time (I do have a separate room for that) I was simply reviewing the feel of the trigger and mentally comparing it to the feel of the other gun that I did the Apex trigger & sear upgrade on. Since that weapon is my go-to night time weapon I had the mag and spare round sitting there to reload when I finished (BIG MISTAKE). The rest is now history (and a ventilated couch!)
 
A "wise" person learns from the errors (NDs) of others.
Thanks to all who have posted their ND experiences.
 
My (only) AD occurred when I was in my early teens. My brother and some friends were going pheasant hunting and I had a new (to me) JC Higgins 16 ga bolt action shotgun. As I recall it had a "tang" safety on the side. Wanting to make sure it was on "safe" I pointed it in a safe direction (at least I remembered that from scout training) and pulled the trigger. The rest is history. No-one was injured but I have never forgotten it, and that was over 50 years ago.
 
Thank You to the original poster and those afterwards who added their "ND" stories.

Sharing these incidents provides all of us with a valuable earning situation.

It can happen to anyone, anytime. It will not happen to everyone. But that will occur only through diligence and luck.

I am still amazed that Bill Jordan had done what he did. I had heard about it only a few years ago and was absolutely amazed, I still am.

I would like to add this quote and share my thoughts.

.............I have seen one ND by an instructor who took the word of another man
there that the firearm was empty, pointed it toward the floor, and it fired
(a semi automatic) I have also seen unexpected rounds fired on the range by various individuals with the weapon pointed down range...............

I have ALWAYS thought it was bad technique to check to see if a firearm was unloaded and "insure it" by pulling the trigger. If a weapon is properly checked, a trigger pull is not necessary. I believe a trigger should never be pulled unless the shooter is actually shooting a target.

I have "almost always" checked to make sure a weapon is unloaded, be it mine or someone else's. I never take someone else's word that a weapon is unloaded. Even if they unload it in front of me I am prone to check it.

BUT, although I am the only person in my home whoever handles firearms, and although I "always check" to make sure they are unloaded before I handle them........I am recently finding myself picking up a firearm from my gun-safe and not checking it for being loaded. And the only firearm that is loaded in my home is my single M1911A1 in the house. All of my firearms that are stored are unloaded. But I incurred a habit from day one to ALWAYS check them to make sure they are unloaded. I now find myself occasionally forgetting to check them. After all, "I'm the only one who handles them, right?" But I know that I can perhaps also forget to unload one, replace it in the safe, and months later pull it out.

Hasn't happened yet but it could.

My "checking" of firearms personally once found a fully loaded .30-06 Remington bolt rifle at the gun-show. I handed it back to the vendor and showed it to him. He was appalled and apologetic as he unloaded it.

Anybody can have a brain fade, and it today's world of incessant "interferences" of the thought processes (cellphones, conversations, T.V., mind-elsewhere) a brain fade is more likely. Add old age, complacency-due-to-long experience; and you have more chance of a brain fade.

I have not had an "ND" or an "AD" in my life, but it can still happen especially as I get older. I therefore keep trying to remember to "always-check-it-yourself".
 
When I was 12 years old I almost shot a friend of mine with an "unloaded" gun. Since that day I have never picked up a firearm without verifying that it was either unloaded or loaded.
 
My only remaining handguns are two revolvers, a dashless 640 and a 10-5. When I want to dry fire either one I unload it in my bedroom, leaving the ammo on the dresser after double checking to be sure the cylinder is empty. Then I take the gun in the living room, check it again, load snap caps (I know, not really necessary), and dry fire. When I finish I reverse the process.

May be excessive caution with a revolver, but it's how I prefer to do it. I haven't always been quite that careful, since I've lived alone for many years; but you guys reminded me when I first joined here that safety is paramount.
 
Everyone, I mean everyone has a brain fart every now and then. I just don't understand why there are so many concealed carry forum members that won't concede that there's an elevated risk for a ND when carrying a hot semi auto that doesn't have a manual safety or at least a DA pull. Must be arrogance I guess.

I have posted numerous times asking the same question and get the same cliched answers
 
Did you say "Oh boy"? :D

Actually, I was stunned and said nothing. I was living at home at the time and my father heard the shot. He screamed my name and ran for the stairs. I met him at the top Nd told him I was ok. He began to tremble uncontrollably. He thought I had shot myself. That's why I remember it so vividly. Seeing my tough old Irish father crying.
 
Thank You to the original poster and those afterwards who added their "ND" stories.

Sharing these incidents provides all of us with a valuable earning situation.

It can happen to anyone, anytime. It will not happen to everyone. But that will occur only through diligence and luck.

I am still amazed that Bill Jordan had done what he did. I had heard about it only a few years ago and was absolutely amazed, I still am.

I would like to add this quote and share my thoughts.



I have ALWAYS thought it was bad technique to check to see if a firearm was unloaded and "insure it" by pulling the trigger. If a weapon is properly checked, a trigger pull is not necessary. I believe a trigger should never be pulled unless the shooter is actually shooting a target.

I have "almost always" checked to make sure a weapon is unloaded, be it mine or someone else's. I never take someone else's word that a weapon is unloaded. Even if they unload it in front of me I am prone to check it.

BUT, although I am the only person in my home whoever handles firearms, and although I "always check" to make sure they are unloaded before I handle them........I am recently finding myself picking up a firearm from my gun-safe and not checking it for being loaded. And the only firearm that is loaded in my home is my single M1911A1 in the house. All of my firearms that are stored are unloaded. But I incurred a habit from day one to ALWAYS check them to make sure they are unloaded. I now find myself occasionally forgetting to check them. After all, "I'm the only one who handles them, right?" But I know that I can perhaps also forget to unload one, replace it in the safe, and months later pull it out.

Hasn't happened yet but it could.

My "checking" of firearms personally once found a fully loaded .30-06 Remington bolt rifle at the gun-show. I handed it back to the vendor and showed it to him. He was appalled and apologetic as he unloaded it.

Anybody can have a brain fade, and it today's world of incessant "interferences" of the thought processes (cellphones, conversations, T.V., mind-elsewhere) a brain fade is more likely. Add old age, complacency-due-to-long experience; and you have more chance of a brain fade.

I have not had an "ND" or an "AD" in my life, but it can still happen especially as I get older. I therefore keep trying to remember to "always-check-it-yourself".

I don't carry semi automatics, and I only carry revolvers. I have never had an ND or an AD with any rifle, shotgun or handgun. However, I was taught to treat every gun as loaded
from the time I was a child. I do remember that he took the
word of the man who brought the gun to him that it was empty
and pointed it at his floor and it shot into the floor.

At the same time I am not judgmental of him or folks who have
made a mistake. I fear that it might happen to me, and is the
reason I just do my firing at the shooting range and leave off
dry firing. I am sure that I might shoot a bit better if I did more
dry firing but since I fear making a mistake when distracted,
I just choose not to dry fire. And having two friends who I
know lost their arm from shotgun accidents, when as far as I
knew they were always careful, makes a believer out of me when it comes to overdoing precautions.

When I first got my revolvers I made sure that they were of
the type there was no need to carry an empty chamber. All
hold five except my 625-5 and it holds six. I don't try to shoot
cheap ammo, don't want no home made ammo, only factory
ammo for my guns unless the price gets a whole lot higher.
 
To the person who asked what a race gun was; it's a (in my case anyway) gun that has been modified w/a very light trigger for competition.
 
Nobody is perfect but these are the kinds of mistakes that can kill. Someone needs to run over to the M&P Pistol section and let the non-safety Shield crowd read this thread. They are mostly the same people that are against mag safeties also. A mag safety would have prevented the OP's accidental discharge.

But, but, but... mag safeties ain't tacticool! :rolleyes:
 
A few weeks back I sat through the CCW course for a second time (this time with my girlfriend as she was taking it) and one of the instructors asked the class who has ever had a negligent discharge. Nobody in a room of about 20 people raised their hand, and the instructor said that if you carry long enough it happens to almost everyone. Well, I can now count myself among that crowd. Human beings are infallible creatures, and distraction takes but a second.
Not necessarily. There are people who skate through life never getting a cavity or into an auto accident, likewise I'm sure there are those who will never have an AD. At least I hope that's not true, because that means there would be millions of AD's and ND's happening sometime in the near future and that is an unacceptably high number of mistakes we can ill-afford to make.

I'm glad nothing serious happened and you came out all the wiser and more cautious. Chances are it should never happen again.
 
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