Faulkner
Member
I've been going to deer camp every year with my dad since I was a little tike and I don't ever recall a ND until this weekend. Firearms safety was never something to be winked at or ignored and if someone was careless or apathetic with regards to safety they were immediately called out. That is the culture that has been passed down to at least four generations that goes back to my grandfather to my father to me and on to my sons and it's the same with the others who have been hunting with this group for decades.
This weekend one of my dad's buddies, Mr. John, who has been hunting with the clan probably since before I was born, experienced an embarrassing ND while loading his .30-30 lever gun. Other than a rifle going off when it shouldn't no one was exposed to the hazard since the rifle was pointed down and away from any bystanders. Unfortunately, he was standing next to the driver's seat of his Chevy pickup with the door open and the muzzle was pointed at the lower part of the driver's door. My oldest son was off loading a 4-wheeler from the trailer behind the truck, and I was standing on the other side of the truck with the passenger door open and ripping open a pocket warmer packet. I could see him through my peripheral vision when I heard the rifle go off.
I looked up at him as he just stood there and after a few seconds I calmly asked him, "are you all right?"
"Yeah," was all he could say.
"Is the gun safe?" I asked him.
"I think it is now."
My son came running around to my side of the truck at this time but I held my hand up for him to stop.
I looked back over at Mr. John and, again in a calm voice, said, "why don't you lay in down and I'll come around and look at it."
"Okay," and he laid it down. "Looks like I just blew a hole in my door though."
"Yeah, that sucks, but ain't no one hurt," I replied.
My son and I then walked around the back of the truck and over to the driver's side. Yep, there was a hole on the inside of the door that went through the little storage compartment in the door. I saw a holstered S&W snub .38 in the compartment along with a pair of gloves. I looked around the door to the outside and saw an exit hole about the size of a quarter. I turned back to Mr. John and asked if he was sure he was okay.
"Yeah, dad-gummit, just embarrassed as all get out. I've never had that happen in all my 76 years."
I reached in the door compartment and pulled out the holstered revolver and saw a hole through the holster. When I unsnapped it and tried to pull the snubbie out it didn't budge. I had to pull pretty hard and when it broke free I grimaced when I saw the rifle bullet had hit the snubbie, ruining it.
I held it up to show them and said, "looks like you got a two-fer with that shot. The snubbie is ruined."
I put the snubbie back in it's holster and laid it on the seat, and looked down at the rifle. At first glance I thought it was a Marlin 336, obviously an older one but well maintained, but then noticed it had a short magazine and was not quite like the pair of Marlin 336's I own. I kneeled down and looked at the rifle before I picked it up.
"So, Mr. John, what do you think happened?" I asked.
"I'd just put three rounds in the magazine like I always do and was working the lever to chamber a round. When I pulled the lever back up it went off . . . and my finger was not on the trigger."
"Okay," I said, "let's take a look."
I picked up the rifle, worked the lever down and ejected the spent cartridge, placed my thumb on the hammer, and worked the lever up and the next round chambered successfully. I eased the hammer down, twisted the rifle around so I could get a good look at it. I noted then it was a Glenfield Model 30. I worked the lever in quick succession until the rifle was empty and then gave it the once over again. He had a wrap around sling on it that kind of got in my way when I was working the action.
"Mr. John, what's the story with this sling?" I asked him.
"Well, I never really wanted to put a permanent sling on it so a leather guy I knew about 30 years ago made this one for me so I could carry it when I was on my 4-wheeler."
I fiddled with the sling and it was pretty flimsy and sliding all around the stock comb and got in the way of the lever when I worked it.
"Mr. John, I think this flimsy sling got in your trigger guard when you worked the lever. My advice would be to take this thing off and either don't use a sling or let me install some sling mounts for you and let's do it right."
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a Case folding knife, handed it to me and said, "then cut that think off so it can't be used again."
At that point I pulled out my iPhone and took pictures kind of like I would at a crime scene and I'm sharing some of the pictures below. Hopefully a lesson can be learned from this.
This weekend one of my dad's buddies, Mr. John, who has been hunting with the clan probably since before I was born, experienced an embarrassing ND while loading his .30-30 lever gun. Other than a rifle going off when it shouldn't no one was exposed to the hazard since the rifle was pointed down and away from any bystanders. Unfortunately, he was standing next to the driver's seat of his Chevy pickup with the door open and the muzzle was pointed at the lower part of the driver's door. My oldest son was off loading a 4-wheeler from the trailer behind the truck, and I was standing on the other side of the truck with the passenger door open and ripping open a pocket warmer packet. I could see him through my peripheral vision when I heard the rifle go off.
I looked up at him as he just stood there and after a few seconds I calmly asked him, "are you all right?"
"Yeah," was all he could say.
"Is the gun safe?" I asked him.
"I think it is now."
My son came running around to my side of the truck at this time but I held my hand up for him to stop.
I looked back over at Mr. John and, again in a calm voice, said, "why don't you lay in down and I'll come around and look at it."
"Okay," and he laid it down. "Looks like I just blew a hole in my door though."
"Yeah, that sucks, but ain't no one hurt," I replied.
My son and I then walked around the back of the truck and over to the driver's side. Yep, there was a hole on the inside of the door that went through the little storage compartment in the door. I saw a holstered S&W snub .38 in the compartment along with a pair of gloves. I looked around the door to the outside and saw an exit hole about the size of a quarter. I turned back to Mr. John and asked if he was sure he was okay.
"Yeah, dad-gummit, just embarrassed as all get out. I've never had that happen in all my 76 years."
I reached in the door compartment and pulled out the holstered revolver and saw a hole through the holster. When I unsnapped it and tried to pull the snubbie out it didn't budge. I had to pull pretty hard and when it broke free I grimaced when I saw the rifle bullet had hit the snubbie, ruining it.
I held it up to show them and said, "looks like you got a two-fer with that shot. The snubbie is ruined."
I put the snubbie back in it's holster and laid it on the seat, and looked down at the rifle. At first glance I thought it was a Marlin 336, obviously an older one but well maintained, but then noticed it had a short magazine and was not quite like the pair of Marlin 336's I own. I kneeled down and looked at the rifle before I picked it up.
"So, Mr. John, what do you think happened?" I asked.
"I'd just put three rounds in the magazine like I always do and was working the lever to chamber a round. When I pulled the lever back up it went off . . . and my finger was not on the trigger."
"Okay," I said, "let's take a look."
I picked up the rifle, worked the lever down and ejected the spent cartridge, placed my thumb on the hammer, and worked the lever up and the next round chambered successfully. I eased the hammer down, twisted the rifle around so I could get a good look at it. I noted then it was a Glenfield Model 30. I worked the lever in quick succession until the rifle was empty and then gave it the once over again. He had a wrap around sling on it that kind of got in my way when I was working the action.
"Mr. John, what's the story with this sling?" I asked him.
"Well, I never really wanted to put a permanent sling on it so a leather guy I knew about 30 years ago made this one for me so I could carry it when I was on my 4-wheeler."
I fiddled with the sling and it was pretty flimsy and sliding all around the stock comb and got in the way of the lever when I worked it.
"Mr. John, I think this flimsy sling got in your trigger guard when you worked the lever. My advice would be to take this thing off and either don't use a sling or let me install some sling mounts for you and let's do it right."
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a Case folding knife, handed it to me and said, "then cut that think off so it can't be used again."
At that point I pulled out my iPhone and took pictures kind of like I would at a crime scene and I'm sharing some of the pictures below. Hopefully a lesson can be learned from this.
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