Accidental discharge

[ssb73q]

Hi, the Baldwin shooting had me wondering if any of you has ever had an accidental discharge. In my 65 years of active shooting I have had three accidental discharges. Since being a zealot of following the three safety rules for safe gun handling none of the accidental discharges caused any damage.

Have you ever had a gun accidental discharge?

Regards,
Richard

[Captainkirk]

Yes. Cap frag in my Uberti 2nd Dragoon caused the hammer to drop when I let go of it in full cock position. Accordingly, the ball went downrange with no issues other than pucker factor.

[Miguel Loco]

Yes...once with my 686. At the range....gun pointed down range, no damages except it scared the crap outta me. Completely my fault....and lesson learned.

[Hawg]

I've had two. The first one I was 10 and was fiddling with my .22 single action and fired off a round of rat shot in my bedroom. It didn't do any damage other than some tiny holes in the paneling. Nobody ever found out about that one. The second one I was 14. I checked the mag and chamber of my 1909 Argentine Mauser carbine. I swore it was empty. I pulled the trigger and totally destroyed my moms dresser mirror. Punched through the corner of the house and cut the phone line. The bullet put a nice dent in the bed of one of my dads dump trucks.

[mike116]

This is a good topic that I don't think has been discussed here before.   I wish Johnny Roper (if you know, you know) were here to join in the discussion.   There have been other members here and the 1858 Remington forum that could add to this thread.
 
That said,   I have had one accidental discharge.   It happened about a year ago and did not result in any damage or injuries.   I was clearing a jam on an AR rifle and caused it to fire.  It was pointed safely down range but still scared the sh*t out of me.    I could only think "what if I didn't have it pointed down range?"   I was alone at the range so I was saved any embarrassment.

[ShotgunDave]

I've had only one, and it was the out of battery discharge in my 66. You've all seen the video. The gun was pointed downrange and nothing bad happened. Except for my bruised ego and the skid mark in my shorts.

Like Richard says, if you're observing basic rules of gun safety, no one should be injured in a negligent discharge.

[Zulch]

All very good and helpful information. Sounds like even the most seasoned veterans have had misfires. This is very helpful me. I guess it's safe to say that one can never be too safe? Thank you all very much!

[Hawg]

All very good and helpful information. Sounds like even the most seasoned veterans have had misfires. This is very helpful me. I guess it's safe to say that one can never be too safe? Thank you all very much!

Old Murphy is always just around the corner waiting for a chance.

[ShotgunDave]

All very good and helpful information. Sounds like even the most seasoned veterans have had misfires. This is very helpful me. I guess it's safe to say that one can never be too safe? Thank you all very much!

Old Murphy is always just around the corner waiting for a chance.

That is so true. When using firearms you always have to be on your toes.

[DoubleDeuce1]

When I was about ten years old,  I was cocking the hammer of a single shot .22 pistol.  It wa a warm summer day and my hands were sweaty.  My thumb slipped off the barely knurled hammer spur and the pistol discharged.  The bullet went harmlessly into the dirt several inches from my toes.  This was at a local range,  but nobody saw it.  That never happened again.

I’ve been around numerous negligent discharges.  One of which almost took out four or five guys on the shooting line was by a firearms instructor.  He was running a shotgun course and was loaded with 00 Buck.. He never lived that one down.

Another stupid negligent discharge happened at a black powder shoot.  The shooting for the day was over and everyone was gathered around the officials table.  A friend of mine and I were standing at the back of the group of about twenty shooters.  Some moron decided to “check” his Colt 1860 to see if he had fired all his rounds at his last target.  He checked by cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger several times.  The revolver went off behind my friend and I.  The ball went into the ground directly behind us.  After several deep breathes to maintain our composure,  we checked on the health of the offending idiot.  We graciously decided to let him live.

[mike116]

I have been present at Gun Shows 3 different times when accidental/negligent discharges occurred.   One, a .308 round went through the US flag on the wall.  Another was a vendor who shot himself in the leg.  The last one was a .38 that struck a customer in the chest across the isle from the vendor who was handling the gun,  He survived.     The firearms were "unloaded" in all three instances.

[Zulch]

When I was about ten years old,  I was cocking the hammer of a single shot .22 pistol.  It wa a warm summer day and my hands were sweaty.  My thumb slipped off the barely knurled hammer spur and the pistol discharged.  The bullet went harmlessly into the dirt several inches from my toes.  This was at a local range,  but nobody saw it.  That never happened again.

I’ve been around numerous negligent discharges.  One of which almost took out four or five guys on the shooting line was by a firearms instructor.  He was running a shotgun course and was loaded with 00 Buck.. He never lived that one down.

Another stupid negligent discharge happened at a black powder shoot.  The shooting for the day was over and everyone was gathered around the officials table.  A friend of mine and I were standing at the back of the group of about twenty shooters.  Some moron decided to “check” his Colt 1860 to see if he had fired all his rounds at his last target.  He checked by cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger several times.  The revolver went off behind my friend and I.  The ball went into the ground directly behind us.  After several deep breathes to maintain our composure,  we checked on the health of the offending idiot.  We graciously decided to let him live.

Great story DoubleDeuce!! Thanks for sharing. I like the part about deciding to let him live. Very colorful description 

[Zulch]

I have been present at Gun Shows 3 different times when accidental/negligent discharges occurred.   One, a .308 round went through the US flag on the wall.  Another was a vendor who shot himself in the leg.  The last one was a .38 that struck a customer in the chest across the isle from the vendor who was handling the gun,  He survived.     The firearms were "unloaded" in all three instances.

Mike, Wow!!!  a .38 in the chest?!?!! that's down right scary!!

[Woodsrunner79]

I discharged a C96 mauser into my dresser at the tender age of 17. I had just reassembled it and load two rounds into the magazine to check the spring follower. Racked one round out and the slide, chambered the other round which fired into my dresser and dented my Carl Dyer Buffalo hide moccasins in the bottom drawer. I later ascertained that the channel that housed the firing pin and spring had hod knows how many years of grit and oil in it. Causing the firing pin to drop unimpeded. Though some might consider this a mechanical failure, I consider it a ND as I should have completely stripped the gun upon taking ownership of it.

[AlaskanGuy]

never had one yet... but had had some very long delayed hang fires in my 375 h&h that scared the crap outta me...  that dang gun did not shoot some powders well with LR primers... dang thing would smolder like 10 sec and then go off... and when it went off, it did so with authority...  first time I nearly peed my pants. second time, i was in the process of pulling the bolt up to remove the round.... really freaked me out. so I dis assembled all my reloads for that gun and switched to mag primers and the issues went away.