A Lesson Learned At The Range Today

[John Luttrel]

My brother and I went to the range today to sling some lead. While there another guy set up to fire his new Bersa .380 for the first time. He was set up in the stall next to my brother; two stalls down from me.

The guy pulled the trigger on the first round and it sounded really weak and I heard my brother ask the guy "What was that?" I immediately stepped over behind the guy and told him to hold his fire and do NOT pull the trigger again.

I then asked him if it had chambered another round after he fired the first and he said it did. I asked him if he had ever cleared a hang fire in an auto pistol and he stated that he had never heard of one, much less know what to do next.

So, I dropped the magazine and cleared the chambered round for him and using a small screw driver showed him how far the round had gone before stopping in his barrel and informed him what could have happened, had he decided to pull the trigger again.

I cleared the round from the barrel and asked him about the ammo he was using. He stated that he had picked up a bag of reloads at a pawn shop for a bargain. He then turned white as a ghost as he told us that he had been carrying the .380 as his every day carry defense weapon, with that magazine and ammo in it and this was the first time he had fired the new pistol.

He learned a couple of lessons today and came very close to injuring at least himself and maybe some others nearby, had he pulled the trigger on the next round. We told him that his life is worth more than reloaded ammo bought from a pawn shop and had he needed that weapon in a real world defensive situation, he would of been in a real mess. I'm real glad to have been there when that went down.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mrm]

I run a pawn shop and if he bought them from a pawn shop then it was a very seedy joint my guess is he or a friend reloaded them and he didnt want to own up to it. We dont deal with ammo at all much less reloads and most pawnshops dont deal with ammo. But good job on stopping him it just goes to show you that we all have to look after each other cause accidents can happen real quick.

[ccw9mm]

Good reminder about quality. Kudos for keeping an eye out, and for helping assist. His "going white" says it all. He learned a valuable lesson that hopefully will not be forgotten.

The only non-factory reloads I have ever purchased were from a brick-and-mortar gun store, in which the owner of that store did a side business of fulfilling the range ammo contracts for the county sheriff and the police agencies. I knew the equipment; knew his procedures; watched him make thousands of rounds previously. And, I had used his stuff on the range for months prior to purchasing it by the case (of 1000rds). Worked very well, for range rounds.

But, when it comes to defensive rounds, (not reloading yet) it's nothing but the finest factory stuff for me, after a similar "break-in" period to ensure it works perfectly reliable well in the given gun. I, too, figure that my life and limb is worth more than a pawn shop's care and concern.

[Treo]

Nice catch

[John Luttrel]

I run a pawn shop and if he bought them from a pawn shop then it was a very seedy joint my guess is he or a friend reloaded them and he didnt want to own up to it. We dont deal with ammo at all much less reloads and most pawnshops dont deal with ammo. But good job on stopping him it just goes to show you that we all have to look after each other cause accidents can happen real quick.

I have nothing against the honest pawn shop operators out there, but the pawn shop he mentioned is very capable of selling trash ammo. The guy said he was thinking about taking the ammo back and I told him he would just be setting the next guy up for disaster as the owner of that shop would just turn around and sell it again.

[Rugergirl]

Kudos for being alert enough to notice, and warning and helping another shooter.

[jsnole]

You saved him a world of hurt...and possibly his life.

[Arko]

Good deal.

[BugDude]

+1 you did him a great service today and imparted valuable knowledge on many accounts.

1) Squib loads - awareness they exist, danger they represent, how to identify one, and how to clear one.

2) Trustworthy ammo - know your ammo, squibs can happen in quality ammo too.

3) Never carry a weapon or ammo unless you have tested with it.

You also did a service to all gun owners by aiding someone in avoiding an accident. Thank you.

[nutz4utwo]

You may have saved one of this guys fingers and his sight. Good job!

[REVMAN]

Good heads up!

[BugDude]

I've never had a squib. Thanks for reminding me...hopefully I'll remember this if I ever do.

[9MMare]

I've never had a squib. Thanks for reminding me...hopefully I'll remember this if I ever do.

Me too. Thanks and thank you for contributing to further safety.

[Eagleks]

If you hear one, you should know it. I've had a couple, and there was no doubt about it when it went off. Instead of boom, they went psssft. Really 'weak' sound. Factory new FMJ ammo.

[BugDude]

I had a failure to fire in someone else's gun last year. His pistol had second strike capability and it didn't help. I remembered what to do from stuff I read here. After waiting a few minutes with the barrel pointed safely away, I carefully cleared the round and stored it safely face down in an empty box out of our immediate area. At the end of our session, I carefully loaded that single round alone in my empty mag, inserted it into my pistol, chambered it, and it fired. Strange. Perhaps my firing pin hit a slightly different spot.