Dreadful mistake ! Never happened to me before !

[e4dan]

I experienced an ND when I chambered a round in a 1911 sitting in my truck. Hammer "followed" the slide and touched off the round. The gun-safety rules combine to reduce the chance of bodily injury. Injured pride is of lesser concern. In my case having the muzzle pointed in a safe direction saved me from injuring myself or others. My ears sure did ring for a while, and the inside of my truck door had a .45" hole (it did not go through, stopped by a metal brace). I kept the flattened 230gr HydraShok as a reminder of what can happen. My incident was caused by a mechanical problem, not a gun-handling mistake. But that does not relieve me of my responsibility to be safe every time I handle a gun.

I'm happy to know that your chambered round was not fired. And I have no doubt you are a safer gun owner now. Any of us who learn from an experience that COULD have, but did NOT end in disaster have a story to share. Thanks for sharing yours with us. Things can go wrong. Things DO go wrong. It can happen to anyone. ANYONE. Be diligent... be safe.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[OldVet]

Nothing like a "Doh!" moment for a reality check. I'm sure a lilttle "Truth or Dare" would bring out a host of "Dohs!" amongst us.

[KoriBustard]

To the OP. Because we are all human, we ARE going to make mistakes. I see them all the time ranging from a friend accidentally muzzling me with a loaded 9mm to people exiting a station at the skeet range with closed action (and even with a live round one time). You can never be too careful. Don't be too hard on yourself but clearly you, like all of us, have learned from mistakes without anyone suffering harm. Never feel shy about politely pointing out safety violations (like your son-in-law did) even with people you don't know. It's that important. Thanks for sharing this as it reminds all of us that even the most cautious and thoughtful of us can slip up.

[Super J]

Thanks for sharing. A good reminder for us all

[vca2004]

Thank you so much for sharing, Tom!

I guess the take home message from your story is that guns and habits don't mix. If you establish safe gun handling habits, but then just assume that because of your consistent habits nothing will happen, it could end badly! I'm glad nobody got hurt and you were still able to share this lesson with us. One can never be too cautious!

[hfjeff]

Thanks for sharing the story. It can be hard to talk about when you think of what "could have happened". Many of us have a similar story. It's in the past so don't beat yourself up over it. Thank the Lord, learn from it and move forward.

[TomEgun]

Thanks All I just hope my experience will help some of my fellow shooters ! Back to the basics for me .

[msc8127]

Years ago, I used to chamber and unchamber when I got home, etc. One day, I got distracted and ejected the chambered round before dropping the mag. Then I stood there and thought for a minute and then ejected the second round from the chamber after dropping the mag. I got distracted, but something told me that I had done something not in the proper order.

Sadly enough I have had this exact experience recently. Like you, I knew something felt funny and caught my mistake. But it was a reminder of how easily we can mess up!



sent via iCarry

[WillyNilly]

Since you cleared the gun I'm surprised you didn't clear the magazine. Yes, both of the items are capable of holding the cartridge. Not a bad idea to keep that in mind.

[TomEgun]

Since you cleared the gun I'm surprised you didn't clear the magazine. Yes, both of the items are capable of holding the cartridge. Not a bad idea to keep that in mind.

That was my problem where I got complasaint is that I dont store the mag with my weapon or ammo all seperate and I keep all mags in a drawer unloaded , my failure at the range to clear the mag because I was destracted , then at home in a hurry clearing the range bag failed to check again and tossed in in drawer , next day reached for mag assuming in was empty and failed to check . and to keep me from willynilly throwing the mag in again I setup a quarintine area in my gun room for range return and a check list for inspection for a return to service so to speak.. Thanks Tho and you absolutley right.

[GeorgiaDawg]

I've experienced a ND and it wasn't due to mechanical failure. I had a mental lapse and ejected a round before removing the magazine, then lowered the hammer on a chambered round. I wasn't thinking properly and managed to put a .45-sized hole through the bottom of my car's trunk. Fortunately I always point my gun in a safe direction, so nothing was hurt except my pride.

To be honest, as embarrassed and ashamed as I was, I'm glad it happened to me. I had prided myself on my safe habits and had the attitude of "it could never happen to me". It freaked me out so badly that I can't help but think about it every time I handle my firearm, which makes me even more cautious. Never say "never", except when saying "never say never".

[WillyNilly]

The problem is assumptions, assumptions causes problems.