mojust, thank you for posting this. NOBODY is bashing you, with the critiques. We've all been there, with momentary lapses on one or more of the safety procedures.
Folks are simply taking the opportunity to reinforce what we all try so hard to keep in mind: safety counts; safety matters. Better that we learn
here, than to not properly think things through and end up doing something (even unintentionally) that cannot be taken back.
Glad that you, and more importantly others, are safe. It could have ended far,
far worse.
* Inspect the chamber every time that you handle a weapon. Setting it down means you inspect it when you pick it back up. It may be redundant, but doesn't cost anything.
* I don't like visual-only inspections. I particularly don't like the quick casual glance that I see at gun shops and shooting ranges. As long as the slide is back, take the time to view it from different angles (it's dark in there) and I always poke my dang finger in there as a second sensory precaution.
Always. Every time. No exceptions.
Always. Every time. No exceptions. Yup. :yup:
Double-check, with "double" precautions, each of which back up the other check you might have performed. Better for everyone, in the long run. And, as suggested, it doesn't cost you anything, though it can save everyone from having a very bad day.
Accidental Discharge: What I can learn from this.
Obviously I'd forgotten I'd reloaded.
What can you learn from this incident? Perhaps permanently inserting the double-check into your routine for touching and putting down a firearm would be useful, as it has been for me.
When touching a firearm: If you're picking up a firearm after having not held it for even a moment, unload and both visually and physically
confirm it's unloaded.
When putting down a firearm: If you're putting down a firearm that you intend to have sit there for more than a few seconds, unload and both visually and physically
confirm it's unloaded. Better still, put a chamber flag into the action, as a second indicator of "proof" that it's unloaded.
The main reason I do this before each instance of either picking up or putting down a firearm is because I don't want to have to rely upon my memory for what I've done. It's basically the same reason why my local outdoor range requires chamber flags on every unattended gun, even though it's sitting right in front of you. If you're not using it, unload, lock the action open or remove the bolt, and put a chamber flag in it, at which point one isn't relegated to memory in order to "prove" the gun is indeed unloaded.
In short: better safe than sorry. Had the proverbial 3yr old child been walking along outside that wall, the situation would have ended somewhat differently. I'd simply rather not go there.
Be safe. :bier:
