Well Fellas- It finally happened.... ND

[Hillbilly]

Shot my carry gun at the range the other day. Finished, mag out , checked clear and dropped the hammer.

Got home and put it away (needed cleaning and it was late). Got out my back up gun and made ready for the morning.

A couple of days later... got the dirty gun out. It was shadowy and I did not turn the lights on.

Blue gun in the dark... I had placed a "loaded" mag in the gun and forgot about it. I did look at the butt for a magazine...my brain was convinced it was not there.
My habit with the 1911 is to leave my carry gun loaded, cocked and locked. In this case I skipped that habit... the hammer was "down" and after than missed clue I was off to the races.

Racked the slide...nothing ejected.... dropped the hammer...BOOM! I killed a section of parquet floor. My wife was in the next room...

NO ONE WAS HIT. I found the jacket and lead across the room... no holes in the walls or funiture.

Accident...hell no. Total brain fade negligence on my part. I thank God no one was hurt. And I am mortified and embaressed that after 30 years of shooting, teaching, packing and working on guns I did the ulitmate dumb act of setting a gun off from self induced lack of attention.

Be careful fellas... I can say that 45 ACP jacketed hollow points will shed jackets and fall apart when shot into a hardwood floor (over concrete) and that my be what limited damage. I am conviced a FMJ would have skipped and went through the wall across the room.

Sorry to be an embarssment to this group, my wife and myself. I hope we can all learn from my mistake.

[C. Cash]

Glad you are all OK and thanks for the courage to share this. All of us, even the ones who deny their humanity and profess perfection, need to hear it.

[gak]

You're human and we've all learned a lesson worth repeating to ourselves: "Never, ever assume." Several years ago I thought I'd show off some of my small gun collection to impress my then FIL-to-be, also an afficianado. At the time, he knew little about me or our shared interest in firearms. So I proceeded to hand him a fully loaded .357 I (then) swore had been emptied a month earlier (it wasn't a bedside gun). I saw it the moment I drew it from the holster and started handing to him. His hand was outstretched and by the time I realized it--only milliseeconds later--the gun was already in his hand. A red faced moment for me. Mortified is more like. He was gracious in his (appearing to be) unconcerned, nothing beyond a light "oh yes, want to make sure those are unloaded!" He may (or may not) have truly let that faux pas pass on, but I didn't for a long time. A teachable moment for me, and since it has now been fully etched in my brain may have been "worth it" - in a sense.

Not as exciting a story as yours, but a very worthwhile lesson - thanks for sharing!

[BigSky56]

Happy to hear no one hurt, of the 3 golden rules of safety #3 All guns are loaded and all horses kick. danny

[Booger Bill]

Congradulations on your honesty. My biggest pet peeve on all these gun sites is when the subject of ADs come up the replys are always there is no such thing as ADs, they are always NDs and yada, yada, yada. Always villafying the person it happened to. This is always done by lucky people that havent had one yet or liars!
I have been lucky. I havent had one yet. I have been present around maybe three. I have had more than my share of accidents with motorcycles, cars, even airplanes, and not long ago tipped over a two seat quad and it pinned my wife and I on the trail.
I have been present when a retired combat solider had one, and a cop friend had one. Both were experianced gun lovers. We all wore them on the job and were close friends. Once while walking back to our car from deer hunting and unloading, my mothers gun went off just missing my dad. I was walking behind her and she was walking behind him. I saw it happen and I bet the bullet couldnt have missed his head bt less than a foot! Stuff happens! The older we get, the more we have seen it, and the more we learn not to judge others that it happens to.

[Mescalero]

Thank you for your moral courage, we need to hear about these things to be reminded ........
it can happen to us... and it probably will!

[Thump]

Hillbilly: Anyone that shoots frequently has a story of their own. Eventually everyone gets a surprise of some kind. Some talk about it, some pretend it never happened - but the adage that all guns should be considered loaded is true... Thanks for the reminder.

[Hobie]

I am forever thankful that nobody was injured. I have come so close...

[Tycer]

AD vs ND
AD happens to me, ND to everyone else.
Glad all is well, I..... H-O-P-E..... T-H-E..... R-I-N-G-I-N-G..... S-T-O-P-S..... S-O-O-N

[Griff]

Hillybilly,

Thanks for the reminder, even moreso because the only thing hurt is your pride. I found a motorcycle laying by the side of the road one afternoon, early in my shift... As I checked the plate for stolen, I heard some moans... rider was there in the ditch, having shot himself in the groin with a .45 he'd just stuck in his waist...

A few days later, still shaking my head at how someone could be that careless... (still do to this day... tho' with a bit more humility), I went to clean my carry piece after arriving home and a morning at the qualifying range... dropped empty mag... racked the slide back... and out pops a loaded round!

Sooner or later...

[Hillbilly]

tho' with a bit more humility), I went to clean my carry piece after arriving home and a morning at the qualifying range... dropped empty mag... racked the slide back... and out pops a loaded round! ~Griff

As an unfailing process...if I stick a loaded mag into a 1911... it gets racked, locked and topped off----'cept this one time and I paid the price for it. i dont know what I missed? Forgot to chamber the danged thing... or talked my self into "no mag" before I chamber checked and shot the thing at the time of discharge. Forget one time- people could get killed. I cussed myself up and down. Pull the trigger... flash, big noise... a moment of "denial" then some controlled panic. Never want to do THAT again... and hope you guys never do either.

Glad all is well, I..... H-O-P-E..... T-H-E..... R-I-N-G-I-N-G..... S-T-O-P-S..... S-O-O-N
~ Tycer
Auditory exclusion in wonderful. Did not sound that loud....ears never rang. Funny how the brain protects the ears.... I did see the slide cycle and saw the flash though.

[Blaine]

We all have Brain fanny burbs....I'm glad yours didn't result in any harm. My big one was carrying an AirWeight in my pocket without a sleeve, and when I pulled it out, it was cocked. I'm glad I still have the boys, and didn't shoot anyone else. All my mouse guns have a pocket protecter now.

[Nath]

Thanks for the honest heads up friend. Your humble note is commendable.

God bless.

Nath.

[FatJackDurham]

Thanks for posting. I am just getting back into shooting and nearly had the same event. I am glad to be reminded that this can always happen, newbie or old hand.

[gak]

A .22 pistol "went off" (into the floor) at a small gun show--about same sq ft as a gymnasium--several years back. From thirty feet away, people diving for coveer, it sounded like a .45 going off in your ear.thankfully no one hurt even in ricochette, but I tell you officials were in there like...

[jnyork]

I fired a .22 rifle once when I had no intention of doing so, thought it was empty. Completely violated Rule #1, all firearms are always loaded.

There was nothing accidental about it , it was a Negligent Discharge and I have no qualms about calling it such.

[1894c]

Hilly-Billy: I for one appreciate your courage for taking the time to record your incident on an open forum.
In the LE circles I travel we seem to have an AD every other year, even though we go through extensive training
and we have quarterly quals (which remind everyone of safe handling practices).

One of the things we do with our Glocks, which has been pounded into all of our collective skulls, is to drop the mag,
pull the slide back to the open position, and stick our pinky in to the barrel (open chamber) to make sure that the
the gun is unloaded. Even with all of this training we still have AD's. The last AD went through the trunk of a patrol
car and into the pavement during a domestic call--to say that everyone was surprised and amazed is an understatement.

Again, I want to thank your for posting... :)

[stretch]

MAN - that'll get your attention!

Glad no one was hurt. I'm sure that in my house
there'd be some domestic opposition to the shooting
sports if it happened to me.

I can't speak for everyone on this forum, but your story
is a "there but for the grace of God go I...." sort of situation
for me. I'm religious about safety, but not perfect.

I was once hunting with my neighbor. It was a rainy morning,
and we were loading up. Standard procedure is for us to
get a few steps apart, point the guns at the ground away
from each other, load the tubes, rack the lever , and lower the
hammer to half-cock. (Yes, we both typically hunt with leverguns!).
On this fine morning, my thumb slipped off the wet hammer on the
Winchester and BANG!!!. S#$*!@#%*!@#$%*T!!! No one was hit.
"That's why I hunt with you," said my neighbor. "I know you're not
gonna do anything stupid, and if something does go wrong you won't
kill me." Things happen and that's why we follow the rules.

Great reminder. Thanks.

-Stretch

[.45colt]

We all have these kind of things happen, Like the rest I too am glad no one was Hurt. Last year the Wife and I took the concealed carry course. It was taught by two long time Police officers. as most of the class had semi-auto pistols they made quite a point of a home saftey "corner".... everyone has someplace they can set aside for saftey. in that corner put a five gallon bucket,everyone can get one free or a small cost.fill it half full of sand. anytime You return home with your CCW or need to clear a pistol, no matter if it is loaded or not You do it pointing in the "saftey bucket"....They both related several stories of people shooting through house or apartment walls with "unloaded" guns. the $10.00 saftey corner could have prevented it. We are All Human.

[damienph]

AD vs ND
AD happens to me, ND to everyone else.
Glad all is well, I..... H-O-P-E..... T-H-E..... R-I-N-G-I-N-G..... S-T-O-P-S..... S-O-O-N

My wife's VOICE would be ringing in my ears for quite some time if I pulled a stunt like that. I have never had one but my brother years ago walked into the house after an elk hunt, closed the bolt on his "empty" 7mag and pulled the trigger with the muzzle pointed up towards the ceiling while walking down the hall. That was over 20 years ago and his wife still gets mad...hehe... everytime I bring it up...

[tman]

Thanks. your story is an extra reminder that we can't be too carefull or too sure. Sometimes , after i think about it, I'm thankfull for the CLOSE calls with firearms, work safety, driving ,etc. We are all human, we all screw up, Me, perhaps more than most. I was shooting my m4 at at the range. After taking a shot, me and another shooter adjusted my sites with the rifle pointed down range and no magazine. It was a 100 degree day. I could swear the gun was empty, it fired, nobody touched the trigger. Was it a cooked off shot? Did somebody touch the trigger? Now my firearms actions are always open, when i'm not ready to shoot at the range Luckily were were the only 2 there

[El Chivo]

On this fine morning, my thumb slipped off the wet hammer on the
Winchester and BANG!!!. S#$*!@#%*!@#$%*T!!!

this is a pretty good description of what I did, ND or AD, you be the judge.

I was hunting quail early in the morning, it was January and pretty nippy. I was in a creek bed with steep stone sides. I had a cocked shotgun ready to fire, and came around the corner hoping to flush some birds. No birds, so I pointed the muzzle down and began to let down the hammer. My thumb was so cold it slipped off and BOOM!

I was standing close to the stone side and could feel the sound pressure against my cheek. My left ear got it pretty good and still rings much of the time. I was hunting alone so no danger there, but I could have shot my foot off.

[AJMD429]

Congradulations on your honesty. My biggest pet peeve on all these gun sites is when the subject of ADs come up the replys are always there is no such thing as ADs, they are always NDs and yada, yada, yada. Always villafying the person it happened to. This is always done by lucky people that havent had one yet or liars!

Yep.

[Mac in Mo]

I was involved in one. Many years ago, buddies room in basement, old pump 22 rifle, round stuck in chamber, three of us trying to clear it at the same time, rifle fires. Hole in furnace. Three scared kids.

Another one. Still in teens, walking next to a guy and I told him to stop pointing his shotgun at a guy walking in front of us, as this know-it-all starts to respond with a smart axx answer, his guns goes off. I can still see the shot tearing up the ground about two feet behind the guy in front of us.

I know a guy that killed his neighbor. He dumped rounds from department issued Smith revolver, failed to notice the one that hung up on the cylinder latch, sliding back into the cylinder. He proceeded to fire a round that went into the next apartment, killed the lady sitting on her bed.

In the Navy( no I wasn't a SEAL:) ) standing on the aft end of the flight deck, me and my Gunners Mate buddy had been shooting clay birds. He starts to clear the shotgun and it discharges, hitting the tube frame of the safety net. His face turned a shade of red I have never seen on a man before or since. Again, I can still see the shot denting that steel tube and the Haze Gray paint flying off.

Also in Navy, two of my buddies, when being relieved of watch, standing in a metal cage, racked the 1911 and THEN removed the mag. Then fired a round into the surrounding steel. Happened just a few weeks apart. No one injured by ricochets, somehow, thankfully.

Bill Jordan killed a man inadvertently, if I remember it was a fellow LEO. I may be wrong on that.

I have more but these are enough.
Call them what you want, it happens. People get hurt and people die.

Kevin

[damienph]

Years ago, when I was an MP stationed in Mannheim Germany, at guard mount, before we went on duty, we were inspected by one of the three platoon leaders (1st or 2nd LT). Part of the ritual was to stand at attention with our 1911 in our right hand, slide locked back, about head high, muzzle pointed toward the ceiling. Our one fully loaded 7 round magazine was held in our outstretched left hand ready for inspection. After the LT looked us over and nodded his head, the MP would then let the slide go forward with his thumb, pull the trigger, insert the mag (chamber empty, Barney Fife style), then insert loaded weapon in holster and button flap. LT would then move on to next MP in line. One guy, who was a real FU (poor guy, could not do anything right), one day got the sequence out of order; at the LTs nod, he inserted the mag, slide forward, pulled the trigger. BOOM!!, inside the hallway of the MP Station. I am not sure how many times 230gr hardball ricochets off of marble floors and stone walls but it was enough to make the rest of us crouch down, hoping not to be hit.

After that incident, we were required to let the slide go forward, insert pistol into holster, pull trigger, then insert mag, button flap. Somehow, same guy (I wasn't there for this one) inserted mag, slide forward, pistol in holster, pulled trigger, bullet chipped ankle bone. Article 15, permanent reassignment to motor pool, platoon leader reassigned to other MP company.

After THAT, we loaded weapons in front of arms room, with barrel pointed toward clearing barrel entire time, inserted weapon in holster, weapon stayed in holster entire shift, including guard mount, until back at arms room to clear weapon and turn it in.

[olyinaz]

I can't speak for everyone on this forum, but your story
is a "there but for the grace of God go I...." sort of situation
for me. I'm religious about safety, but not perfect.

I was once hunting with my neighbor. It was a rainy morning,
and we were loading up. Standard procedure is for us to
get a few steps apart, point the guns at the ground away
from each other, load the tubes, rack the lever , and lower the
hammer to half-cock. (Yes, we both typically hunt with leverguns!).
On this fine morning, my thumb slipped off the wet hammer on the
Winchester and BANG!!!. S#$*!@#%*!@#$%*T!!! No one was hit.
"That's why I hunt with you," said my neighbor. "I know you're not
gonna do anything stupid, and if something does go wrong you won't
kill me." Things happen and that's why we follow the rules.

Great reminder. Thanks.

Perfectly said and I had an AD in a combat zone with my M1911 pretty much exactly the same way. Still bugs me to think about it and I was 19 when it happened!!

Stuff happens but that bullet went into the floor and not through walls and persons.

GREAT reminder. Thanks for posting.

Oly

[claybob86]

Glad no one was hurt and thanks so much for sharing that!

[Ysabel Kid]

Glad you are all OK and thanks for the courage to share this. All of us, even the ones who deny their humanity and profess perfection, need to hear it.

+1 Takes a man to admit he made a mistake and not blame it on anyone or anything else. Good lesson for us all. Thanks for sharing!

[Leverdude]

Did a very similar thing a few years back. Bought my first DAO semi auto and was spending alot of time dry fire practicing. I carry with a loaded chamber and when I put the gun away I drop the mag & then clear the chamber. Well I either neglected to clear it or the extractor didnt grab the case, I could swear I remember racking the slide to clear it but I think I must not have. At any rate I sat in my chair took careful aim at the cellar wall & shot it. Scared the stuff out of myself but luckily nobody else was home. No excuses but thats why theres more than one rule about gun saftey. You get two out of the three right & even if you screw up the worst that usually happens is embarrassment & ringing ears.

[Old Savage]

Good point Leverdude but I intended to shoot my 51 Ford and my desk all along.

[win38-55]

Wow that sounds like a horrible situation. Sorry. Glad no one was hurt.
It could happen to anyone be careful out there.

[JohndeFresno]

Thank you for your reminder. Yes, many or most of us have had an embarrassing moment of some kind, and the more one carries a firearm, the more times that potential mistake can happen. I am glad that yours was not injurious - or deadly.

EDITED due to new information: My partner's brother, a much loved Viet Nam veteran and seasoned motorcycle policeman in Santa Maria, holstered his .40 SW caliber pistol one morning, and it fired into an artery in his leg. He bled to death before the ambulance got him to the hospital. The procession went through the town, with miles of mourners in attendance; even the schools let their children out to stand by the streets and honor this town hero. It was a tragic occurrence.

Accidents can happen.

[Leverdude]

Good point Leverdude but I intended to shoot my 51 Ford and my desk all along.

Well OS, a mans gotta do what he's gotta do, those old Fords can be cantankerous & I'm sure you were justified.... But my wall was just setting there minding its own business.

[Rube Burrows]

First thing....Thanks God that NO ONE was hurt. It can happen and its usually just our own carelessness that causes it. At least it was pointed in a safe direction. I always try to check and double ...and even check again.....and then have it pointed in a safe direction at all times and hope that with all of that....maybe if it ever does happen I will only have story like yours and not something that plays on the news that night.

[FWiedner]

IMO, it's not a question of 'if', but more a matter of 'when.'

I started to share an inventory of my personal mistakes, but as I began to type them out I was aghast at how long the list was getting.

A gun is always loaded, so always be aware of where that muzzle is pointed.

[Dave]

Don't beat yourself up too bad. It happens to most, maybe all, who handle guns every day. I have been handling guns every day since I was a small boy. One night when I was in my 20's I took a revolver out of the holster and bobbled it. I instinctively grabbed for it and when I did I pulled the trigger. BOOM!

The bullet hit the plaster wall in front of me creating an effect like being in a snow globe as plaster particles seemed to fill the room. The bullet ricocheted right past my ear buzzing like a bee and clattered to rest at the other end of the apartment.

I still have that bullet somewhere. Just glad I was in an old building that didn't have sheet rock walls. Remember, if you drop a gun let it fall. Don't grab for it

[adirondakjack]

I did it a couple years ago. While tuning a CAS race gun, a Marlin, for a specific bullet and COAL which I had no dummies for, I cycled live rounds in the shop. About the forth time around, having tweaked things a few times, I apparently brushed the trigger, and blew a nice hole in the front door of my shop. Thankfully the bullet was right there in the ground, (I was aiming low at the door while crouched next to a box that was to catch the cycled rounds) . My first instinct was to patch the door, hiding the damage. But instead I simply plugged the hole with a cork and left the busted out trim (a 1 1/2" bit of damage) as a reminder I would see every time I enter the shop....

[Sixgun]

But................you had the common sense to point the gun downward......so..........that means that by pointing the gun in a safe direction, you had in the back of your mind.........it may have a round in it....mmmmm........

I did the exact same thing in 1979, with a 'Smith 59 and ventilated the roof of a brand new '79 Ford Bronco. Sheite happens!----------Sixgun

[sore shoulder]

Good point Leverdude but I intended to shoot my 51 Ford and my desk all along.

Well OS, a mans gotta do what he's gotta do, those old Fords can be cantankerous & I'm sure you were justified.... But my wall was just setting there minding its own business.

I killed an innocent suitcase many, many years ago. Got the sequence out of order. Cleared chamber, dropped mag, pointed at floor and pulled trigger, one dead Samsonite. 180gr 10mm Hydrashock that I kept in a film can for years as a reminder.

[bobbyjack]

What Fwider said it's like riding a bike sooner or later you will put it down. If you handle enough

loaded firearms then you will have a ND! Some of us are just luckier or more truthfull than others!

Learn from your mistakes and move on.

Glad nobody was hurt.

Bob