Cold little thumbs

[redfred]

When I was 13, my dad bought me a Winchester 94, .30-30. He taught me how to load it, how to shoot it, and how to jack the shells out afterward. He also showed me that if the gun is loaded, jack out the shells and de-cock the gun by holding your thumb on the hammer while pulling the trigger.
Unfortunately, I misunderstood, and thought that I had to lower the hammer after every shell. Well, anyway, one very cold morning, my dad took me and my brother deer hunting. He put us both up in tree stands and told us to meet him at the truck when we were ready to leave. It didn't take long before I was too cold to enjoy the hunt, so I headed for the truck. My brother was already there, sitting on the seat of the truck with his feet hanging out the open door. I pointed the barrel of my rifle down and proceeded to unload it, one shell at a time. After every ejected shell, I held my little 13 year old thumb on the hammer and lowered it by pulling the trigger.
After two or three shells, the combination of the cold and numbness caused my little thumb to slip off the hammer and BANG!!! went the Winchester. The bullet clipped the edge of my brothers' boot, making a neat little half-moon shaped notch in the sole just outside of where his little toe was. I don't know which one of us was scared more - my brother because he almost got shot in the foot, or me, afraid of what my dad was going to do.
Luckily for me, when my dad asked about the shot he heard, my brother went along with the story I concocted that I took a pot shot at a rabbit. Unfortunately, the price was pretty high - I had to do every one of his chores for a month.
That was 43 years ago, but I still think about it every time I unload my old Winchester. And I've never had my thumb slip again.

[Thomas]

Interesting story. Glad it was pointed at the ground and not towards anyone's main body.

And welcome to the forum!

[Rikk101]

Funny how incidents like this stay with you for a lifetime. Just curious, have you told this story before, or is it something you tend to keep to yourself most of the time?

[redfred]

I have told the story a few times, mostly as a lesson for kids. I don't think I told anybody about it while my dad was alive, because he would have really busted me. I told both of my boys the story when I was teaching them to shoot, but I think they thought it was Dad's bull, but as long as they learn the lesson, that's OK with me.

[texanron]

Welcome to the Forum! Thanks for sharing your story.
Was the Winchester the first gun, excluding bb/pelllet guns, your dad bought you? When I was 13, 26 years ago, my dad bought me a Marlin Model 60 .22LR that I still have to this day.

[redfred]

My first real gun was a Stevens "Crackshot 26", a single shot .22 lever action rifle. I got that one when I was 11. When I was 12, I got a .410 single shot Iver Johnson shotgun. We mostly hunted rabbits and squirrels, and having single shots made me aim better. When I was 13, and my brother was 15, my dad decided that we needed "real" deer rifles, because our shotguns with slugs just weren't enough. So he bought me the Winchester and he bought my brother an M1 Carbine. That was 43 years ago. When my brother died, I got the M1. It sat in my closet for over 20 years, until I decided that I needed other guns I'd really use instead of a collector's item, so I sold it and with that money, bought an 8mm Mauser with a scope, a CZ-52 pistol, a 12 gauge pump shotgun, a Ruger .22 auto pistol, a Mosin Nagant rifle, and a Ruger 44 Mag Super Blackhawk. Not a bad deal, huh?
By the way, when my dad bought the M1 and the Winchester in 1967, he paid $75 for each one. Those were the good old days!
Oh, also, after all these years, I still have the .30-30, the .22, the .410, and a sweet 16 gauge double barrel that my grandfather gave me when I was 15. I may buy and sell and trade other guns, but these are what I call my "Cold dead hands" collection.

[kjolly]

Great story and an example that through other things went wrong you were still following some of the safety rules.