Almost had a ND

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bblhd672
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Re: Almost had a ND

#16

Post by bblhd672 »

I had one ND (with a firearm TAM!) back in 1975 at the tender age of 17. Absentmindedly pulled the trigger on a loaded and cocked .22 revolver. Bullet went through floor in corner of the room, fortunately neither parent at home and the hole was never discovered.
That one incident made me paranoid about handling firearms safely to this day.
The left lies about everything. Truth is a liberal value, and truth is a conservative value, but it has never been a left-wing value. People on the left say whatever advances their immediate agenda. Power is their moral lodestar; therefore, truth is always subservient to it. - Dennis Prager
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puma guy
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Re: Almost had a ND

#17

Post by puma guy »

I must confess to one. I was about 12 and we had been goose hunting at Eagle Lake. I had a JC Higgins 12ga pump as did my twin brother, my dad was using my grandfather's Model 10 Remington pump. We all unloaded our guns before leaving, ejecting all the shells and racking them several times, before leaving the actions open and placing them in the trunk. When we got home all the guns were laid out on my Dad's bed and I took it upon my self to check the guns again before we cleaned them. Using the slide releases I racked the two JC Higgins several times and then pulled the triggers. When I got to the the old Remington I did the same thing, but noticed a gritty feeling and sound when I was working the slide. I mentioned it to my Dad who was standing to my right along side the bed. I racked it once more for him to hear. He said it probably got some dirt in it and would require disassembly to clean it. He walked behind me and went around the foot of the bed and was on the far side of the bed when I pulled the trigger. He went as white as I'm sure I did. I was holding the gun at a 45° angle across the bed toward the headboard and he was to the left of that line by about three feet. It made an oblong hole where two walls met and was stopped by studs and exterior brick. I dropped the shotgun and ran to my room.

My Dad came in and we talked. First was our good fortune that no one was injured and that he was glad I was pointing the gun in a safe direction. He then admonished me about pulling the triggers on the SG's even if they "unloaded". We disassembled the shotgun and found dirt and sand in it. We also discovered that the magazine would hold 4 shells instead of the 2 limited by Federal Migratory Bird law and the plug that was in the mag was a crude pointed stick. It was possible it could have wedged between the follower and the mag tube to keep it from feeding shells. We can't be for sure what kept the shells from feeding and then be ejected when we were racking it but one stayed until the very last time. That incident had a profound and lasting effect. I now look to see that no shell remains in the fixed magazine of a weapon, especially a tubular mag.
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cbunt1
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Re: Almost had a ND

#18

Post by cbunt1 »

Not of a firearm, per-se, but before anyone gets red-cheeked, I assure you it was a gun by anybody's definition.

I'm dating myself here, and admitting to behavior that was acceptable at the time that we'd never do today. Anybody remember those Freon-powered full-auto BB guns they used to advertise in the back pages of the Men's Magazines?

Get your mind out of the gutter. I mean the ones like "Hot Rod," "4-Wheelin'" and the other car and truck magazines I collected back in the mid '80s, when I thought those lifted trucks were cool, and all I could think about was lifting my pickup.

Anyway, I had one of those Freon-powered BB guns, and let me tell you it was FUN. A solid (visible) stream of BB's arcing out a good 50-60 yards on a fresh can of Freon. Did you know they sold BB's in quart-sized milk cartons? 5000 to the carton.

Well, that BB gun didn't have a trigger guard. It also had a split-ring contraption made of plastic that wasn't nearly as sturdy as it should have been given the pressures we're working with. Never mind the CFC's and other dangers of venting Freon (that stuff'll freeze anything!) One afternoon, I was sitting in my room having just pierced a brand new $1.00 can of Freon, and was mounting it to the gun. The contraption was spring-loaded, and as I mentioned, no trigger guard on the trigger (valve).

As I inserted the Freon can into the gun, and overcame the pressure of a full can of R-12 against a pinhole valve, I slipped, slid down the frame and caught the trigger with my hand, and sent an arc of BB's across the room.

Fortunately, it was pointed in a safe direction, although I was violating rule #2 -- don't point at anything you're not willing to destroy. My precious 13" color portable TV took the brunt of the BB arc. Amazingly, it only chipped the glass on the picture tube, and the TV continued to work for a good 10-15 more years.

Let me tell you, that scared the living daylights out of me. I was all of about 12 at the time, and I realized what could have happened. Granted the BB's would likely only leave bruises and such, but by that time I was already frequently carrying shotguns and pistols around (we lived in a rural area) so the connection was certainly made.

To this day, not only do I verify a firearm's condition and muzzle direction, but I assume the probability of a mechanical malfunction.

I can't say I quit playing with full-auto BB guns, rigging the thing to run on a shop air hose once R-12 became prohibitively expensive though. Looking back, I'm surprised that thing ever made it to the market, and that I never heard of anyone getting seriously hurt by them...they were a product liability case looking for a place to happen.
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Sport Coach
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Re: Almost had a ND

#19

Post by Sport Coach »

One easy way to ensure safety with initial dry fire is to have a 5 gallon bucket of sand in the closet (or wherever you store guns or initiate cleaning) and dry fire into it. Some might think this is a waste because "of course your gun is unloaded if you're going to dry fire it." If the gun happens to go bang into the sand bucket all you will have is clean up to worry about.
“Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.” - Thucydides
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ScottDLS
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Re: Almost had a ND

#20

Post by ScottDLS »

Sport Coach wrote:One easy way to ensure safety with initial dry fire is to have a 5 gallon bucket of sand in the closet (or wherever you store guns or initiate cleaning) and dry fire into it. Some might think this is a waste because "of course your gun is unloaded if you're going to dry fire it." If the gun happens to go bang into the sand bucket all you will have is clean up to worry about.
At the "Agency", we black ops tacticool types, have a 55 gal drum painted red and half filled with sand, so we can safely unload our concealed mini-uzi's, silenced Berettas and all other manner of deadly weapons that we carry in the US and out of the US at all times. The DDO makes us unload before we go in to pound on his desk and threaten to decapitate the members of the SSCI. :cool:
4/13/1996 Completed CHL Class, 4/16/1996 Fingerprints, Affidavits, and Application Mailed, 10/4/1996 Received CHL, renewed 1998, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2016...). "ATF... Uhhh...heh...heh....Alcohol, tobacco, and GUNS!! Cool!!!!"
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jmra
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Re: Almost had a ND

#21

Post by jmra »

one ND for me 30 some odd years ago. I was rabbit hunting and had walked across a small stream several times that was maybe 8" deep. I had just crossed the stream and walked 4 or 5 feet when I saw bugs on the other side. I raised the shotgun and pushed the safety into the fire position but before I could get off a shot he moved partially behind a tree. I just needed to step into the stream to get a clear shot. Three mistakes were made:
1. I assumed the stream was still 8" deep
2. Since I had part of the rabbit in my sights I keep the SG held in the shooting position with safety off.
3. As I stepped into the creek the rabbit moved back into full view at which time I placed my finger on the trigger.
Well, the point at which I stepped into the creek was no longer 8" deep. It was in fact 5' deep. Having one foot on solid ground and expecting the other to hit something much sooner than it did, I quickly was headed from an upright position to a horizontal position. Somewhere between every muscle in my body flinched including my trigger finger.
Of course at that time the barrel was pointed downward, unfortunately, 2" of the barrel was already in the water. It's the only time I've ever seen a barrel split. About 2" back for total of 4" the barrel cracked and ballooned. Thankfully the only thing injured was my ego.
Haven't come close since. I have pounded into my wife and kids that every firearm is loaded (which is always the case in our home) even when it isn't. Every time you pick up a firearm it is loaded even if you know you unloaded 5 minutes ago. Every time you pick up a firearm you physically and visually verify its status.
My youngest (15) now instinctively ejects the magazine and locks the slide back on every semi auto he touches. If we are at home rest assured that as soon as he completes that task, the firearm is going to be completely torn down and reassembled before he reloads it and puts it back in the safe. Yes, I'm one proud daddy.
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twomillenium
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Re: Almost had a ND

#22

Post by twomillenium »

If we are including BB guns, I had one about 50 years ago. My buddies, my brother and I would meet at the elementary school and set up targets (cans, paper, old fruit and sister's Barbie doll) and shoot our BB guns. (back then we did not even think about shooting at "our school") We would get a few coke bottles and cash them in for BB money. On a good day there would be enough to buy a Coke or Dr. Pepper. Hot day in the summer, we ran out of BBs and in the shade we would cock the BB guns and pull the trigger so that the air would discharge in our face. ( we were at the age of undeveloped brain capacity) Well a after several shots, my BB gun found a BB that had become unstuck. I hit my forehead with a blast of air and the BB traveled about 2" under the scalp. It was pushed back to the entry hole in my forehead and out popped the BB. That practice was stopped and I still have the scar. Only that small band of boys know how that pock mark on my forehead got there. My brother says he can still see it and sometimes gets cold chills thinking about it.
I often wonder how we survived our youth but when you think about it, some of us didn't. RIP
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puma guy
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Re: Almost had a ND

#23

Post by puma guy »

Sport Coach wrote:One easy way to ensure safety with initial dry fire is to have a 5 gallon bucket of sand in the closet (or wherever you store guns or initiate cleaning) and dry fire into it. Some might think this is a waste because "of course your gun is unloaded if you're going to dry fire it." If the gun happens to go bang into the sand bucket all you will have is clean up to worry about.
To which "clean up" do your refer? :biggrinjester:
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Topbuilder
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Re: Almost had a ND

#24

Post by Topbuilder »

ND.png
We have come a long way toward safety awareness since this ad!

I've never had a ND. I can add to the "Every gun is loaded even if you just cleared it" rule.
I was doing some work for a lady who was recently widowed. She was in the process of moving out. I noticed two rifles leaning in a corner. They were her husband's. I asked if I could have a look, she said sure. The first one I had seen before. An old Marlin, late 60's. I popped a few rounds with her husband one day and researched the model / SN for him. It was not in a case and was loaded. I cleared it. She was somewhat gun savvy but did not know it was loaded. The next was a 30-30 lever gun in a case. I expected it to be loaded, and it was. I ejected 3 rounds, checked it out and put it back in the case. We talked a little about how to travel with firearms since she was traveling to the east coast. A couple hours later we were discussing the 30-30 and I pulled it out again. I checked to make sure it was clear, left the action open while we were talking. As I was closing the action I, felt a little resistance... like a shell was just loaded into the chamber of my "cleared" gun. I worked the lever open again and out comes another round... and three more behind that :shock:
Imagine the many different ways things could have gone wrong here. A lesson I will never forget when handling tube magazine guns.
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Sport Coach
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Re: Almost had a ND

#25

Post by Sport Coach »

puma guy wrote:
Sport Coach wrote:One easy way to ensure safety with initial dry fire is to have a 5 gallon bucket of sand in the closet (or wherever you store guns or initiate cleaning) and dry fire into it. Some might think this is a waste because "of course your gun is unloaded if you're going to dry fire it." If the gun happens to go bang into the sand bucket all you will have is clean up to worry about.
To which "clean up" do your refer? :biggrinjester:
Ha! Yes, first you clean your shorts then you clean up the sand.
“Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.” - Thucydides
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