Did you ever....

[Tom W.]

I suspect it's common for people to want to take a shot with a firearm that they've never fired before. I know that I'm guilty.

However, it's strange when you give them instructions and they don't listen.

I suppose the worst case that happened to me was I was at a range shooting my scoped Encore .454 pistol. I didn't bring any .454 loads with me that day, but I DID have some "Ruger Only" heavy loads with 300 grain cast boolits. A teen and his dad came up and watched me shoot a few, and then they asked about the pistol, and the teen asked if I'd let him shoot it. I agreed if his Dad approved, and Dad said ok.
I sat the kid down and let him look through the scope. He'd never seen a scoped handgun before. I told him to put the forearm on the rest and not to get too close to the scope, as they were different from rifle scopes. He said ok, sat down and I could see him inching towards the scope. I reminded him again that a pistol scope was designed for long eye relief, and he said ok, he was ready. I looked at his Dad and Dad nodded.
I loaded a cartridge for him, reminding him that there was substantial recoil and to hang on tightly.He cocked the hammer and the next thing I saw was him with his eye almost touching the back of the scope.

BOOM!!

He didn't drop the pistol, but handed it to me posthaste, while Dad was digging a handkerchief from his pocket to stem the blood flow.
I never saw them again.

It took a while to get the flesh, eyebrow hair and blood from the grooves and crannies of that scope.

[contender1]

I understand where you are coming from.

But, as a Range Safety officer, and a range owner,,, I can say I would not have allowed this to happen.

Why?

Because as a RO,, I watch the firearm,, the target etc is NOT important. Safety first,, and the gun is where the action happens. Look at the target AFTER the shot. Watch the gun, and the actions of the shooter,, ALWAYS!!!!!!!

[Tom W.]

I did, but he was quick......

[tazman]

Any time I have been in that type of situation, if there is any indication that the person isn't going to listen to what I tell them, I take the gun out of their hands.
I have a grandson who will never handle one of my guns because he makes bad decisions and acts on them in an instant. I won't take that chance.

[daniel lawecki]

I was at the range one day. And a man had a .454 revolver with a scope. He had it on a sandbag. His hand atop of the scope. It was inline with the cylinder gap. I told him he might want to get his hand back away. He told me in front of his group of friends he was a NRA instructor. With that said I watched as he dropped the hammer. Well after a few choice words I asked how did that feel. Boy that flame cut him and burnt him pretty good.

[charlie b]

I have never let a stranger fire my weapons, and never will. And I have never fired a stranger's weapon, even when offered.

I have had friends or family do dumb things, but, they have always been 'safe' dumb things If I am monitoring the shooting I will have them dry fire a couple of times before loading the weapon. I use that to judge if they are going to badly jerk the trigger (a common thing with many people). It also shows if they have the arm strength to handle a firearm and if they do know how to hold and aim it properly.


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[owejia]

Some people have to experience the pain before they believe.

[Tackleberry41]

Depends on the person. Guy I knew, he pretty much refused to shoot anything but certain brands and calibers. Anything else was 'weird' and he had no interest. Me you got a gun I have not shot, let me put some rounds thru it. Maybe you like it maybe you don't, but you did shoot it.

I had a 50bmg upper for a time. Rule was first shot was free, after that you had to buy them. Nobody ever wanted the second shot. But I also left blood on the stock from someone who fired it, deterred alot of people. My brother in law got a black eye from it.

[gwpercle]

Some folks just have to learn the "hard way "!

The good thing about learning that way is ....you don't forget next time.

When I was young it took a few hard way learning to realize that when my Dad told me something , like advice when shooting a scoped gun.... I should Listen !
The old man wasn't the dumbest person on earth I thought him to be.

You can bet money the kid want be crowding any more scopes for the rest of his life !

Gary

[Gunslinger1911]

Tom, I know the pain.
We want to get people into the sport.
You just never know how people will react to guidance.
I have a S&W 500 revolver. Everyone in the world wants to try it.

I learned to keep a box of "progressive" loads for it. 5 in a series. Starts out about 44 mag territory; 5th one is "Oh **** !!!
I've had newbies that listen, keep their wrist locked, ride it out, and survive all 5.
I had a coworker, "experienced" according to himself - stopped him after #3, prob should have stopped after #2.
My son, had been shooting since he was 3. I had gotten a 308 Savage - son was 12ish at the time, high mag scope, tight eye clearance. Warned him repeatedly to stay back as far as he could.
Just like your experience - at the last second, choked up on the scope.
No blood, but sure woke him up !!! "I'm not crying dad, it just made my eyes water ! - really".

[Tom W.]

One of the Sheriff's deputies had a .50 with a 4" ported barrel. He asked, and of course I couldn't refuse. The first was a dry fire to see how the trigger felt. Imagine me, with neuropathy, trying to sweet talk a trigger! Anyway, he loaded up the cylinder and I fired one shot @ 25 yards, and did hit in the black. Knowing how much factory loads cost, I only shot that one. I did beg the brass from him though.....

[baileyboy]

Remember my pal who bought one of the 1st Desert Eagle 44 mags. Touched it off and the empty came straight back and stuck in his forehead. The laughter was horrible as the blood ran off his nose. It went back for some extractor work.

[sniper]

Showin's better'n tellin"!

[clintsfolly]

I have a 458ACCREL ( up to 500gr at 2300) that I built on a Ruger LH 77 action. I stock it with a great piece of quilted maple. Many have ask to shoot it and it has been my policy to tell I shoot the first one and you get the rest. Many have turn down the rest of the shots.

[Texas by God]

Remember my pal who bought one of the 1st Desert Eagle 44 mags. Touched it off and the empty came straight back and stuck in his forehead. The laughter was horrible as the blood ran off his nose. It went back for some extractor work.

Same. My first shot with my nephew's .50 AE- I wouldn't have one longer than it takes to sell it. Just me, but my 38-55 lever action is lighter than that stupid pistol and much more user friendly.

[Winger Ed.]

I've let a few other people shoot some of my rifles, but never a handgun or someone else's kid.

At the range I'll let old veterans fire my M1 Garand, 03-A3, or M1A
after I'd seen that they didn't go all goofy while shooting their own weapons.
They always enjoyed it, and it often led to hearing some really good sea stories.

[murf205]

I pulled up to the range one hot summer day and there was a poor guy with a 300 win mag Tikka and a REALLY big scope on it standing behind one of the benches. When he turned around to look at me, his face was covered in blood, magnified by the sweat no doubt, but he looked terrible. Of course he had cut his eyebrow with this rig and was trying to zero it by STANDING behind it bending over, which of course allowed the rifle not much control at all. He asked me if I wanted to buy a new rifle and I politely told him that he had one of the better rifles made, it was just a tad "brisk" for him. He readily admitted that he was new to the shooting game and I felt sorry for him 'cause we've all been there. I got some ice from my cooler and a paper towel to put on the burgeoning knot around the cut causing his leakage and in a few minutes he was settling down. The barrel on that Tikka was hot enough to cook a T-bone over so we sat the gun in the shade to let it cool as much as a 90 degree Alabama day would allow. In a while I got the rifle and bore sighted it at 50 yds, made the necessary adjustments to the scope and it was on paper at 100. It shot about like most Tikka's-very good, but he finally told me that it was his first center fire rifle and he was disgusted. I told him about .223's and .243's and he said he was going to go back to the LGS and see if he could trade it for a smaller rifle. I never saw him again, but I've often wondered why some salesman herded him in the direction of a .300 magnum and if he did, in fact, buy a smaller 1st rifle. I showed the poor guy about shooting from a bench and how to zero a scope, as best as I could under the circumstances, so I hope he didn't give up on the shooting/hunting game.

[Bmi48219]

The range I frequent requires an annual, signed liability release. One person out of a 100 actually reads what they're signing. They turn away a dozen would be shooters a day that are honest enough to admit complete inexperience at shooting and don't want to pay for a lesson.
Number one non-shooting safety violation is an uncased/unholstered (sometimes loaded) firearm behind the firing line.
Most often seen stupid firing line move is left thumb behind the slide & above the beaver tail. Over 33 % of the time a bandaid follows the second warning.
In general (I really hate to say this) by far the worse safety violators are self proclaimed
"former Law Enforcement" types, followed by "it's been a while but of course I've used a firearm & know what I'm doing" types. Pseudo ex-military and NRA Instructors are tied for 3rd worse safety violators.
I'm as pro-2nd amendment as a guy can be. But I can see the sense in requiring proof of proficiency or training. Well over half the people taking a CC / CW class have never shot a pistol before. IMO, when it comes to education, the right to bear arms is right up there with the right to drive an automobile.

[Winger Ed.]

t I've often wondered why some salesman herded him in the direction of a .300 magnum .

Back in the 80's there was a story here of a Dentist that got invited on a deer hunting trip.
He didn't own a rifle, and had never fired one.
He went to a local gun shop and asked for the best hunting rifle they had. He was sold a Weatherby 460 Magnum.

No lessons, no warnings, and he never took it to the range.
He pulled the trigger on that thing, it blew him out of a tree stand, and almost broke his back.

[Jtarm]

I have this agreement with strangers: they don’t shoot my guns, and I don’t shoot theirs.