I'm 59, I've been shooting since I was 10 years old. I've never had a ND.
I'm 59, I've been shooting since I was 10 years old. I've never had a ND.
NRA Benefactor.
To OP - nope, not once, and not yet with a dozen-dozen adolescents, adults, friends, family, and me with hundreds of guns times thousands of rounds through 30-years of hunting/shooting/range property ownership. Just "lucky" I guess. Started late in life in land ownership and this hobby. Had the right NRA-Life Mentor too. DRILLED me and us in SAFETY first, fun last (when the brain checks out).
Everybody goes home safe today. Any "monkey business" stays outside of the gate - NO EXCEPTIONS. Had to call a few kids (mine too) on this a time or two. Sit their butts down for a safety chat (that or GO HOME and DON'T COME BACK). Ask them if they want to see their buddies brains and blood all over the bench? Spell it out for them in no uncertain terms. Has a chilling effect on doinking around at the bench.
Shooting is SERIOUS business and it will not be taken lightly! After safety comes the fun...with safety always in the forefront of a good time was had by all.
Last edited by Land Owner; 08-28-2019 at 02:13 PM.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
Haven't had one ,I hope I never will .if I'm with people who don't know what they are doing I'll explain safety to them if they don't take any notice I either leave or if I'm at the range where I'm an rco they will be told to leave in no uncertain terms .
I had an ND a long time ago when I was young and dumb (18 I think).
I had a Ruger MKII in my front pants pocket and went to pull it out with my finger in the trigger guard.
Bang!
The bullet went out my pants leg near the knee and into the floor, about 3 inches from my foot.
I felt a burning along my leg, and thought I had shot myself at first.
I dropped my pants and there was a thin red line down the front of my right thigh.
Life is a series of bullseyes and backstraps - Ted Nugent
I had My AD at 20yrs old. I was still in the Navy and had picked a NM Blackhawk in NC just before My transfer to Naval Station - Long Beach, CA. Drove all the way by myself. Picked up a Fast Draw Rig as I passed through TX.
My Mom lived in Long Beach too, which made it really cool. I dropped all My extra Stuff off in my old bedrooms closet. Hung up the holstered unloaded Blackhawk on a hook in the closet.
Reported in. Got a 24hr Pass a week later. Drove to Mom's, She wasn't home.
Great time to practice My Fast Draw. Belted on the rig and tied it down. Took up position opposite the BIG Mirror in the Living Room.
Do I need to say more.
Took the Mirror out to a glass place. Three hours later, I picked up some spackle and a new paint brush. The bullet, a 110gr JHP had stopped, in the wall. Just sticking it's nose out the wall.
Sweep, Sweep, Patch, Patch, Paint, Paint.
Left Mom's closet door open. Ran Hairdryer over patch, paint. Bit smelly. Left all Windows open.
Mom didn't come home until late. Found out my Sister's first husband had been there right after I left for the base.
Never picked up a gun without checking to see if it was loaded since.
She divorced that idiot about 5 years later.
Which was about 8yrs too long for Me & My
Dad.
Twice,
Running down the hallway loading a Rossi 1890 copy in 22lr with ratshot 30 years ago. Closed the bolt and bang. No injuries, only dumbfounded.
Second time. Got out of old cj5 to go muzzleloader hunting. It was pouring the rain down so I stuck the gun inside the Jeep to place a primer to the inline nipple so it wouldn’t get wet. When closing the bolt the handle slipped off my wet pinky. My ears rang for days, Jeep stank of sulfur for weeks. Impact was in the seat frame of passenger seat. The steel frame stopped it.
Life is so much better with dogs!
This is not my story but I think y’all will agree it is worth telling.
Buddy of mine, second Iraq war. He’s sitting on his Humvee with his squat leader waiting to come inside the wire. In front of them is a lieutenant from some reserve unit. The Lt. goes to clear his weapon on the clearing trap by pulling the slider (bullet goes flying out of the side), pointing it into the clearing trap, and BAG! The thing goes off. He looks all sorts of baffled and confused but without wasting time he pulls the slider again (bullet comes off the side), release, points at the clearing trap, and BAG! Another round goes off. He manages to do this three stooges routine one more time before my buddy’s squat leader manages to get out of the Humvee, twist the Lt’s arm an yanks the pistol away, _removes_ the magazine, pulls and locks the slider, shoves the weapon into the Lt’s face and says “See? No bullet!” and slams it on his chest while saying ‘try it now, Sir…’
Well it wasn't me, it was my Father.
In 1964 my Father took me hunting, I was 12 and we lived in Colorado. We had a Nissan Datson Patrol, 4 wheel drive our family used for a hunting/camping rig. Pretty stout rig, much like the early Toyota Land Cruiser. The Nissan was a very basic vehicle, you know, no radio, no dome light, or head liner, and barely a heater. So off we went.
We were driving a trail when Pop sees a small batch of deer with a buck bring up the rear about 150 yards out. Well they were moving along about to crest a hill when Pop stops, gets out and lets go with his new Remington 7mm Mag just as that buck tops the hill and heads down the other side. Looked like a clean miss. Well he jumps back in the Nissan and jams the Remington muzzle down right next to my feet. BANG!!! Damn that was loud in that tin can of a vehicle. Shaking off the concussion, my Father was standing outside of the rig with the door open yelling at me, asking if I'm hurt. Well after the second time asking he said "Are you hurt because if your not I want to go after those deer". So off we went over the hill and down the other side, the deer were nowhere to be found. After the shot they shifted into high gear and left the county. Well realizing that the deer where gone and I was OK, we accessed the damage to the drive-able beer can we were in. There wasn't any carpet, headliner, or upholstery on doors or anywhere except a little naugahyde sparingly put over the springs of the seats, which were one step above a wooden chairs.
Well Pop looks back at the crest of the hill, and there was the buck piled up neat as you please. He ended up being a good sized Mule deer, but, only had 2 points on one side and three on the other. The antlers were also very thick at the base. Anyway got him dress out and pulled up to the roof and secured. After all that work and excitement we stopped at a restaurant when we got out of the hills. We were eating when a Game Warded walked in and asked rather loudly who had the buck on top of the Jeep. My Father volunteered that it just might be his. The GW walked over to our table and said: "that buck was so old that we would not be able to get a fork in his gravy". Well after figuring out that we were not going to be cited, we had a good laugh with the Warden.
Well that 7mm went off about 2 or 3 inches from my foot, I was one lucky kid. But a little hard of hearing for a while.
This conversation came up among a bunch of USPSA shooters I knew several years ago. Almost every one admitted to an AD/ND, mostly at their homes. Some are names that USPSA shooters would recognize. I have no first-hand knowledge but have read that "The Great One," Rob Leatham, has shot himself. Twice.
These are people that shoot a LOT. Could it be that their familiarity and some shooting day-in, day-out 100,000 rounds/year or more makes them too comfortable with their firearms?
Guys, don't be too smug over never having had AD. Mine was a mechanical problem, as I wrote earlier in this thread. Apparently several others were mechanically induced as well. It can happen to anyone.
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
I am very comfortable with firearms, especially mine and models I've owned previously. I think the thing is not only making safety a habit, but thinking about it too. I often think to myself, or even say watch your muzzle, and safety on.
Occasionally I've muzzled the wife or her me, and we call each other and ourselves on it. We try hard to be safe.
Thanks to all those that have responded. Ive enjoyed reading this thread. It's a good reminder to keep the safety awareness up.
When I was 5 or 6 years old my father brought home a single shot 22 bolt action rifle and box of ammo. To make it safe, he took the bolt out and the action from the stock. Everything was put up high in the kitchen where I couldn't get it.
The next day while mom was hanging laundry in the yard, I got it. Reassembled the gun, chambered a round, and fired it out the door. Mom said she heard something 'zing' past her.
Now I don't really remember any of this, but my parents told me about it for several years.
Just saying....charlie
I had a learning experience about 20 years ago after buying a surplus SKS. I saw there was cosmoline in the barrel, so I ran a patch through it a few times so I could see bore and grooves and headed to the range. Got the gun on a rest at the table, pointed downrange, and bolt locked open. Waited until after a cease fire and loaded a round in the chamber with an empty magazine. (I like to load just one when I shoot a gun for the first time...) Pulled the bolt to release it and BANG! My fingers weren't even near the trigger.
Silly me; I was too excited to get on with shooting and didn't look for cosmoline in the bolt. Turns out, it was chocked full of the old stuff with the firing pin all the way forward and protruding to set off the primer; like firing an open bolt gun. I was very glad there was only one round in it, as it might have emptied the magazine.
My nephew was sitting in the living room with his room mate. The idiot decided to dry fire his 50 bmg bolt action. He got down on the no pod, aimed and snapped.off a cap. Boom! Chris said the poor.German shepherd howled.for three hours. Chris.stayed outraged for.months. The bullet tore out a chunk of the French door and sailed.into town. They raced down to the lumberyard.and found a new.door. They installed the door.faster than he'd ever done it before.
My youngest son and his buddy were going hunting one morning and his buddy put his rifle into the truck muzzle down. When my son got into the truck there was a loud boom and blood started to come out of the transmission and all over the driveway.......
Another fellow that I quit hunting with had come to the neighbor's house and started to unload his 30/30 by cycling each round through the chamber, until one managed to go off to who knows where....
As for me, the worse thing that happened is an occasional double tap at the range that I wasn't expecting., And that's with my LC9S Pro. So far my CZ 75 SP01 has been pretty well behaved. I have to deal with neuropathy and sometimes I just don't get a good trigger feel.
Tom
μολὼν λαβέ
Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?
I like that ya'll call it when muzzled. We practice the same thing, and it's interesting when everyone is looking for it and empowered to call it. I think there's value in realizing that perspective from the muzzle end might be different than yours from the stock end. We do it even when cleaning, tearing down, bolt out, etc., etc... It really burns the concept in for the youngsters. ….and for full disclosure, yeah, they've called me a time or three.
"Do not follow where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson
About twenty-five years ago, I was squirrel hunting in TN with my wife's 20 ga. over under. It was a nice gun, marked Savage but made in Finland. Something had gone wrong with the safety, but I unwisely decided to go ahead and use it. Out in the woods, I opened the action and put in two shells. Upon closing, the gun fired the upper barrel into the ground, and ended my hunting for that day. Never shot it again.
Wayne
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
While duck hunting, one of the hunters went armed into the deeks to retrieve his duck. He turned toward the blind, got his feet tangled in the decoy lines, stumbled, and FIRED his shotgun in our direction - right over our heads!!! No one was shot. I wanted to pick up, pack up, take my son and I, and leave right then and there. My best friend and life-long duck hunting partner asked me to stay. The hunter put his gun away. We were so VERY lucky that day. I remember it as if it happened this morning.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |