Firearm Accident

[MrGlock45]

Your position is not very widely supported by the instructor community. Think back to your training... what are you required to do when you pull the trigger and the round doesn't fire? Well you don't pull the trigger again. You maintain a downrange direction for 30 seconds and then remove the misfired round, depositing it in a safe-box. What else went wrong? Don't put the gun in your "off" hand. maintain the proper grip on the weapon during unloading. Yes, I may be an instructor, but you're actions in firing a second time go against everything taught in basic safety 101. Most certainly goes against the curriculum for NRA First Steps Pistol and NRA Basic Pistol. The gun didn't "go off." It fired as a result of your handling. There are proper procedures for handling defective rounds. And the first one is not pulling the trigger on a defective round a second time. I think your 40 year safety streak is over. Had you done this in class you have been dismissed immediately. No disrespect intended. It can happen to anyone.

Did you miss the part of my post where I stated that I waited 30 seconds? The reason I attempted to fire it a 2nd time was because the slide was in full battery and stuck. After multiple attempts to eject the round, holding the gun in a downrange position, I was forced to switch hands. I couldn't move the slide even with the push/pull method , it wouldn't budge.
You can't put a dud round in a box or bucket if you can't get it to eject from the firearm. This particular circumstance left me no choice but to handle it in the manor that I did. I realize you weren't being disrespectful in your reply to me, and I appreciate that. On the other hand, I will still not refer to this as a "negligent" discharge.
Thank you for your response.

As always, stay safe.

 

[BC1]

Did you miss the part of my post where I stated that I waited 30 seconds? The reason I attempted to fire it a 2nd time was because the slide was in full battery and stuck. After multiple attempts to eject the round, holding the gun in a downrange position, I was forced to switch hands. I couldn't move the slide even with the push/pull method , it wouldn't budge.
You can't put a dud round in a box or bucket if you can't get it to eject from the firearm. This particular circumstance left me no choice but to handle it in the manor that I did. I realize you weren't being disrespectful in your reply to me, and I appreciate that. On the other hand, I will still not refer to this as a "negligent" discharge.
Thank you for your response.

As always, stay safe.

When one gets jammed in battery I recommend breaking the gun down, removing the barrel and pushing the round out from the muzzle end with a cleaning mop or even a pencil/eraser.

 

[Capt. Frank]

At one time , or another, almost every shooter will experience an AD, negligent, or otherwise. Fortunately for me, all of mine have been firing slightly before I intended to, at targets.

 

[telpinaro]

When one gets jammed in battery I recommend breaking the gun down, removing the barrel and pushing the round out from the muzzle end with a cleaning mop or even a pencil/eraser.

Out of curiosity, he did mention he couldn't move the slide at all, so how was he going to break it down? I only ask because my hands aren't very strong, and while racking the slide is easy, locking it open is still a challenge for me. What would be the safest course of action if I were to get in a similar scenario? Obviously, that's not something likely to happen, but just in case...

The only crazy thing that's ever happened to me was when I was new to my Shield, and my thumbs accidentally hit the magazine eject button while I was shooting, and somehow managed to get a round stuck holding the slide partially open. Boy was that a pain to get out... Brand new, slide very stiff... ow. Clearly my fault, of course, should have paid more attention to where my thumbs were. It is nice to finally have something I can actually reach it without changing my grip, though!

 

[Rocketgeezer]

Reading what some of you guys write is amusing, meaning that anyone who has ever had a unintended discharge, to some of you is some sort of screw up, I bet some have never had a traffic ticket, if you did does that mean your a negligent driver????

 

[telpinaro]

Reading what some of you guys write is amusing, meaning that anyone who has ever had a unintended discharge, to some of you is some sort of screw up, I bet some have never had a traffic ticket, if you did does that mean your a negligent driver????

Oh no... we (at least I) are always perfectly aware of speeding. Not negligent at all, completely on purpose. A calculated risk based on how much traffic is around you and what speed they are going, where you are in the group, what speed is actually safe on that particular road (there's one dirt road by me that's posted at 40, but the safest speed is actually at least 55), and the likelihood of someone actually catching you. :biggrin:

 

[MrGlock45]

When one gets jammed in battery I recommend breaking the gun down, removing the barrel and pushing the round out from the muzzle end with a cleaning mop or even a pencil/eraser.

I'm sorry, but in this case, that was never going to occur. This was a Colt Combat Commander, a single action, with a barrel bushing that required a bushing wrench for removal. Would you or any instructor recommend putting your hand in front of the muzzle of a gun that you knew had a live round chambered, and that didn't fire?
Once again, breaking this gun down, wasn't going to happen until the bullet was either fired or ejected. Neither of those were happening. I was not about to put a loaded weapon, that had a bad round chambered in it, back in my holster or my range bag.
You seem to keep giving me alternatives for a situation that occurred 15 years ago, and there was nothing else viable for me to do at that particular point in time.
Once again, I respectfully disagree with what you have been saying.
Thank you again for you comments.

PS. I currently only carry Glocks. Breaking them down, also isn't going to happen, since they require you pulling the trigger, next requires you to pull the slide back a little, and then pulling down on the slide lock (perhaps wrong terminology,) so that the slide will move forward off of the frame. I would never attempt to do what you suggested with a Glock either.
If the slide is in battery and jammed, you must get the round out before you can do anything else with it.
Your recommendation really only works, if you are at a range that has an on sight gun smith who can immediately and safely deal with the type of problem that I experienced.

As always, stay safe.

 

[bofh]

Accidental discharge = firearm malfunction causing a discharge (really rare, but it happens)

Negligent discharge = operator malfunction causing a discharge (typical case, usually caused by not following gun safety rules)

In rare cases, a firearm malfunction may lead to an operator malfunction causing a negligent discharge, but then the gun may be just possessed:

 

[XD40scinNC]

not true bubba.
I had an accidental discharge that caused a worldwide recall of a pistol because it's drop safe feature failed.
In some ways my allowing it to fall to the ground could be called negligence but if the gun was properly manufactured it wouldn't have fired.

Everyone drops stuff, everyone! Gravity never loosens it grip on anything, and it will immediately cause items to drop.

I've never had a AD or ND (knock on wood) but I have dropped a loaded and chambered gun, and one reason I would never consider owning a gun that was not drop safe.

Which brings up another rule, "never try to catch a dropped gun" you don't want to chance that you 'catch' will include the trigger.

 

[Bttbbob]

At one time , or another, almost every shooter will experience an AD, negligent, or otherwise. Fortunately for me, all of mine have been firing slightly before I intended to, at targets.

Ummmmmmm I would not agree that everyone would have a ND, I may agree to an AD if you are around guns long enough. We have trained over 35+ thousand shooters and not one ND in our school.

 

[BC1]

I'm sorry, but in this case, that was never going to occur. This was a Colt Combat Commander, a single action, with a barrel bushing that required a bushing wrench for removal. Would you or any instructor recommend putting your hand in front of the muzzle of a gun that you knew had a live round chambered, and that didn't fire?
Once again, breaking this gun down, wasn't going to happen until the bullet was either fired or ejected. Neither of those were happening. I was not about to put a loaded weapon, that had a bad round chambered in it, back in my holster or my range bag.
You seem to keep giving me alternatives for a situation that occurred 15 years ago, and there was nothing else viable for me to do at that particular point in time.
Once again, I respectfully disagree with what you have been saying.
Thank you again for you comments.

PS. I currently only carry Glocks. Breaking them down, also isn't going to happen, since they require you pulling the trigger, next requires you to pull the slide back a little, and then pulling down on the slide lock (perhaps wrong terminology,) so that the slide will move forward off of the frame. I would never attempt to do what you suggested with a Glock either.
If the slide is in battery and jammed, you must get the round out before you can do anything else with it.
Your recommendation really only works, if you are at a range that has an on sight gun smith who can immediately and safely deal with the type of problem that I experienced.

As always, stay safe.

Using a mop on the muzzle-end is only done after the barrel is removed from the gun. If it's that bad take it to a gunsmith. But don't keep pulling the trigger. This isn't debatable. It's advice from the NRA. CHeck the RSO program for details.

 

[BC1]

Some of the responses I read here concern me greatly. There is never an argument that allows breaking safety rules. Take it to a gunsmith.

 

[Mcmahon06]

Has anybody ever had an accidental discharge happen to themselves? I saw a video on youtube of a guy who shot himself in the leg. Was curious if anybody else has had this happen or come close

An acquaintance had a ND when his friend put his mag back in and racked the slide without him noticing somehow. His friend told him to test the trigger pull and he did without checking the weapon, thankfully no one was hurt. I personally am glad that this happened though because I know it has made me a safer gun owner, I don't touch a gun without checking it myself for a loaded round.

 

[KyTopGun]

There are very limited AD's, the actual term is Negligent discharge...The difference being, accidental is when something is wrong with the gun and goes off when you are not expecting it....Example, a sear failing on a semi-auto. Negligent Discharges are when you don't follow the basic safety rules.

Since terminology is important to you, I must point out you're wrong. Actually, the actual term IS 'accidental discharge' if it is in fact, unintentional. An accidental discharge is an EVENT, which is almost always caused by the negligent (and intentional) BEHAVIOR of the shooter.

 

[jcreek]

Had a sear failure AD on a Davis .380, of course, some would argue that owning a Davis was negligence and call it a ND. :laugh:

Absolutely it is...it's a gun cast out of pot metal. I had a cousin bring one to me in that he had bought in pieces at some sketchy pawn shop and asked me to put it back together, so I did. He fired it once and it literally "popped" in his hands. Almost every structural part on the gun broke. That "gun" promptly went right in the trash.

 

[jcreek]

I had a Chinese made SKS that would sometimes lite a round off when the bolt was released after reloading. Never a safety issue as I always made sure it was pointing in a safe direction. Never trusted anything made in China.

That's called a slam fire, and it's always a safety issue whether you're aware of the problem or not.

 

[Bob_M]

Didn't even know you had to go to the bathroom did ya?

Hahahahaha!!!

Link Removed

 

[SR40c]

Has anybody ever had an accidental discharge happen to themselves? I saw a video on youtube of a guy who shot himself in the leg. Was curious if anybody else has had this happen or come close

Nope. Not yet.

 

[apvbguy]

the best ND ever caught on video

 

[Bttbbob]

Since terminology is important to you, I must point out you're wrong. Actually, the actual term IS 'accidental discharge' if it is in fact, unintentional. An accidental discharge is an EVENT, which is almost always caused by the negligent (and intentional) BEHAVIOR of the shooter.

Nope, KyTopGun. Accidental Discharge is when the gun breaks and discharges when you as the shooter are unprepared. Negligent Discharge is when the gun goes off because you weren't following the basic safety rules of firearms.

A negligent discharge can also be unintentional and would bet that most are.