I Shot Myself Yesterday

[FN1910]

The precious post reminds me of the governments way of handling screw ups. When something happens the first step is to find some individual to blame. Second is to disavow any involvement by anyone else and deflect attention to the person that is being blamed. Third is to hide the damage as much as possible and declare that with that person gone it will not happen again. Fourth is to fail to correct any actual cause of the problem and continue on with whoever is the scapegoats replacement.

An incident such as the OP's can be used by the antis but it can also be used by the pro-gunners. If we do not learn from our mistakes then we are idiots and do not deserve to have rights. We can either try to cover up our mistakes and keep on making them, blaming people for being stupid, or we can learn and quit making those mistakes. It does no good to try and hide because if two people know about something then it is no longer a secret. If we worry more about what the antis do than what we do then they have won. If we learn from others mistakes and quit making them altogether then the antis have nothing to use at all.

[Grognard Gunny]

I DO worry about what the "antis" do.

1) Their ideas/agenda get a lot of free advertising by the liberal press and pundits therein.

2) There are quite a number of "pudding heads" in this Country who take with no critical analysis everything that is told them by their Opinion Makers/Leaders. (... and never "learn" anything new or different, mistakes or no.)

3) Failure to study, observe and plan counters to "enemy action" is exactly one of the best ways to lose the "war".

Just sayin'.

GG

[Grognard Gunny]

Was it Franklin that said an informed and educated public is essential to the keeping sound of our freedoms? What, then, does our general lowering of educational prowess in this Country, compared to other industrialized Nations, suggest?

Are we not observing just that right now?

We are losing our educational edge and we are losing our freedoms right along with it.

I knew the man was smart, but a clairvoyant to boot?

GG

[pungunsun]

...On the other hand, you violated basic safety issues here, which many of us express concern over.

...

GG

Uh, the gun didn't have a decocker, and the hammer slipped out of my fingers whilst I was lowering it on a loaded chamber. I don't like having semi-automatic pistols around in Condition 1, but I did want it fairly ready-to-use.

I don't know of any other way to lower a hammer without pulling the trigger first.

Why don't you read what is written rather than get your panties knotted, and write some sort of stupid reply?

[tanker1983]

Not a stupid reply at all. You are correct about one thing. There IS NO WAY to lower a hammer without pulling the trigger.

That's why you NEVER DO IT until you are 100% sure it is clear.

Place weapon on safe.
Remove magazine.
Place weapon on fire.
RACK SLIDE MULTIPLE TIMES.
LOCK SLIDE TO REAR.
Remove chambered round.
INSPECT CHAMBER AND BREECH.
SLIDE FORWARD.
Squeeze trigger.

All in about 20 seconds. Surely ANYONE can afford to take that much time to ensure they don't shoot into their floor, or neighbor, or kid, or self.....Jeez.

[Rocketgeezer]

This post is to the self apointed proffesers, that apear to think they know all there is to know about gun safety, this guy had a accident, thankfully it was no more serious than it was, did any of you know it alls ever think that the reason he may have started this is because he thought it may help someone else from doing something simalar, and not to make himself look like a dufus, I work in a gun shop. and disasemble weapons on a daily basis, some unfamilure weapons, I am fortunate to never have had a accident, but I can certainly see how it could happen if your not paying extra attention.........I'm saying this because I don't thing he deservers being corrected to the degree he has been by these post's .....he know's he screwed up, but jesus enough's enough

[tanker1983]

Accidents with firearms are very rare. Most incidents like this one are negligence. Even Gus understands and has sated he was negligent. And he has volunteered his story to help better the members of this forum. But let's be brutally honest. These are ALL cases of negligence, not accidents or mistakes.

[-06]

Have a hole in my hip from an unloaded gun(my cousin shot me). They are ALL LOADED until you check the chamber personally--every time it is handled--everytime.

[Grognard Gunny]

And THAT "-06", is precisely why safety precautions/procedures are ALWAYS followed. Without fail. ... and "drilled" until YOU get it right. (You seem to get the picture/idea.)

Yet I see comments in here such as "Good thing I had it pointed in a safe direction when it went off." WTF? There should be no question about it. It's NOT a "good thing", it is simply DONE. ALL the time. EVERY time. (Even at that, the fact that the gun "went off" at all proves that you are not safe in your handling of it/them.)

"I forgot to drop the mag...." That IS the first step in automatic handling/clearing! The very first step! There should be no "accident" of that nature. EVER!

"I was trying to drop the hammer with a round in the chamber......" Exactly why this is an ill advised move, no matter what the weapon is. In fact, while I am NOT familiar with every sort of weapon existant, I can't even think of a situation where you would even want to TRY such a manouver.

Now, even though I've been around firearms all my adult life, have been a Range Safety Officer in my time..... I do NOT claim a "Professorship" in gun safety. In fact those who consider themselves "experts" in the matter tend to become complacent in their store of "knowledge" (Not unlike many college professors I have met along the way of life.).... which, IS, of course, exactly the time they "screw up".

The same with those who coach "dry drill" with your weapon(s) until you don't even have to think about it. Another fallacy. You ALWAYS think about safety. The minute you don't.... Oooooops.

Lastly, those who contend that everyone is likely to have a AD/ND in their career..... is just accepting (or admitting to) the fact that they believe it will come to be, when the entire idea of gun safety is NOT to EVER have an AD/ND. (Which, to me, sounds like a pre staged excuse. Or self admittance that you expect to screw up sometime in your life. A cop out.) Anyone who "shoots" for less than a perfect record in the matter of gun safety....... let's just say that is not a person I'd want around when I was on the range, or "running" the range, for that matter. (Kinda like Vice Presidents with shotguns, I guess.)

Bad enough I have to "worry" about the BGs. I have to "worry" about my fellow GGs too?

Just sayin'.

GG

[Grognard Gunny]

Accidents with firearms are very rare. Most incidents like this one are negligence. Even Gus understands and has sated he was negligent. And he has volunteered his story to help better the members of this forum. But let's be brutally honest. These are ALL cases of negligence, not accidents or mistakes.

Exactly! While the "first person" incidents are bad enough..... the really worst of them all are the cases of negligence where the gun owner creates a situation where a child can get ahold of "Daddy's gun." (Oh. COOL!) IIRC, fully a third of accidental gun deaths in the US fall under those circumstances.

Now, I realize there are stupid people existant..... but THAT stupid defies and exceeds ALL resonable expectations. But at least negligent manslaughter charges can be brought against them and their "gun owning" privledges revoked thereafter. (ONE less idiot to worry about.)

GG