Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

We've had plenty of time now to have made a lot of mistakes handling/using/storing firearms.

Care to share yours (or those you've seen or heard about)?

If it could save one person from an injury, wouldn't it be worth it?

I guess I'll start.

I've been around firearms of one type or another since I was knee-high to a turtle.Safety and a keen respect for firearms was always a given. I've driven this practice home with all my kids, also.

Last week, however, I screwed-up!

One of my sons is a sound engineer (sound tracks for movies/commercials, etc).

He called and wanted to borrow some of my pieces to take to the studio to make some recordings of the actions and such for their library and also for a track they're doing.

I told him "sure, you're welcome to take anything you want".

I had pretty much "staged" everything that I thought he would want for recording and had it waiting for him.

After loading everything into his car, he asked if I had any bolt-action pieces.

The only bolt- action piece I have is a .22, so I went back into the house to get it from the bedroom closet.I hadn't even handled it in years.It's a magazine-fed piece. It had the magazine in it.

I unzipped the case, worked the action and , holding the muzzle toward the ceiling, snapped the trigger.

Yep, you guessed it!

The last time I used it, I guess I left one round in the magazine.

When I checked the chamber, of course, it didn't have a round in it...but, the magazine DID!!!

When I closed the bolt, it chambered the round and when I pulled the trigger I fired a 22 LR/HP through the ceiling.

My wife doesn't even know it yet. Small little hole that took me quite a while to find.

Next day I went into the attic to check things out. Seems it must have hit a rafter cause there was no hole in the roof.

I'm still having nightmares about this. You know...the "what-if" stuff.

I visited my gunsmith (and good friend) a few days ago to confess my sins.

He told me stories that you wouldn't believe about mistakes that he had made in addition to those of others.

I'm now carrying a .22 round in my pocket to REMIND ME of how easy it is to make just one small mistake.

I PRAY that I have learned my lesson.

Anyways, that's my story (confession)

Yes, I Know "The piece is ALWAYS LOADED"...AND SO IS THE MAGAZINE!!!

PLEASE BE CAREFUL, FOLKS !

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

So far, I haven't done anything worse than shooting in the rain and waking up the next day to an orange gun.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Recently: Overtightened scope mount screws on new Stainless Ruger 10/22. Stripped both, still have not sent in to be repaired. Did I mention I hate soft aluminum? I should have known better YES, and did I feel really stupid? YES. This was BEFORE I had even shot the rifle.

When I was 16 (ok, so it was over 20 years ago) or so I was rabbit hunting with a neighbor. Came back to a barn to unload and dress the rabbits. Thought I had unloaded my 410 pump shotgun and for some reason decided to pull the trigger with the gun pointing in general down direction (thankfully). Good think that 410 didn't spread much, because the impact area was about 4 inches from my neighbors foot. He had moved in closer and I wasn't paying attention...To his whereabouts or my ammo.

Lesson learned. It was traumatic enough for me not to forget it, and to seriously change what I do before I pull the trigger of an 'unloaded' gun.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

OP broke rule #1: Treat every gun as if loaded. OP more or less followed rule #2: Don't point the gun at anything you don't want to die or destroy. I'm sure you did not want to destroy your ceiling but worse could have been hit. You were also lucky it was .22lr so you didn't bust an eardrum. Anyway, moral of the story is that if you keep the gun pointed in a "safe" direction then when the worst of the worst happens it is still manageable.

My one and only negligent discharge involved a brand new pump 12ga I had never operated. I began loading the tube and thought it would hold 6 rounds and not 5. Well, the 6th shell went 3/4 way in and then popped out stuck halfway in the tube and against the feed ramp. I turned the gun over to work the shell out and my hands, unfamiliar with the gun, desperately tried to find purchase as the gun slid through them towards the ground. Of course, a finger found purchase on the trigger which dropped the pin on the live shell in the chamber. It blew a crater in the ground about 8" in front of my foot and dirt rained down seconds later. It left me pretty shaky for awhile. I had been observing rule #2 so it was manageable. I had failed to observe rule #1 or I would have cleared the chamber or at least engaged the safety. A lesson learned was not to immediately load and fire a weapon you have never handled; always familiarize yourself with the gun first.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

With several types of shotguns around, SLV>GLD, very good points.

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At the indoor pistol range a couple of years ago, I had my first and I hope only, AD. I was shooting my P-38 and I had what I thought was a failure to eject. While turning the gun over to look at the chamber, somehow I pulled the trigger and the round went crossways into the next lane. Fortunately, I was alone in the range and no one saw my stupidity and negligence. It really rattled me!

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Ag-man,
Probably a good thing it wasn't your CZ, huh?
I "think" I remember your having one.
Even 25' to the starboard is somewhat hazardous,huh? LOL

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Yeah, I have a CZ-52, love it! My Dad was really strict about gun safety and I thought I had it instilled enough in me, that I would never be the guy that had an AD. Riiight.

One of the guys I work with had an AD with a 12 ga shotgun. It hit him in the calf and he lost a large amount of muscle, a hideous looking wound still, after 25 years. Very sobering as an object lesson on the power of firearms.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

You're not stupid. Ruger is. This is precisely why I don't recommend a 10-22 for someone who wants to mount a scope. One friend of mine drilled his out and tapped it for larger screws just in the hope that it would more reliably hold it's zero.
-----------------

I had 3 accidental discharges back in my drinking days, I started collecting guns in the early Clinton years and liked to fondle my guns sometimes after many beers. One .38 spl through the floor, not noticable. One .25 mousegun round through a corner of a cheap metal filing cabinet. No big deal. One .38 spl discharged in a small room of a concrete block cottage while practicing fast draw with a revolver I thought was not loaded. The latter was the most scary. The bullet bounced all over that room with perfect geometry like a ball on a pool table and just missed me.

I'm sure glad I quit drinking!

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Was shooting a competition grade Sig Sauer, had a very light trigger. Fired a round, and re-applied too much trigger pressure on the recoil and got an unexpected double-tap that went high. To me, that was an ND as I did not intend it to fire.

Thankfully that was my worst faux pas. I treat all firearms of all calibres, with great respect, as they are all potentially deadly, and I always assume they want to go bang. Every firearm is different and has different characteristics and I'm extra careful if I transition to another gun.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Interesting that you use the term "negligent discharge" as that is what these things are. However, in your example, I would consider that a true "accidental discharge". Rules #1 and #2 were being followed to the letter.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Have several of those. too

As an aside, over Thanksgiving,we were using a 24" (at least)tree as a backstop for our targets,

We never thought for a moment that we were going to fell the tree the next day.

Fired a lot of the 7.62X25 into a target backed by that tree.

Needless to say, we ruined a chainsaw blade when felling that tree.

Some had penetrated at least 1/3 through using milsurp ammo into an Oak Tree.

My smith said that some rounds used a finer powder which accelerated the round to higher than normal velocities because of the powder penetration into the primer...or some such...sounded right to me at the time.

I DO know that some rounds really fired with a much louder burst than others.

Think I'll stick w/ S&B from now on for consistency.

GOTTA REMEMBER THAT FIRING LESS THAN 8 LEAVES THAT HAMMER BACK

I really do like that weapon, though

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Just Remembered...
An ex-Spec Forces friend (Nam Era) came home and went bird hunting.
Was crossing barbed wire fence,
Leaned shotgun against post.Pulled down on barbed wire...gun slid sideways and fired.
Left my friend with bad wounds up side and face...all this after having surviving some nasty stuff in Nam.

Don't do that! K?

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Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

True enough, I knew it was loaded, and it was pointed downrange in the general direction of the target. AD is a better term for that, as you stated.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Rampon, it doesn't even have to be mag fed. When a preteen, my best freind nearly put a 22LR up the bottom of my chin since he only visually checked, didn't "feel", the chamber of a single shot rifle. He was seated and I standing next to him admiring his dad's guns when "POW"; past my face into the celing. If it wasn't for his dad's bellow of "What $#)%(U)%#@ was that!" we'd have been frozen there for minutes in disbelief. I think he'd of rather been shot than take the whippin his dad gave him for that.

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Yep. I know what you mean!
I've been beating MYSELF up ever since...It's not that I didn't know better, I do.

In the M.C. we were taught to physically check the chamber. I've chambered my finger more than once with an M1A

This was a bolt action...I'll forever be more than careful with them in the future!

I deserve a good beating over this!
Just No Excuse, Sir!

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Hoarder, I know the feeling. Had a jammed M60 cook off with the cover open and the base of one of the rounds bounced around in our tank turrent for a bit. GD's were working overtime because nobody took a hit. When found, I wore it on my dogtag chain as a lucky charm, still have it. Yup, protocols were followed but it was either a cook off or a hang fire. Not quite like being in a combat loaded tank and seeing a thunderstorm head your way; now that'll raise the hairs on the back or your neck.

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I figure I was "hard learned", when a kid we'd use our BB guns to set of belts of 30cal blanks one at a time, we were carefull of the paper plugs since we knew they come out fast enough to damage somebody. But, it was the first one, I popped it off while holding it, that still leaves me with a throbbing reminder. Numerous hand det'd firecrackers and living through a war has definitely given me a healthy fear/respect of explosive objects. So what do I do? Get a B.S. in Chemistry, of course! So, no more AD/ND's for me, I've used up my GA's and have a family.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Not a firearm story, but definitely a screwup to not pay strict attention to my friend's teenage son while he's flipping a knife around in the next room. I was standing there talking when the knife came launching at my face and hit me in the eye - hilt first, thank God; it was a nasty-looking 10" dagger.

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Im new to this and have only had two incidence. On my first day of shooting instruction I had a really long hang fire. I thought I had finished unloading the chamber and got ready to lower my gun and the Instructor pushed the muzzle back up and it went off. I have a serious respect for that 30 second rule now and count my bullets. I also pointed a loaded gun at him that first day. I wont do that again either..

We did a tactical course at the shooting range last week. I was so intent of getting the bad guy I shot right through the prop mailbox.. I also got too close to the .45 to site and the recoil caused the gun to hit and cut my nose... Evidently both were a no-no because I am still hearing about it. In any case I got the bad guy dead center through the mailbox so it wasn't a total failure.

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Remington 870s scare me. I have always had one around and if its a go I'd grab it.

The Safety is out of sight on the trigger guard and I've walked around in the woods for hours with the safety off. I could have shot myself with a tree limb in the trigger or a dropping it which I've done--without boom


I always check and check and still do not trust its not dangerous.

E-A

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

I have 3 heard from friends.

In Alberta 3 guys were driving a brand new high end pick up looking for geese in the fields. At dusk or shortly thereafter, they spotted a flock but could not sneak up in time. They decided just to hammer across the field in the truck with 2 in the bed. Before they got close enough, the truck hit a hollow not visible in the low light and one of the shooters was thrown over the cab and fired both barrels of a 10 gauge into the the engine compartment.

In Ontario, 2 guys were driving from one spot to another when the passenger's shotgun went off blowing a hole in the roof of the car and causing the Labrador riding in the back to leave a pile on the back seat.

A guy was literaly crawling up on some geese at the edge of the water dragging his hammered shotgun behind him. The hammer caught on something, the gun fired and killed him.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Army story - A guy in my platoon was sitting in an APC wiith his chin on the muzzle of a blank adapted M-16. He decided to check the safety by pulling the trigger and blew a hole through the fleshy part of his chin also burning his tongue and mouth.

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I grew up around guns and hunting so much that I became bored with rifle hunting and took up bowhunting to make it more sporting for the game.

This is really embarrassing and it scared the ^*&$ out of my wife and myself.

My wife and I were living in a two story apartment on the ground floor. We had sold our second house for another very decent profit and were having our present house built in 1995.
Her father was dying and had given her several guns......

Three large game rifles, couple .22 rifles, a ruger super blackhawk .44 mag and a Belgian browning 12 ga. auto. These guns had sat in his gun safe for years.

I was sitting on the bed about 10:00 pm checking out the shot gun with the barrel pointing straight up and the butt on the bed.
I was looking at the model # and yep clicked the trigger.....


BOOOOOM

I still can't believe I was that stupid.

There was a girl that lived up stairs in the apartment above. I did not hear a body hit the floor after the shot. No one answered the door and of course the door was locked.

What to do now ?

No blood seeping through the hole.

We could only assume that the apartment layout above was the same as ours so the bed would be in the same place.
I stuck an arrow through the hole and did not hit a bed or any thing.

We waited and waited and waited for the girl to come home all night long. Long long night. No sound at all from above and no blood coming out of the hole.

In the morning I went to the managers office and explained what happened. He got a key and we opened the door and went in. No one was home. Carpet fibers all over the floor and a nice pattern on her ceiling.

This could have been very bad. But it worked out better than I would have guessed. The manager charged me ~$100.00 to patch things up and never even hinted about involving the police.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Now, don't go throwing your keys or change into that pocket, or bumping it too hard.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Just don't throw it in the drier and all will be ok.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

When I was was 12 I was shooting a shotgun with my dad. I miscounted how many I shot off. When he was setting up the targets, my finger hit the trigger and BOOM! The shot went about 20 yards away from him. He thought I was shooting at something else and didn't realize how close I came to accidently shooting him. I've never made that mistake again.



About a year ago, I was disassembling a new gun and was having trouble where I had to unjam something. As I was using my muscle rather than brains, I realized I had the barrel pointed at another shooter. The gun was unloaded, on safe etc, etc. It didn't fire, but the two of us made eye contact and i felt like a complete ass at being caught breaking the 1st rule of firearm safety.

Those are my 2 in 38 years.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Errrr, was just thinking about those hangfires. Bought 160 rounds of surplus Paki 303 and haven't been able to get one to fire yet of the dozen or so I've tried.

Had a winchester 94 go off pointed at the ground as I was cranking the shells through it with frozen gloved hands at the end of a hunt.

Shot at the noise of my own dog moveing through the brush with a single shot 22, when I had a greathorned or hawk owl scream almost in my ear behind me as a kid. I missed him

Have kept on hunting with the safety off a couple of times; that is scary! Had a friend's son put a 30-06 round through his foot after he had done that very thing after seeing a deer. Had to be carried 3/4 of a mile out of a very nasty U.P. swamp, but he was lucky it didn't ruin the bones.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Good share everyone. Lessons here for all.


***backing slowly out of the room (with kevlar vest on)****

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Off topic somewhat but related. Hope op doesn't mind....there is a good lesson to be learned with this one also.

Chainsaw incident.......pop was in front of me limbing a big white pine so I was to his rear, clearing brush from around his feet. I went in low to grab a limb and he turned around at the same time and the arc of the bar went right to my face. He pulled back as did I with probably less than 2'' to contact across the bridge of my nose. That would have been nasty. We were thankful, made a rule that we will live by, and carried on.

New rule.........8 foot square box from the shoulders back........go in there and you'll be buying the beer and getting harassed for the rest of the job.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Fwiw, your winning so far.:36_1_25:

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

My grandfather got hit in the brass suspender buckle once by a .22 round as he was walking thru the bush hunting.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Had an empty 7.62x25 brass with a primer chambered in a CZ-52 with a bubba trigger job: set it on the counter. Turned away from it and opened the fridge, hammer spontaneously dropped...

Been a believer in condition 3 carry ever since.

Same CZ-52 nearly blew my toe off. I eventually fixed the worn out sear.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Probably one of the reasons I just cant deal with having one in the pipe in my glocks.

That and I where I live I haven't locked the front door in 10 years.

I live so far out of town and off the traveled roads that I don't have break in issues.

My drive way is 3 miles long (lots of switchbacks only 1/2 mile to the entrance as the crow flies). I can see the gate from the house.

If I need to use the glock I will be racking a round.

Location; Central Idaho thirty miles from pavement and currently asshole deep to a tall Indian in snow.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

No screw ups for me. But what are your thoughts on what I do at the start of the range. For rifles I remove the mag, and leave the bolt open. check to make sure there is no cartridge in the chamber or anywhere around. I then look through the barrel from the muzzle to make sure there is no foreign objects or debris. Then I will load the magazine as normal.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Once I was whaling with the Japanese in the southern seas and the sea sheperd guys came up and tried to block us. I took aim at the biggest fattest target I could see, and slowly squeezed the trigger. my mistake was aiming for his badge or something because it only slightly dented it and he lived.

live and learn.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

no, but seriously, my biggest screw up was at the indoor gun range, I had put a scope on a light little bolt action remington 788 in .308. fired and had my eye too close to the scope and POW. blood started leaking down my face. luckily the only other guy was 5 booths down so I cut off the top of my sock with my pocket knife and held it to my eye with the scope so nobody could tell I was trying to stop my eyebrow from bleeding. I would fire a round down range every little bit so it wouldnt look wierd. about 10 minutes later I packed everything up, and licked the sock and wiped my face down until it stopped coming back red. Then I snuck into the bathroom and cleaned up. I dont think anyone noticed.

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Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

You know, to me, admitting screw ups with firearms are the most embarrassing things I've posted on this forum. For me, the two screw ups I made, I learned from both my father (an army veteran) and through my time in the Marines were things that could get my ass kicked, seriously lose trust from friends or worse kill a friend.

Thumbs up to all of you who posted.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

I shot an old tire when I was 16. My instinct is to make fun of those who say it's all fun until someone loses an eye, but I was hit by that richochete about a 1/4 inch above my eye. (stupid) Thank God there is a degree of "immortality" in us when we're under 25 years old. If I did something like that now I'm sure I'd have a glass eye.

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I use golf balls for .22 targets all the time, but don't try that with a pellet gun! They come right back at you! I didn't get hit, but food for thought anyway.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Almost 3 years of active shooting and owning firearms here, and no incidents as of yet. Since day one I made it a habit to check every gun every time I pick it up and every time I put it down.

The closest story I have is when a buddy of mine and I went out to train his wife to shoot her new Glock. With a full magazine, she fired her first shot, hit the target, and in triumph raised both hands into the air, sweeping me with her gun with her finger on the trigger. Instinctively I dropped to the ground and told her what she just did. It really freaked me out, and the stupid thing was we just got done explaining to her the rules for using firearms, including never point it at anything you don't want to kill/destroy.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

see any spiders that sh*t their pants ?

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Almost fired a 7.62x39 through my FN FAL.

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My second time out shooting. I took my 9mm and a 380. Out in the woods by myself. I load a mag up for the 9 and fire two rounds and the 3rd misfeeds. Closer inspection indicates that I loaded 380 into the mag for the 9mm. I was just glad that there was no one else around to see that dumb move. No harm done though.

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One summer at camp as the Shooting Sports Director, I let a kid who was too small shoot my semiauto Browning "humpback" 12 gauge. I showed him how to nestle the butt into his shoulder pocket. He seemed comfortable with that. I'm standing there beside him observing, and give him the okay to fire and the world went into slow motion.

Before he fired, he pulled the butt out of his shoulder pocket and tucked it up under his armpit. Like a scene out of a B movie, I shout out, "Nooooooooooooooooo!" in my best Darth-Vader-Learns-Padme-is-Dead voice as he pulls the trigger.

BLAMO! The shotgun hump recoils directly into the kids right cheekbone. He drops the shotgun to the floor.

Ohshitohshitohshit. Now I'm going to have to take this kid to the hospital for reconstructive facial surgery. After I get him calmed down, I start running though the combat lifesaver routine I learned in the Army and inspecting him for damage. Thank heavens his cheek was okay.

He went through the rest of the week at camp with a helluva bruise though.

Also, I went dove hunting when I was MUCH younger with my dad. He had said Browning 12 gauge and I was on the breakaction .410. I tracked a dove too far out of my sector, was going to pull the trigger on it, when dad noticed I was about to put a Dick Cheney smackdown on him. He grabbed the barrel of the .410 and very quickly redirected it away from his head.

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Me and a buddy were out hunting rabbits on grampa's farm. Musta been 12-13 years old. I had a 12 gauge and he had a 22. I never really had any proper gun safety training or anything at that point. We were climbing over a barb wire fence, and my buddy was slightly ahead of me and off to the side a little.

As I came down on the other side of the fence I stumbled, and fired of a round of BB shot close beside my buddy. Even though the shot missed him by a bit, it scared the crap out of both of us.

From that point onwards it was safeties on always.

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Sitting in the back of a deuce and a half, a**hle to elbow with most of a platoon of grunts leaving a live fire in Korea. Very cold, pitch black and a 60gunner has a round discharge. A very,very loud discharge. Much louder than all the firing of a platoon all at once on a range....followed by dead silence. You can imagine the bedlam that followed. Sorting out exactly what happened and the very immediate justice that was handed out.

Miraculously nobody was injured. We never even found a hole in the canvas canopy or wooden planking or steel flooring. WTF?

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Yesterday I knocked my rifle over and knicked the barrel. Still plenty mad at myself.

Back when I was in high school, a friend discharged a 22 round from a SAO revolver into my waterbed barely missing my other buddies leg. I was in the other room but immediately knew exactly what it was. It didnt go all the way through and we just patched the hole and my mother never found out. When I left for college I drained the waterbed and there in the bottom of the shower was a 22 bullet. Gave it to my buddy who was behind the trigger and he still has it taped in his scrapbook.

Fast forward a few years. That 22 revolver is now part of my step fathers "cowboy" display in his living room. Last year, my mom called me and said that a grandson had shot a hole in the ceiling of the living room. He was unsupervised and "playing" with the gun. That one couldve ended much much worse.

After she told me what happened, I told her the story about the waterbed. She repeatedly asked me about who the parties involved were, but I wouldnt tell her.

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I saw you in heartbreak ridge. You were the guy at the range having weapon issues and swept the firing line. Man did they dog you out on the march back :rofl:

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

No, I watched that movie before I went in. I made sure I was squeaky clean with weapons while I was in.

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Marlin 30-30 lever action. To put it on safe, with it loaded and cocked, you pull back the hammer with your thumb and pull the trigger and slowly ride the hammer forward into the safe position. This Marlin had a scope on it so there was barely enough room for your thumb to fit in between the hammer and the scope. This one time my thumb didn't fit and the hammer went forward and the rifle fired. I was sitting in the seat of my FJ-40 and it blew a hole in my door. Every other lever action I have seen since then has a side thumb extension added to it if there is a scope mounted.

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At the tenderly stupid age of 16 was twirling, fanning, and fast drawing a nine shot .22. During one of my little fast draw tricks I pulled the trigger just as the barrel cleared the holster and nearly lost a toe.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Get a wheeler torque wrench. You won't ever have it happen again.
I use a torque wrench to mount all my scopes.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Fortunately my firearms Screw-Ups were minor. "Scope Eye" with a featherweight 30-06 is not pleasant.

Caught a piece of hot brace down my back from the customer next to me. That was entertaining.

Oh yeah, was clearing my rifle while hunting and my partner suddenly moved my barrel aside. The barrel was pointing in the general direction of another hunter 100 yards away. The hunter was in full camo in heavy brush. I guess he was successful as I didn't see him. I know there's a large majority of hunters who think its cool to not wear orange. This is why I no longer participate in the general season hunts in Oregon. To be fair though, I should have had the barrel pointed up or down when I was clearing the rifle.:s15:

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I had one bad mistake about twenty years ago. I owned a 20-gauge Browning Citori that had a bad habit of occasionally firing upon closing the action. Not every time, not every other time, but maybe every 25 rounds. I was pretty poor at the time, so rather than taking the gun to a smith, I tore it down myself. Did I mention I was poor? I was living in a ground-floor apartment, so I identified the safest place to point the muzzles, the solid-steel door. The concrete floor would have been ricochet heaven, and I had a hot upstairs neighbor that I did not want to shoot with that gun.

So I tear the gun down, find some shot shell plastic in the action, clean it up, and figure it is fixed. I load a pair of snap caps and start opening and closing the action. After about fifty or so cycles, I am pleased, so I prepare to take the gun down. But I am going to close the action pretty hard just to check.

BOOM. I just had fired a 2-3/4" 20-gauge shotshell loaded with #6 bird shot into my steel door. The gun was loaded with one live round and one snap cap. My ears rang, the door was dented, but no one was injured. It cost me my pride and $75 to have the door replaced. A smith could have fixed it for what the door cost. Dumb me. I also was vacuuming up shot for days.

I took the gun to a dealer, disclosed the issue, and sold it. Even though it could be fixed, I wanted nothing to do with it.

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When I was 12 or 13 my older brother and I cross threaded a new nipple into my muzzle loader. When I fired it the nipple blew out and clocked me in the forehead. Nice scar and an ever lasting flinch when shooting smoke poles?

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My first trip to the range with my 30-06 landed me with scope-eye cut to the middle of my brow/eyeline which made it difficult to shoot until it stopped bleeding. I blame it on leaving the barrel on the gun rest so that I could use the pump and chamber another round. Not stable or accurate in that position.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

shot a sand bag supporting the front of my AK a while back..was doing multiple rounds and it got shot...kinda freaked me out cause I got a face full of sand...

luckly nobody saw! It was dumb.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

When I was hunting with a friend a few years ago...

we were standing at the edge of the field getting ready to start the day (tying the laces on our boots, zipping up our orange vests, putting on our hearing protection, etc.). My friend (standing about 4 feet away) had a new Remington 870 12GA and randomly fired off a round just for the hell of it.

Problem was I didn't have my earplugs in yet - I couldn't believe that he didn't say "I'm going to shoot a round, is that ok?" or that he didn't even look to see if I had my earplugs in. My left ear rang for the rest of the day, I was pissed at the time but in retrospect it wasn't that big of a deal.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Carrying a live round in your pocket is a mistake. I know a guy who went to Mexico and never came back. He had one bullet with him, which he had forgotten about. He's still in jail.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Not to worry, Saul...Mexico is coming to me!...and they don't worry about no stinkin' bullet laws here (Tx)

But, yeah, I've heard the same stories.

Re: Your Firearms Screw-Ups
 

Nice timing for this thread. Guess I gotta confess my stupidity. For the first time in my life I screwed up - had a Sub-2000 that I was not totally familiar with and the other day got it out of the closet to check on it. A few months ago I had put a loaded magazine in it, but no round in the chamber. So I pull the gun out, and because it was black and because I was tired and hungry and a little unfocused from being on a diet, I didn't notice the mag in the grip (both black). This is a folding gun, so I unfolded it, locked it into place, pull the cocking mechanism back, and then like a total moron decided for some reason to dry fire it with the safety in both positions. It dry fired just fine, then I folded it up and then I release the cocking mechanism and a round falls out of the gun on the floor and I realize how close I came to having a round in the chamber and pulling the trigger. The only good thing is that I didn't break rule #2 - I had it pointed at the floor all the time, but there was another person in the room with me while I was doing all this.

This was the dumbest thing I did in 50 years, and I used to be a firearms safety instructor as a kid. Scared me the most in 50 years too - would have put a nice hole in the landlords floor into the basement - might have had the cops knocking on my door asking what happened.

I will say this, I think it was a good thing to happen, because it taught me a big scary lesson - that you can do things right for years and years and still manage to screw up if the circumstances are right and you aren't as thoughtful as you should have been.

A cheap and long-lasting lesson for me.