Yup, that gun safety thing is no joke...

[anaphylaxis]

Just for grins, I decided to take the long guns out of the safe to take inventory (and see if I could rearrange them so I can buy more. lol)

Normally when I put 'em away, mag comes out, chamber is verified clear. I keep a shotgun loaded but safety on and chamber clear. Handguns usually clear except one or two have a mag in and round chambered.

Well, I take one AR out first, no magazine in there. Should be fine. Well, out of habit I yank the charging handle back to eyeball the chamber. I watched in disbelief as a piece of brass flew out of there. Sure enough, live round was in the chamber. In years of collecting / shooting these bullet launchers, that's the first time this has happened. I sure don't remember putting it away like that, but must have been in a hurry the last time I put it back.

Then I think of a time I was shooting an Uzi Model B out at the old Lefthand Canyon range. I had just inserted a full magazine, finger was well clear of the trigger. Pulled the changing handle back, let it snap forward to chamber a round... BOOM! Fortunately, it was pointed downrange so no big deal. First and only time I've had that happen.

Anyway, just a public service announcement... Following the rules isn't just a real good idea, it can keep something bad from happening.

[Steps]

I agree. I have been around guns since I was born. 36 years in and I have had a couple of things happen to say the least.

Safety first, always! I was just working with my 3 and 5 year old sons today on this very subject, and they both shot one of their .22's. My 5 year old did pretty good.

[merl]

Done much the same thing pulling a FAL out of the safe. No mag, lets check anyway. OOOPS

There is a reason you have to check em every time.

[ZERO THEORY]

*Always check my weapons crew
*Refuse to be on YouTube crew
*Scold friends and family who disobey the rules crew
*Almost got into a scuffle with my long time friend's brother for flagging me with a live weapon crew
*Become a robot to procedure when handling my rifle crew

[KestrelBike]

Yup I've always liked the habit of checking chamber when grabbing a weapon from a safe, and you've just illustrated why it's a good idea!!

[Danimal]

I have had that exact same thing happen once before. One close call like that and it changes the whole way you perceive the truth behind the fallibility of human nature and "its always loaded" makes sense.

[splogan]

Saw an AD of an "unloaded " firearm once. kinda hits home, also why I always keep a loaded pistol on my hip at the range.

[n8tive97]

True story, just last week I was at a small gun store I drive by often that will remain nameless. We were talking about a trigger job on a certain make of pistol. A guy from behind the counter goes "here try mine, I had the same job done on my gun". So he dropped that mag and handed me the gun to try out the trigger. I asked him "Is it happy" he responded "it's happy". Out of habit, I pulled the slide back and out came a round. I shook my head handed him the gun and walked out.

To the original post, always, always check.

[BlasterBob]

A few years ago, while I was attending the Wanenmacher TULSA gun show, one of the vendors, an authorized GLOCK dealer if I recall correctly, had a customer bring him a new holster in an effort to see if a certain model GLOCK would fit in the holster. Customer didn't have a GLOCK but intended to buy one that particular day. So, the dealer reached in his brief case and pulled out his personal GLOCK. Removed the magazine and handed the pistol over to the customer to try in his holster. The dealer failed to clear the weapon and upon handing it over to the customer, the customer pulled the trigger while attempting to insert the firearm.
B A N G!! [oops]
The entire building with it's 4,000+ tables became totally silent. If someone had burped or farted 100 yards away from that table, you could have heard it......Show officials immediately came right over to the table and helped the GLOCK dealer quickly remove everything from his table and then escorted him out of the building - pronto. I am sure the guy who pulled the trigger also got a rather stern lecture. Good lesson to make damn sure the weapons are really cleared PRIOR to handing then over to someone else or messing around with them ourselves.[blaster]

[brutal]

Unless zip-tied chamber at a show, I refuse to handle a weapon that hasn't been cleared in my presence. And then I will clear it again when I take it.

I also rotate rounds chambered. In pistols for setback prevention, in AR's for slamfire prevention.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Done it.. scared the bejezzus out of me. I never trusted myself when it comes to safety ever since. Always double check it.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Well, I take one AR out first, no magazine in there. Should be fine. Well, out of habit I yank the charging handle back to eyeball the chamber. I watched in disbelief as a piece of brass flew out of there. Sure enough, live round was in the chamber. In years of collecting / shooting these bullet launchers, that's the first time this has happened. I sure don't remember putting it away like that, but must have been in a hurry the last time I put it back.


Great post and thread!
These are such great reminders.
I know what I keep loaded and I still check it like someone with OCD. [Beer] Every time.

I bet that moment gave you that "heart skip a beat" sensation.

[TheBelly]

*Always check my weapons crew
*Refuse to be on YouTube crew
*Scold friends and family who disobey the rules crew
*Almost got into a scuffle with my long time friend's brother for flagging me with a live weapon crew
*Become a robot to procedure when handling my rifle crew

*Always have someone else verify my weapons are clear if someone is available. I can be trusted, but I'd rather put two heads together.

i am pretty selective about what things i out there. I have some videos of some pretty messed up stuff, although thankfully none of it is firearms safety related.


OP: this is a good reminder to us. Thanks!

[HoneyBadger]

OP, thanks for sharing. Glad nothing ended badly, but this is exactly why it is so important to establish good habits, especially with kids. Good job not shooting yourself.

[anaphylaxis]

Thanks to all for the comments, and yeah that made me pause for a minute. Sometimes people wonder why there are multiple rules to follow for gun safety. Well, this is it. If one messes up on one rule, there are others backing it up...

[tmleadr03]

Saw an AD of an "unloaded " firearm once. kinda hits home, also why I always keep a loaded pistol on my hip at the range.

I am of the personal belief there is no such thing. They are all ND.

[SAnd]

This thread reminds me of the two scariest sounds a gun makes-
The CLICK that should have gone bang.
The BANG that should have gone click.

[kwando]

Just had this EXACT thing happen to me!! Rifles I don't keep a round chamber, just my carry piece and the wife's revolver. Was working on installing the AAC breakouts on the rifles and pulled the CH back when I literally shit my pants when a round came flying out! Treat EVERY gun as if it's loaded my friends.

[tmleadr03]

This thread reminds me of the two scariest sounds a gun makes-
The CLICK that should have gone bang.
The BANG that should have gone click.

My buddy and I were out in the field behind his FIL house playing with a 50 cal black powder rifle. Fucker went click. My buddy was shooting at the time. He held it for a while, then took a knee and held it some more. Then said "Dude, your turn, I am going to go call my dad and see how long we need to do this before we can stop holding it down range. " So I get my shoulder behind it, take a knee and he heads back inside. Keep in mind this is middle of winter up in Cody WY. Not warm.

He pops his head back out just a few seconds later and yells back to me "Dad says we should wait another 10 min, I am going to grab a beer and I will let you know when the times up."

I may or may not have cussed a bit at him.

[wctriumph]

I was at a friend of a friend's home and he showed me his grandfathers US Army 1911. I noticed it had the mag in it and asked him if it was loaded. He said no and added that he had never fired it. I asked him to set it on the table. When I picked it up I dropped the mag and it had 6 old and slightly corroded cartridges in it, I racked the slide and a cartridge ejected. The guy said he had that gun in his dresser for almost twenty years after his GF had died and never knew it was loaded.

I made him an offer on it since it was obvious he was not a gun person and he said he would keep it as a memory of his GF but he allowed me to take the cartridges with me. I cleaned them up and put them in my SA 1911 and they all went bang.

Please, please, always check a gun to see if loaded any time you handle it.

[Kmanbay]

I have had two experiences that scared the hell out of me on the range, both happened with new female officers.

The first was when I was in the academy. We were being given instruction on how to shoot the 870. One of the ladies loaded the weapon with buck shot, left the safety off and with her finger on the trigger turned around to ask a question to someone behind her. She flagged about a half a dozen people and seemed confused when several of us hit the dirt. No one was injured.

The second one was while I was the range-master one day, and we preach weapon safety. We were, again, getting ready to do shotgun qualifications and were shooting slugs from behind cover. One of our new officers, this one turned around too, wanted to see what we were doing behind her. We were dealing with a weapon malfunction. This officer turned about 90 degrees and squeezed the trigger sending a slug crashing in to the ground about a foot from another officers knee. She too didn't understand what the fuss was about, and he was none too happy.

Thankfully she is not liability we have to deal with anymore.

[Grant H.]

Good reminder.

ALWAYS clear ANY firearm when you FIRST touch it. NEVER trust memory or what you are told.

It's a sentence built out of absolute, and it needs to be an absolute rule for all of us.