Admitting your screw-ups

[Dietrich]

One of the most bitter pills a person has to swallow is the one where they admit they have screwed up.I suppose most of us in the shooting sports have a story we can tell but don`t really want to.That`s what this thread is all about.It was actually inspired by Newkahrowner and his thread about doing what you`re taught.So anyway,if you`ve got the stones,tell about the stupid mistakes you have made involving firearms.I would love to say that I haven`t made a mistake but lying isn`t what this is about.Here`s mine.
I was in my workshop,cleaning the .357 snubnose I kept in my truck.It was beautiful work.Clean,oiled,perfectly functional.I squeezed down on the trigger to check the pull of the DA and you know the result.An ear ringing explosion inside that tiny room because I had forgotten that after I finished cleaning the gun, I had reloaded it.Fortunately for me and everyone else in the neighborhood,the damage was limited to a nice sized hole in the floor and my ego.It was a lesson I have not forgotten.

[jocko]

dumbest mistake I ever made was 46 years ago, when I married my first wife.

yea I know u meant with fireamrs:banplease:

[jeepster09]

dumbest mistake I ever made was 46 years ago, when I married my first wife.

yea I know u meant with fireamrs:banplease:

Go figure.....I made the same one 40 years ago....geeez you could of told me considering you already made that one 6 years earlier. ;)

[Indigo]

I was giving a rather informal intro lesson in how to operate a handgun to 2 of my wife's friends. It was a nice 95 degree North Carolina day with sweat pouring all over everyone. I handed everyone a Kahr K9 and kept a Sig 229 for myself. After loading about the 50th magazine for someone I finally got around to myself. Racked the slide then had to pause to tell someone "Hey don't point the gun at people when you wave your hands around happily after hitting the target" and rather than hit the convenient hammer release lever I just tried to thumb down the hammer. Big mistake with a slippery wet sweaty hand. BAM! right into the ground by our feet. Since they didn't know crap about guns I immediately passed it off as "See what if you accidentally did that while you were pointing at someone" and just kept the mistake to myself.

[TheTman]

I had a hang fire on an SKS and didn't wait long enough to clear the chamber, waited about 20 seconds then started to unchamber the round when it went off. I had raised up my rifle barrel so it was no longer pointed at the backstop when it went off. Fortunately there wasn't much around there but farmground.

[Bawanna]

I wont share my own yet but I'll rat my uncle out who is waiting for me on the other side of the river.

We were at his house, grandparents, my mom, dad, 2 sisters and his 3 boys. The house was laid out so you could go from living room to dining room thru kitchen down a little hall past some bedrooms and back into the living room. Uncle, dad, and grandpa were watching the usual western movie on tv and all the kids were doing what kids do, playing the thundering herd making the circle chasing each other.
Uncle was or had just finished cleaning his 22 pistol. I don't recall what brand, a Woodsman or a Hi Standard maybe I was too young to know but of course was infatuated with it.
Anyhow he had cleaned and made the comment that the next time the bad guy came on the screen (might of been Black Bart) he was gonna shoot him.
Well you guessed it, after cleaning he had reloaded. He hit the bad guy center mass directly in the center of the old black and white tv. The world came to a screeching halt. The picture sucked down into the hole like a vacuum. I remember that part like it was yesterday. After about 5 minutes it came back out of the hole and worked fine. Granpa was pissed cause he missed 5 minutes of the movie. Had to replace the glass but not the picture tube.
Nobody hit, all the kids were just at the entry point of the living room so we saw it but were behind the accidental firing line, but that was the end of semi autos and my uncle. I bought all his guns about 10 years later, couple nice winchesters, he didn't use em anymore. I recently gave them back to his sons, I still regret it but they were his sons so they deserved em.

[melissa5]

OK...I had taken a Glock to a dealer to possibly trade it on something else. The guy behind the counter takes it out of the case and racks the slide. Oops! A round pops out. He gives me a dirty look and I say "My bad". So far, I haven't shot anything other than a paper target. Knock on wood!

[OldLincoln]

So far the closest I've come is switching to my 1911 45 after shooting the 9mm on a range trip. I was drawing down on the target when the gun fired over the target thanks to the extremely short and light pull. I know you aren't supposed to put your finger on the trigger until the target is in the sights but I hadn't even thought about pulling the trigger. Maybe a breeze came up or something.

When I shot the Glock 36 the other day I was on the target zeroing in when it went off before I was ready. Just one more reason to get a P45 rather than Glock 36, assuming the triggers are the same.

[O'Dell]

dumbest mistake I ever made was 46 years ago, when I married my first wife.

yea I know u meant with fireamrs:banplease:

Yeah Jocko, but did you make the same mistake twice - I did!

[O'Dell]

I'll have to blow the whistle on my son, since I haven't had my ND .....yet.

He was in my office examining my PM45, and dropped the mag, aimed at a light switch about 15 feet down the hall, and you know the rest. That 45 HP blew the switch out of the wall, turned 90 degrees, and exited onto the front porch. He normally shoots Glocks [yes I know, I so ashamed], but since they don't have a mag safety, I can't explain it.

[getsome]

I think I have told this story before but many moons ago right after I first married we lived in a two story apartment...I worked nights and my wife worked days and it was almost time for me to leave for work...I had a crappy old 12 gauge pump shotgun and kept the mag tube loaded but chamber empty...My wifes sister was coming over with her 4 year old son so I wanted to unload the shotgun before I left so as to take no chances...Well in the process of racking out the shells the action broke and jammed with the last live round in the chamber...Try as I might I couldn't get it out and time was getting short so I got the bright idea to just fire the last shell to clear the gun so I got all the phone books, news papers, magazines and everything else I could find and stacked them up and placed the muzzle against the stack and touched off the round...KABLAM!!!.:eek:.:eek:.:eek:.....The blast was more like an explosion than a gun shot and I was unable to hear the other noises coming from downstairs (which was probably a good thing) so anyway I shook off the blast and made sure the shotgun was now clear and set it aside and began to pick up the phone books and other back stop material until I got down to the floor level and saw light coming from down stairs...(RA-RO)...Well as it turns out 6 phone books and 6 inchs of newspaper were no match for 12 gauge 00 buck and neither was carpet, pad, plywood flooring 2x4 studs, kitchen ceiling, kitchen cabinet top and door, all my new wife's Corningware she got as a wedding gift and last but not least the kitchen sink...Well when I saw all the carnage in the kitchen I knew it was not going to be a good several months or more for me so I called in sick and did my best to clean up the damage and got a story together that it was all an accident and the gun went off by its self somehow...(Thats my story and I'm sticking to it to this day)...Well needless to say she was supremely pi$$ed...:31:...about it and made me get rid of the shotgun (which I was going to anyway the P.O.S.)...I had to use my overtime money to replace the Corningware and repair all the damage so some good came out of it as I learned how to fix sheet rock, cabinets and holes in floors...The moral of this story is to never under estimate the power of a 12 gauge shotgun fired inside a house and if you do have to fire one at a bad guy be sure you know whats behind him and 7 or 8 more things after that because you're going to hit and make a big ole hole in all of um....:rolleyes:

[O'Dell]

A good, well told story GetSome. Despite the carnage, it sounds like a real learning experience.

[getsome]

Thanks O'Dell but if had of been really smart I would have waited until she was in the kitchen to set off that cannon...I'm pretty sure I would be out of prison by now...:cool:...:banplease:

[OldLincoln]

Not a "real screwup" but soon after we moved into a log cabin (seriously!) in a christian camp where I was the maintenance mgr, I went bowling in a nearby village with the camp director. When I got back, I open the door to find my pistol aimed directly at me ready to fire held by very shaky hands. In a squeaky voice my wife asks "how do you undo this thing?" I calmly moved it away from her and gently took it uncocked it and set it down. She was shortly in tears and still white as a ghost.

It turns out she heard a bear in our cans just outside the door. No make that a really HUGE bear and she was not going to let it get to our 4 year old son. As we are talking the cans started rattling and she got all excited so I look out the window then show her the 2 racoons in the cans.

As they say alls well that ends well. She's not a mountain woman by any stretch of the imagination and I'm just glad she wasn't mad at me for taking her up to that god forsaken log cabin.

[Rainman48314]

I'm still such a rookie, I have little to tell. I do have two ex-wives.

During my CPL class, a new, not yet broken-in 9mm was failing to reset the trigger. I told my instructor after it first happened and when it happened a second time, during a drill where he was calling my shots (as in 12 o'clock, 4 o'clock on the target), I said to him, "see, its done it again". I was pointing downrange but somewhat high, like into the ceilng, ten feet ahead of both. I pressed the trigger so as to show him it wasn't my technique and Boom, scared the hell out of him. Me only a little since I was holding it.

The gun cleared up after a very thorough cleaning top to bottom and it never failed to reset again. Haven't shot a ceiling since either.

[O'Dell]

Thanks O'Dell but if had of been really smart I would have waited until she was in the kitchen to set off that cannon...I'm pretty sure I would be out of prison by now...:cool:...:banplease:

Or better yet, you could have invited one of my ex-wives over. I promise, I would have come on visiting day.

[Rainman48314]

On a not so related note. I am friends with two psychologists who are married to each other but have seven divorces between them. I have no idea why.

[rwblue01]

I had a mechanical with an older Winchester 94 in 44mag. It appears that if the right parts are broke, when you chamber the round the hammer will come down "some of the time".

I had a slam fire with an experimental round many years ago.

So far I have been lucky. It has cost me a little bit of money but no one was hurt.

[Jeremiah/Az]

I bought my first exwife, yes, there were more to follow, a Browning .25 auto. We were out in the desert & I was teaching her how to shoot it. She pulled the trigger after loading it & it just clicked. I told her to keep it pointed downrange & to lay it flat onto my open hand, which she did. I pressed the mag release with my other hand & it fired! The action operated & I threw the gun about 40 feet in the air! No harm to anyone, but the gun went back to the dealer the next day.:eek:

[Barth]

So far the closest I've come is switching to my 1911 45 after shooting the 9mm on a range trip. I was drawing down on the target when the gun fired over the target thanks to the extremely short and light pull. I know you aren't supposed to put your finger on the trigger until the target is in the sights but I hadn't even thought about pulling the trigger. Maybe a breeze came up or something.

When I shot the Glock 36 the other day I was on the target zeroing in when it went off before I was ready. Just one more reason to get a P45 rather than Glock 36, assuming the triggers are the same.

Ditto.
Accidental discharge of 1911 at the range.
I was getting ready to shoot and the gun went off before I was ready.
No harm done. But I'll never forget that.
Keep your finger off the trigger for sure.
But I'm still skittish about "locked and cocked" for self defense.
(My 45 is a P220 DA/SA)

[Diocoles]

I feel left out.

Closest I had was after doing my first trigger job.
Started to bring the weapon down to the target and aerated the ceiling...

Yup, keep my fat finger off trigger before it's on the target.. duh. :o

I like it though. I actually did a good trigger job.
Down from 7.5 lbs to 5.5 lbs. Now that I'm used to it, I love it.
And no, I'm not going any lighter. It's my carry.

[garyb]

Dumbest thing I did with a gun was when I was 17yrs young and went bunny huntin with a few guys I did not know all that well. To make a long story short, we were all abreast and a bunny was running my way. I saw one of the guys pull up, so I turned my back to him and took a load in the back. It felt like every piece of shot went in my back. Fortunately I was wearing a safety vest and not one single shot went through to the skin. Sure felt like it though. I tore off all my upper clothes only to find my entire back welted up. I walked back to the car and never went hunting with those jack arsed again.

[jlottmc]

I put a hole in the floor of a mobile home that I was renting. Hadn't eaten that day, it was a long and hot one too. I went to clear my 1911, dropped the mag, racked the slide, and still swear that I saw a round come out of the pipe. If it did, it went right back in. I dropped the hammer by pulling the trigger (no need to lower on an empty chamber right?). BOOM a 45 caliber hydra-shok went through the floor. Fast forward a few years, and change the 1911 for a 380, and I put one into a wall (didn't penetrate to the neighbors side of the duplex though). That time I was dry firing, had a mag safety, but had put one back in and went to drop the hammer. Wife was on the phone with the old man at the time. Never again will I rely on a safety device that is not between my ears.

[jocko]

bet that bang expanded the trailor walls for a split second??/

In my business which was a tire store and a gun store, a custmer shot ahole in my mens restroom door while take a dump. He claimed he was just aiming his Smith and Wesson J frame at the door knob and pretending>

[orangeandbrown]

I stocked and checkered a Ruger model 3 .22 hornet in flame maple for my wife when we were first married. Out to the pasture we went in my 1973 F150 [I was quite proud of] and I was going to teach her how to shoot. After I fired a couple of rounds I loaded it and handed it to her and she accidentally touched the trigger and shot one of the front lights out of my beloved pickup. She handed the rifle to me and got in the pickup without saying a word. I must have screamed at her because she will not handle a loaded rifle to this day. She does have a couple of J frame .38's with laser sights though she won't go to the shooting range with me to practice. Yes we are still married [happily] but only because she has alot of patience with a husband who really knows how throw a s*** fit.

[Barth]

I stocked and checkered a Ruger model 3 .22 hornet in flame maple for my wife when we were first married. Out to the pasture we went in my 1973 F150 [I was quite proud of] and I was going to teach her how to shoot. After I fired a couple of rounds I loaded it and handed it to her and she accidentally touched the trigger and shot one of the front lights out of my beloved pickup. She handed the rifle to me and got in the pickup without saying a word. I must have screamed at her because she will not handle a loaded rifle to this day. She does have a couple of J frame .38's with laser sights though she won't go to the shooting range with me to practice. Yes we are still married [happily] but only because she has alot of patience with a husband who really knows how throw a s*** fit.

Unfortunately gun safety isn't a natural thing.
I have a friend whose girlfriend always passes the barrel of a gun across
others in the room without realizing it. We have talked to her about it twice. But she just argues she's not doing it. The gun is unloaded - but still.

We must all do our part to instill gun safety in others.
I'm saying this out loud and to myself as well as everyone else.

Think it's time for a gun safety thread - everyone don't get mad at me please...

[Ubaldo99]

Whoa! All these stories are kinda filling me with a sense of dread and inevitability. If you guys (who are obviously well-experienced gun handlers) have experienced these kinds of mishaps, then its only a matter of time before something similar befalls me. Ugh. Here's hoping that if/when my screwup occurs no one gets hurt.

[orangeandbrown]

Want to learn to post pictures, so here is a picture of .22 hornet I stocked for my wife. It has not been shot since she wounded my F150 over 30 years ago. Bawanna, at one time I had good eyes and a steady hand. Thank god my hands shake and my vision is poor now......I would never hit the target otherwise.




http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m640/northernrockiesguy/IMG_3722.jpg

[Dietrich]

Whoa! All these stories are kinda filling me with a sense of dread and inevitability. If you guys (who are obviously well-experienced gun handlers) have experienced these kinds of mishaps, then its only a matter of time before something similar befalls me. Ugh. Here's hoping that if/when my screwup occurs no one gets hurt.

Hang on a minute there pal..These stories aren`t being posted to give you a sense of inevitability.They`re here to show you that even people who know better have mental lapses.We`re all here to help each other and if these stories help one or all of us focus better on what we`re doing,that`s a good thing.Just because we made mistakes does not mean you will. My mistake has made me much more aware of my actions and the actions of those around me.I`ve learned the hard way to take nothing for granted and that`s one of the primary rules of gun safety.Stay safe and learn from our idiotic, but thankfully non lethal, screw-ups.

[OldLincoln]

Ubaldo; You hear about auto accidents every day but that doesn't mean you're next. As Diet said learning from others' goofs should make you safer. When I read these I'm thinking how does that apply to me and make a mental note. Other do likewise as they fess up after reading one similar to theirs.

If we regularly get our collective awareness tweaked we'll all be safer with our guns.

[jocko]

no doubt we won't live long enough to make all the mistakes, so we should learn from those who do fokk up.

[tdperry23]

mine happened three weeks ago,i was getting ready for work and when i went and got my pm9 i tripped as i got to the door to the living room. as many times as i have tripped at the range i have never had a n.d. or been dqed from a match,but on this particular morning when i hit the door frame,floor at the same time my finger was on the bang switch. ran outside to make sure i had not shot my neighbor then went back inside to assess the damage unfortunately a 50"sony tv is not bullet proof but at least nothing but my pride and the tv were hurt.

[wyntrout]

I'm glad no one was injured! It's upgrade time! You have to look at the bright side of things.

Wynn:)

[wyntrout]

I've been pretty lucky with the few misadventures I had, but I keep thinking about Getsome and that danged 12-gauge with 00 buck. That's quite a cannon to be firing off in the house... on purpose... on the second floor!!:eek:

My .22LR through the thigh with the quick drawing is more understandable... to me! OOPS! At least it wasn't my High power! I never tried fast draw with that.

Wynn:D

[rwblue01]

My .22LR through the thigh with the quick drawing is more understandable... to me! OOPS! At least it wasn't my High power! I never tried fast draw with that.

Wynn:D

LOL
I probably should not laugh, but I am glad I was not written up in the news paper.

This reminds me I need to buy a bb version of my Glocks to practice with.

[jlottmc]

When I was an armorer, we used to get weapons pointed at us all the time, rounds in chambers, fingers on bang switches and safeties off. We got real grouchy. Worst case of stupidity that should have been terminal was in Bosnia. We had just come ashore, and our barracks were in an area that was littered with mines. There was a kid (I think from West By God) that found a sheet of plywood, and thought he could throw his bayonet and stick it. We protested, loudly, but stupid won out and did it. Problem was, he bounced off of that and tripped a mine, which set off about four more. No real injuries more than a couple of pieces of fragmentation is some legs and butts, but a bunch of brown huggies. We had a conversation with with him, and didn't see him again after that. Funny that part, I think the ossifers got wind of that and dealt with him.

[OldLincoln]

Yep, it's those greenhorns that act before they think that put everybody at risk. I was sitting in the jump seat on a flight and noticed the Lieutenant co-pilot was kinda spaced out looking at switches and figured he was playing out scenarios in his head. Suddenly like a karate move he reached up and flicked off the autopilot. The aircraft was a little out of trim and lurched making the aircraft commander spill his coffee as he grabbed controls and retrimmed. He may have been an officer but he swore like a Master Sargent. Never saw the Lieutenant again. Heard he "put in" a transfer for Newfoundland.

[tdperry23]

old lincoln to answer your question no i normally do not have my finger on the bang switch but one stupid moment when i hit the door frame,personally i dont think my record is too bad i made it 47 yrs 11 months to do something that stupid. by the way thanks for helping the bruised ego this is the reason people dont admit mistakes sorry i did not know anyone here was perfect,next time i will just keep my mouth shut.

[OldLincoln]

Dang, TD, I wasn't lecturing you and meant no harm. I did the same thing in an earlier post putting my finger where it didn't belong putting a round somewhere over the target area. My words were meant as a tease for all of us including me as the AD theme is pretty strong. Like everybody says, if everybody survived it was a learning experience and not a major felony.

Sometimes my tease doesn't land right so please forgive my error.

[jlottmc]

The majority of the folks who pointed loaded stuff at us was not the kids. It was the ossifers and not the boots either. Usually once they made field grade though a couple of captains did it too. I had a LTC that was not happy that I had trapped his weapon and was trying to calmly have him do it right. He fixed his attitude when I undid my pistol in my shoulder holster with my left hand and started to point it at him.