tws3b2
Member
Been shooting since I was 15 years old. 58 years ago and can honestly say Never.
That’s cherry picking a small part of the common definition of accident.
Accident, noun:
1) an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
2) an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.
Your definition is only the part I made yellow, but as you can see there is a lot left out if you just look at the yellow text.
Negligence has both a common and a legal definition.
Common: failure to take proper care in doing something.
Legal: failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another.
In the common definition we see the word “proper” which is a subjective judgment. You can refer to anything, including intentionally shooting a chosen target, as negligent if your personal idea of “proper care” is strict enough. For example someone could believe that shooting edible objects as targets for fun is not proper care of food and so everyone who shoots melons and pop bottles is by that standard negligent. They aren’t wrong, they just have different values.
Many of the stories posted here meet the common definition of negligence, as long as “proper care” is defined as following all four rules at all times. That doesn’t mean they aren’t accidents as well.
As for the legal definition of negligence, a few of the stories posted here meet that definition, but it isn’t the majority.
Whenever you have ambiguous words that can have different meanings, and “negligent” with its combination of a common subjective definition and a legal definition that has a specific meaning certainly qualifies as ambiguous when used in an online forum post, there is wisdom in thinking carefully before using that word. There are alternatives such as “unintentional” or “accidental” that are less prone to being twisted to an unintended meaning.
Had one over 20 years ago after mounting the scope on my 10/22. Then took it to the range and fine tuned the zero on it. While packing up to leave I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing because I was busy talking with another shooter. Put it back in the case with a chambered round and the safety off. Got home; took it out of the case down in the basement, (thinking it's empty), and shouldered the gun to look through my new scope again. Had my finger on the trigger and was studying the scope reticle ........BANG....... Shot the basement wall. No real damage but I sure learned a lesson....... Don't get distracted and make 100% sure the gun is clear when you are done with it and go to put it back in the case.
Interesting take. I’m not sure I agree, can we chat about it? In my mind, other than a defective firearm or a runaway gun, every discharge of a firearm is the result of something the shooter failed to do (or so correctly) and would have been easily prevented had the action been taken or done correctly.
To me, the word accident implies something that happens without apparent cause and/or there was nothing that could have been done to avoid it. To me it’s different from unintentional, which implies you hadn’t planned on the thing happening but it did. Accidental to me would apply to the cases of a defective firearm, the operator of which did everything as they should have but the gun discharged.
Contrast that with Negligence. To me that means the operator failed to take basic proper action when handling the firearm and in so doing, discharged the firearm. Negligence to me implies that whether you meant to or not, the discharge was the direct result of something you did or failed to do and would not have happened had you done/not done said thing.
That’s the way my brain, as it is right now, constructs things. Is there a flaw in that logic?
Skeeter Skelton did a column years ago about negligent discharges. Bottom line, he said if you handle guns enough there are two types of people. Those that have had them and those that are going to have them. He related how he broke his mother's mirror practicing his fast draw.
That's why rule #2 is so important. Safe direction and you may be embarrassed but no one will be hurt.
... being the operative word in that statement, though I certainly hope you never do.
Two NDC's. One while closing the bolt on an early (1963) Remington 700 ADL and another one taking the rifle off safe, same rifle. It now has a Timney trigger/safety and a perfect safety record ever since. Luckily the rifle was pointed in a safe direction when they happened.
I'll take this one further drugs and guns don't mix. I'm sure some will say I don't use drugs. Well if you take any medicine that impairs you. To me same thing as alcohol. Pain meds, anxiety meds, even some antihistamines. Will slow you down.1 alcohol and guns dont mix kids.