Grrrrr....

[Flea]

Had an accidental discharge tonight. Checking some new .22LR ammo I bought for my plinker. Loaded two rounds to see how the bolt would cycle them (it's picky about ammo, and I wanted to see if the round-nose I bought would do ok). Well, I had a slamfire on the second one. Interestingly, this was after I cleaned and oiled the bolt, removing anything from the firing pin's path that it could get hung up on.

The round went straight through two of our closet doors, bounced off the front of the washing machine and ended up on the other side of the kitchen, next to the sink, completely mangled. At least I know these things will fragment when they hit something solid.

I should have been more intelligent than to load up ammo in the house, but was feeling confident after the first round cycled properly. Let the bolt go after the first one ejected and POW! As Jim would say, booger hooks nowhere near the bang switch. Otherwise, I would have labeled it a Negligent discharge.

Maggie didn't wake up. Thank GOD. Wife and stepson were on the front porch and she was hesitant to come back in, fearing I managed to blow my brains out.

I can still hear. No ringing. Thankfully, it wasn't the Mosin.

Yeah, I'm not going to be around that .22 until I can get it checked at a gunsmith.:banghead:

 

[chris in va]

What 'plinker' do you have?

 

[Flea]

A Winchester model 74. Build year of 1941, if memory serves. Great gun, NEVER had anything like this happen before, and I've got some 500 rounds through it since I got it. I've not touched the trigger or sear on it.

 

[chris in va]

I don't pretend to be an expert on slamfires, but with 22 something has to strike the rim. I'd start from there, see where it hit.

I won't criticize the AD, I'm sure others will fill that role.

 

[OneLiveRound]

It happens Flea, and it seems you've learned your lesson. Thank G-D no one was hurt (except for your ego) and feel lucky because it could have been ugly. I bet you'll never do it again.

 

[Straight Shooter]

Glad to hear everyone is ok Flea.

Check out this product. It has been recommended by others on THR and I think its worth it weight in gold for anyone who has to administratively handle (load/unload) their gun in the house.

http://www.safedirection.com

 

[kyo]

good to hear everything is ok. yea, i wouldn't load that sucker either. next time point to an area that runs forever. When I unload/load my piece, I point it out my window into the woods behind my house. No houses or anything, and no people since I am on the 3rd floor. Good luck

 

[FlyinBryan]

i would say your good to go now cuz whats the chance of having an ad twice in their life?

 

[Doggy Daddy]

Check out this product. It has been recommended by others on THR and I think its worth it weight in gold for anyone who has to administratively handle (load/unload) their gun in the house.

How about a Homer bucket and a couple bags of sand?

 

[NELSONs02]

I just found out my neighbor (who is a police officer) put a 9mm through his bed and into the cement floor in his basement. We were in a duplex so I'm glad I just moved out. I hear so many of these stories I just never chamber anything unless I'm at the range or hunting.

 

[Mr. Bojangles]

That is some scary stuff. Proves once again that it can happen to any of us, through no fault of our own. Thank goodness you and your family is safe.

 

[230RN]

I got an expired vest and I have it hanging on the wall for a safe direction. (I like that phrase "administrative handling.")

I have a .22 auto handgun that slamfires every once in a while. I finally narrowed it down to there being insufficient headspace. Headspace on a .22 is supposed to be .046" +/- .002, as I recall. The last couple of times it slamfired, I retrieved the cases and there were no firing pin marks on them.

I can adjust the headspace on this one, but I don't think I really want to, and I don't want to sell it to anyone as is. I have two choices: gun "buyback" program, or a sledghammer.

You cleaned the gun, so it can't be a matter of dirt around the chamber edges holding the cartridge out a little further, thereby effectively reducing the available headspace.

Did you clean under the extractor, though? I don't know of a documented instance, but it seems to me if the extractor hook can't move out of the way and get around the cartridge rim on a rimfire, slamfires can happen from this cause. In this case, the extractor would become a "firing pin."

A couple of years ago there was a series of posts on ND/ADs on the old packing dot org site, and it seemed to me that a lot of them involved shooting the bed. Kind of interesting.

Terry, 230RN

 

[Eagles6]

http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Winchester_Auto_and_Winder_ rifles.htm
Interesting history on the 74.
S#!+ happens. You learned to be more careful next time and learned to respect the .22 LR. I hope, anyhow.

 

[KC0QGL]

Flea, Welcome to the AD club.

 

[Dave P]

I think you should have been more intelligent and not aimed at closet doors !?!?

 

[MarineOne]

Since it's a rimfire I hope you still have the brass ....... this would be a great way to start figuring out why the slam fire happened.



Kris

 

[akodo]

not your fault IMHO

You kept your finger off the trigger, so you got that one covered.

Even though finger was off trigger, you knew where the gun was pointed, right?

As far as 'be sure of your target' that doesn't really apply as you never reached for the trigger.

The 4 rules of gun safety do not prevent mechanical failures like you had, BUT they do mean that mechanical failures will only result in property damage, never in injury or loss of life to a human.

 

[moewadle]

I am glad you paid very little for that lesson

I guess I will "blame" you. In my opinion a gun should never be loaded for any reason in a house except for home defense..period. Function checking of a firearm loaded with live rounds belongs someplace else.

 

[AllAmerican]

Negligent Discharge

 

[crushbup]

Negligent Discharge

How so? Negligence is the failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances. IMHO, he went above and beyond what a "reasonable" person would do, since there are likely very many "reasonable" people who have never learned the four rules. He didn't touch the trigger and he had it pointed in a safe direction; it was not his fault.

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=negligence

 

[Bababooey]

I have been there,not the same senario but back in 1989 in my gun collecting heyday I bought me a spas-12 and was so excited I had to load it up to see how many shells it would hold....
So I load it up and then go to unload it.....it jams up,will not cycle at all ...
I finally decided to just put the safety on and run back to the gun shop and let him look at it,so I lower the gun from pointing at the ceiling and flip the safety and BOOM !!!
I and up firing a shot into my 2 week old king size waterbed,it looked cool as heck,the newly aquired wife was not so amused and that moment led to the dwindle of my gun collection and marriage,I wish I knew the end as I would have cut and run with my guns ..

Turns out there was a recall on the safety,took it back and had it replaced and it was fine..

Live and learn my good man and do not beat yourself up too much.

 

[ThomasT]

i would say your good to go now cuz whats the chance of having an ad twice in their life?

I have had two. The last one right between my feet. Never say never.

 

[LAK]

No reason not to, and plenty of reasons to load a firearm at home, and plenty of other places as well.

All this proves is that you follow the FOUR RULES. That way when you find out a rifle or pistol has a mechanical problem of this kind, property damage, the chances of injury or death are minimized.

 

[WTBguns10kOK]

I would be frustrated too, OP. This isn't the first story I've read of this lately. Only guns I keep ammo in are a revolver, that's holstered with hammer always down and shotgun cruiser ready, so no accidental trigger pull. I think the part you bolded means you already know what's up. A safety stop product may be good if it's the only option, but anytime you have a gun go off, who's to say it won't cause a neighborhood stir...