How Unintentional Discharges Happen
So today, I got interested in wandering through some old posts about negligent and accidental discharges that have been reported on THR and TFL. The links below are in not very organized, just listed in the order in which I came across them.
Here's what I found.
From 2005 on TFL, a thread where several people relate the stories of their accidental or negligent discharges: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168305 -- Post #8 on that thread tells the story of a man who had spent a "long, chill & windy day at the range" getting up at 6 am and then visiting with his friend while cleaning guns until midnight. He'd gotten 4 1/2 hours of sleep the night before. Just after he finished cleaning and reloading his carry gun, he put his finger on the trigger and pulled the trigger. Causes: Distraction, handling guns while over-tired. Then there was thinking the gun was unloaded (rule 1), pointing it at something he wasn't willing to shoot (the ceiling -- rule 2), and putting his finger on the trigger while the gun was pointed in an unsafe direction (rules 3 and 4).
From 2001 on TFL, http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56979 -- Post #2 relates the story of two NDs caused by 'just one more syndrome.' The shooter had been dry-firing in his home, reloaded the gun, and then took just one more "dry fire" shot. Distraction played a role in both cases (he reloaded without fully realizing he had reloaded), and in both cases he had an unloaded gun (rule 1) that he pointed in an unsafe direction (rule 2) while pulling the trigger (rules 3 and 4). Dry-firing is good, but habitually breaking any one (let alone all four) of the safety rules while dry firing is not so good. If you're going to dry fire, have a safe backstop so that any unintentional shots cannot go out a window and into someone else's home.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56979 -- Post #8 tells the story of an unfortunate LEO who began loading his semi-automatic, got called over to talk to someone else, and then came back to his firearm which had a loaded chamber but no magazine in place. He picked up the gun and pulled the trigger, with predictable results. Causes? Distraction while handling guns. He picked up an unloaded gun (rule 1), pointed it in an unsafe direction (a flimsy interior wall -- rule 2), and pulled the trigger while the gun was pointed in an unsafe direction that wasn't a target (rules 3 and 4). Luckily the only real consequence was that the poor guy had to buy the beer for everyone on his shift, and (because the round discharged straight into the chief's "gun safety" poster) he became his boss' poster boy for departmental firearms safety.
From 2002 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107961 The shooter had a new gun. He was handling the "unloaded" gun with the magazine out, and was showing his wife how the loaded chamber indicator worked. Apparently, it didn't, because he then proceeded to pull the trigger to decock the gun, and the gun fired. The round went into a doorframe. Causes: handling an unloaded gun (rule 1); and putting the finger on the trigger while the gun was pointed in an unsafe direction without a safe backstop (rules 2, 3, and 4).
Another from 2002 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114982 The shooter was clearing a gun for dry fire. He dropped the magazine and racked the slide, failing to note that the round had not come out of the chamber. He then pointed the gun in a safe direction and pulled the trigger. One fresh hole in the wall later, his ears were ringing and he had a wall-repair job to do. Causes: an unloaded gun (rule 1 -- he did not double-check to be sure it was unloaded). No significant damage resulted because he deliberately had the gun pointed in a safe direction while dry firing.
From 2005 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=172445 -- Post #1 tells the main story, with post #25 providing some additional details. The shooter had carried his gun to a Christmas party with his wife, and had drunk 4 beers and a "mixed drink" over the course of roughly 3 1/2 hours. Upon returning home, he went to unload his carry gun while talking to a friend who'd been babysitting his son. He racked the slide (ejecting a live round but loading another round into the chamber at the same time), then dropped the slide and thought the gun was unloaded. Then he proceeded to "drop the hammer" (dry fire), with predictable results. The bullet traveled through an interior wall and lodged somewhere in the ductwork behind that wall. Causes: Distraction. Handling firearm while under the influence of alcohol. And more immediately, we have an unloaded gun (rule 1 -- he did not double-check that it really was unloaded). Tragedy was averted because the gun was pointed in a safe direction when he fired it, but it is unclear from the story whether that safe direction was an intentionally safe direction or merely a happy accident.
Another from 2005 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=165697 The shooter had his handgun out for dry fire. He emptied the chamber but did not remove the magazine. Later on, he loaded the chamber but immediately forgot he'd done so. Then he picked up the "unloaded" gun, cocked it, and pulled the trigger. Immediately after the shot went off, he removed the magazine, but left a live round in the chamber. A few minutes later he remembered to remove that round, too. The shot apparently lodged within the shooter's wood desk, as the desk was damaged but there was no exit hole on the far side. Causes: handling an unloaded gun (rule 1), finger on trigger when the gun wasn't pointed at a specific target (rule 3), not having a safe backstop (rule 4). Fortunately, the rule 3 & 4 violations amounted to nothing, as the shooter unintentionally did fire the gun in a safe direction. But from his report it was plain that the safe direction was happenstance, not deliberate.
A negligent discharge with a revolver, posted in 2007 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=253509 The shooter was working on a revolver, and thought he'd unloaded it before he began working. Apparently one round remained in one of the chambers, and that was the round which fired into the ceiling as he dry fired to check the feel of the trigger. Again, we have the combination of distraction (he was concentrating on the gunsmithing work) and an unloaded gun (rule 1 -- he did not double-check to be sure the gun really and truly was unloaded. No significant damage resulted because he had the gun pointed in a safe direction (at the ceiling in an otherwise empty house) when he pulled the trigger.
From 2006 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=200792 The shooter had unloaded and cleared his gun, and left it lying unloaded on the nightstand when he went to work in the morning. When he came home in the evening, he picked up the pistol, aimed it at the floor, and "dry-fired" it. The gun had been loaded by the shooter's father while the shooter was at work. Causes: handling an unloaded gun (rule 1). No tragedy resulted because the shooter deliberately followed the rest of the rules, deliberately aiming the gun in a safe direction (the floor) which would stop a bullet when he pulled the trigger.
Here's a post about a negligent discharge that did not happen, from 2007 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=279035 The shooter was in a gun store, and was drooling over a revolver. He'd been handling it for a moment already when he asked the owner for permission to dry fire. The owner agreed, and the shooter's finger was on the trigger when he realized he hadn't checked the gun to be sure it was unloaded. As the shooter swung open the cylinder to see if it was unloaded, he found six live rounds in the chambers. He commented: "You can usually tell when a revolver is loaded by looking at it from the side, but these buggers were well hidden. I've never handled a recessed revolver until today .... I was less than 2 seconds away from putting a .357 caliber hole in that man's display case." Analysis: embarrassment, financial cost, and possible tragedy were averted because the shooter habitually followed all of the four rules, even in a situation where he felt it was a bit silly of him to do so.
Here's another fairly recent thread discussing the same topic, and asking how to avoid these mistakes: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247025
Here's one classic ND posted over on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=282404 The thread starter's father was taking down an unloaded gun, and someone handed him a loaded gun to take down as well. He was distracted, chatting with other people, and negligently pulled the trigger without first checking the chamber. That's a fairly common pattern: distraction when handling firearms can be a killer -- and that distraction, in this case, led the gun-handler to violate not one, but all four of the basic safety rules. He thought the gun was unloaded (rule 1), he pointed the gun at something he wasn't willing to shoot (rule 2), he put his finger on the trigger when the gun was not deliberately pointed at a target (rule 3), and he did not have a safe backstop which would safely contain a bullet -- even though he intended to put his finger on the trigger (rule 4).
Here's another classic ND tale posted on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151115 In this case, a highly-experienced but overconfident person shot herself in the leg while she was reholstering her gun. Ordinarily a right-handed shooter, she was practicing "as a lefty", with an unfamiliar left-handed holster during a class. Eyewitnesses said she "did a fast draw, in reverse" and jammed the gun into the holster quickly; her finger was on the trigger as the gun entered the holster, with predictable results. Although the bullet travelled down the entire length of her upper leg, the woman had no permanent injuries and she was back on the line the next day. In this case, fast re-holstering with the finger on or near the trigger (rule 3) was the common pattern that got her into trouble.
Another common pattern from a post on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=279956 In this one, an off-duty officer critically wounded his own teenage daughter, thinking she was an intruder in the home. Failing to identify the target before pulling the trigger (rule 4) caused this tragedy.
Here's another one, tragic but utterly preventable: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=273366 In this case, some unsupervised young teenagers were drinking, smoking pot, and playing with an "unloaded" shotgun, with fatal results. This death happened why? Irresponsible people having access to firearms in the home and combining alcohol and drug use with firearms. Those were the root causes. The direct cause? Well, they thought the gun was unloaded (rule 1). One kid pointed the gun at something he didn't intend to shoot (rule 2) and put his finger on the trigger (rule 3) and "the gun fired." Result: one dead teenager, one ruined life as a result of being drunk, stoned, and irresponsible while handling guns.
Here's one involving a shotgun, from back in 2002 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112882 The shooter noted that he "always keep my guns locked UNLOADED in a safe, to the point where I unload my CCW and place it in the safe every night" and then adds, "with the exception of the 870 [which] I keep loaded but locked upstairs." So he was handling the 870 with the expectation that it was unloaded (as he stored all his other guns unloaded). The TV was on. His girlfriend was in the room. He was studying the gun's manual, distracted by that, then he picked up the shotgun, shouldered it, and killed his TV. Causes? Distraction. Handling an "unloaded" gun (rule 1). Pointing the gun at something he didn't intend to shoot, and then pulling the trigger while the gun was pointed at something he didn't intend to shoot (rules 2, 3, and 4).
Here's one from 2005 on TFL that still makes me sick to my stomach: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190370 A young man was babysitting his 18-month-old niece. The girl's father came to pick her up, and uncle decided to take his handgun apart. As the uncle "was dismantling the gun, it fired." He told troopers he "didn't know the weapon was loaded." Again, we have distraction (multiple people in the room) and an unloaded gun (rule 1). We have pointing the gun at something the shooter was not willing to shoot (rule 2). We have putting his finger on the trigger while the gun was pointed at something he didn't intend to shoot (rules 3 and 4). And tragically, we have a dead baby girl that nothing will bring back to life again.
Just before Christmas, 2005 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191417 This time, a fellow was unloading his firearm for dry fire practice. The phone rang, distracting him. After he hung up the phone, he picked up the gun and "proceeded to dry fire it." A split second thereafter, the poor fellow had a fresh hole in his wall. What caused this one? Distraction. And an unloaded gun (rule 1). No further damage resulted because the gun was pointed in a safe direction when he fired it.
I could go on, but by now we should be seeing the theme:
"Accidental" (negligent) discharges are indirectly caused when people handle firearms while distracted, are irresponsible, or are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They are directly caused by violating at least two of the four rules.
Here are the four rules:
The rules overlap and are redundant. Habitually following all of them, every time you handle a firearm, with no exceptions, vastly increases the chance that if you ever get distracted and break one of the rules, your butt will be saved by one or more of the other three rules.
pax
So today, I got interested in wandering through some old posts about negligent and accidental discharges that have been reported on THR and TFL. The links below are in not very organized, just listed in the order in which I came across them.
Here's what I found.
From 2005 on TFL, a thread where several people relate the stories of their accidental or negligent discharges: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168305 -- Post #8 on that thread tells the story of a man who had spent a "long, chill & windy day at the range" getting up at 6 am and then visiting with his friend while cleaning guns until midnight. He'd gotten 4 1/2 hours of sleep the night before. Just after he finished cleaning and reloading his carry gun, he put his finger on the trigger and pulled the trigger. Causes: Distraction, handling guns while over-tired. Then there was thinking the gun was unloaded (rule 1), pointing it at something he wasn't willing to shoot (the ceiling -- rule 2), and putting his finger on the trigger while the gun was pointed in an unsafe direction (rules 3 and 4).
From 2001 on TFL, http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56979 -- Post #2 relates the story of two NDs caused by 'just one more syndrome.' The shooter had been dry-firing in his home, reloaded the gun, and then took just one more "dry fire" shot. Distraction played a role in both cases (he reloaded without fully realizing he had reloaded), and in both cases he had an unloaded gun (rule 1) that he pointed in an unsafe direction (rule 2) while pulling the trigger (rules 3 and 4). Dry-firing is good, but habitually breaking any one (let alone all four) of the safety rules while dry firing is not so good. If you're going to dry fire, have a safe backstop so that any unintentional shots cannot go out a window and into someone else's home.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56979 -- Post #8 tells the story of an unfortunate LEO who began loading his semi-automatic, got called over to talk to someone else, and then came back to his firearm which had a loaded chamber but no magazine in place. He picked up the gun and pulled the trigger, with predictable results. Causes? Distraction while handling guns. He picked up an unloaded gun (rule 1), pointed it in an unsafe direction (a flimsy interior wall -- rule 2), and pulled the trigger while the gun was pointed in an unsafe direction that wasn't a target (rules 3 and 4). Luckily the only real consequence was that the poor guy had to buy the beer for everyone on his shift, and (because the round discharged straight into the chief's "gun safety" poster) he became his boss' poster boy for departmental firearms safety.
From 2002 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107961 The shooter had a new gun. He was handling the "unloaded" gun with the magazine out, and was showing his wife how the loaded chamber indicator worked. Apparently, it didn't, because he then proceeded to pull the trigger to decock the gun, and the gun fired. The round went into a doorframe. Causes: handling an unloaded gun (rule 1); and putting the finger on the trigger while the gun was pointed in an unsafe direction without a safe backstop (rules 2, 3, and 4).
Another from 2002 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114982 The shooter was clearing a gun for dry fire. He dropped the magazine and racked the slide, failing to note that the round had not come out of the chamber. He then pointed the gun in a safe direction and pulled the trigger. One fresh hole in the wall later, his ears were ringing and he had a wall-repair job to do. Causes: an unloaded gun (rule 1 -- he did not double-check to be sure it was unloaded). No significant damage resulted because he deliberately had the gun pointed in a safe direction while dry firing.
From 2005 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=172445 -- Post #1 tells the main story, with post #25 providing some additional details. The shooter had carried his gun to a Christmas party with his wife, and had drunk 4 beers and a "mixed drink" over the course of roughly 3 1/2 hours. Upon returning home, he went to unload his carry gun while talking to a friend who'd been babysitting his son. He racked the slide (ejecting a live round but loading another round into the chamber at the same time), then dropped the slide and thought the gun was unloaded. Then he proceeded to "drop the hammer" (dry fire), with predictable results. The bullet traveled through an interior wall and lodged somewhere in the ductwork behind that wall. Causes: Distraction. Handling firearm while under the influence of alcohol. And more immediately, we have an unloaded gun (rule 1 -- he did not double-check that it really was unloaded). Tragedy was averted because the gun was pointed in a safe direction when he fired it, but it is unclear from the story whether that safe direction was an intentionally safe direction or merely a happy accident.
Another from 2005 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=165697 The shooter had his handgun out for dry fire. He emptied the chamber but did not remove the magazine. Later on, he loaded the chamber but immediately forgot he'd done so. Then he picked up the "unloaded" gun, cocked it, and pulled the trigger. Immediately after the shot went off, he removed the magazine, but left a live round in the chamber. A few minutes later he remembered to remove that round, too. The shot apparently lodged within the shooter's wood desk, as the desk was damaged but there was no exit hole on the far side. Causes: handling an unloaded gun (rule 1), finger on trigger when the gun wasn't pointed at a specific target (rule 3), not having a safe backstop (rule 4). Fortunately, the rule 3 & 4 violations amounted to nothing, as the shooter unintentionally did fire the gun in a safe direction. But from his report it was plain that the safe direction was happenstance, not deliberate.
A negligent discharge with a revolver, posted in 2007 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=253509 The shooter was working on a revolver, and thought he'd unloaded it before he began working. Apparently one round remained in one of the chambers, and that was the round which fired into the ceiling as he dry fired to check the feel of the trigger. Again, we have the combination of distraction (he was concentrating on the gunsmithing work) and an unloaded gun (rule 1 -- he did not double-check to be sure the gun really and truly was unloaded. No significant damage resulted because he had the gun pointed in a safe direction (at the ceiling in an otherwise empty house) when he pulled the trigger.
From 2006 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=200792 The shooter had unloaded and cleared his gun, and left it lying unloaded on the nightstand when he went to work in the morning. When he came home in the evening, he picked up the pistol, aimed it at the floor, and "dry-fired" it. The gun had been loaded by the shooter's father while the shooter was at work. Causes: handling an unloaded gun (rule 1). No tragedy resulted because the shooter deliberately followed the rest of the rules, deliberately aiming the gun in a safe direction (the floor) which would stop a bullet when he pulled the trigger.
Here's a post about a negligent discharge that did not happen, from 2007 on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=279035 The shooter was in a gun store, and was drooling over a revolver. He'd been handling it for a moment already when he asked the owner for permission to dry fire. The owner agreed, and the shooter's finger was on the trigger when he realized he hadn't checked the gun to be sure it was unloaded. As the shooter swung open the cylinder to see if it was unloaded, he found six live rounds in the chambers. He commented: "You can usually tell when a revolver is loaded by looking at it from the side, but these buggers were well hidden. I've never handled a recessed revolver until today .... I was less than 2 seconds away from putting a .357 caliber hole in that man's display case." Analysis: embarrassment, financial cost, and possible tragedy were averted because the shooter habitually followed all of the four rules, even in a situation where he felt it was a bit silly of him to do so.
Here's another fairly recent thread discussing the same topic, and asking how to avoid these mistakes: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247025
Here's one classic ND posted over on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=282404 The thread starter's father was taking down an unloaded gun, and someone handed him a loaded gun to take down as well. He was distracted, chatting with other people, and negligently pulled the trigger without first checking the chamber. That's a fairly common pattern: distraction when handling firearms can be a killer -- and that distraction, in this case, led the gun-handler to violate not one, but all four of the basic safety rules. He thought the gun was unloaded (rule 1), he pointed the gun at something he wasn't willing to shoot (rule 2), he put his finger on the trigger when the gun was not deliberately pointed at a target (rule 3), and he did not have a safe backstop which would safely contain a bullet -- even though he intended to put his finger on the trigger (rule 4).
Here's another classic ND tale posted on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151115 In this case, a highly-experienced but overconfident person shot herself in the leg while she was reholstering her gun. Ordinarily a right-handed shooter, she was practicing "as a lefty", with an unfamiliar left-handed holster during a class. Eyewitnesses said she "did a fast draw, in reverse" and jammed the gun into the holster quickly; her finger was on the trigger as the gun entered the holster, with predictable results. Although the bullet travelled down the entire length of her upper leg, the woman had no permanent injuries and she was back on the line the next day. In this case, fast re-holstering with the finger on or near the trigger (rule 3) was the common pattern that got her into trouble.
Another common pattern from a post on THR: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=279956 In this one, an off-duty officer critically wounded his own teenage daughter, thinking she was an intruder in the home. Failing to identify the target before pulling the trigger (rule 4) caused this tragedy.
Here's another one, tragic but utterly preventable: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=273366 In this case, some unsupervised young teenagers were drinking, smoking pot, and playing with an "unloaded" shotgun, with fatal results. This death happened why? Irresponsible people having access to firearms in the home and combining alcohol and drug use with firearms. Those were the root causes. The direct cause? Well, they thought the gun was unloaded (rule 1). One kid pointed the gun at something he didn't intend to shoot (rule 2) and put his finger on the trigger (rule 3) and "the gun fired." Result: one dead teenager, one ruined life as a result of being drunk, stoned, and irresponsible while handling guns.
Here's one involving a shotgun, from back in 2002 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112882 The shooter noted that he "always keep my guns locked UNLOADED in a safe, to the point where I unload my CCW and place it in the safe every night" and then adds, "with the exception of the 870 [which] I keep loaded but locked upstairs." So he was handling the 870 with the expectation that it was unloaded (as he stored all his other guns unloaded). The TV was on. His girlfriend was in the room. He was studying the gun's manual, distracted by that, then he picked up the shotgun, shouldered it, and killed his TV. Causes? Distraction. Handling an "unloaded" gun (rule 1). Pointing the gun at something he didn't intend to shoot, and then pulling the trigger while the gun was pointed at something he didn't intend to shoot (rules 2, 3, and 4).
Here's one from 2005 on TFL that still makes me sick to my stomach: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190370 A young man was babysitting his 18-month-old niece. The girl's father came to pick her up, and uncle decided to take his handgun apart. As the uncle "was dismantling the gun, it fired." He told troopers he "didn't know the weapon was loaded." Again, we have distraction (multiple people in the room) and an unloaded gun (rule 1). We have pointing the gun at something the shooter was not willing to shoot (rule 2). We have putting his finger on the trigger while the gun was pointed at something he didn't intend to shoot (rules 3 and 4). And tragically, we have a dead baby girl that nothing will bring back to life again.
Just before Christmas, 2005 on TFL: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191417 This time, a fellow was unloading his firearm for dry fire practice. The phone rang, distracting him. After he hung up the phone, he picked up the gun and "proceeded to dry fire it." A split second thereafter, the poor fellow had a fresh hole in his wall. What caused this one? Distraction. And an unloaded gun (rule 1). No further damage resulted because the gun was pointed in a safe direction when he fired it.
I could go on, but by now we should be seeing the theme:
"Accidental" (negligent) discharges are indirectly caused when people handle firearms while distracted, are irresponsible, or are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They are directly caused by violating at least two of the four rules.
Here are the four rules:
- All guns are always loaded (treat them so!)
- Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target (and you have made the decision to shoot).
- Be sure of your target (and what's beyond/behind it).
The rules overlap and are redundant. Habitually following all of them, every time you handle a firearm, with no exceptions, vastly increases the chance that if you ever get distracted and break one of the rules, your butt will be saved by one or more of the other three rules.
pax
Missed everything important between it and the roof, and filled in the hole with toothpaste. 
