Stupid Gun mistake and lessons learned

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bigjim

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I am sure many of you will remember this post
My I am to stupid to own guns post

Well its been a few weeks and I have taken some steps and made some changes as a result. I have also thought about why I screwed up in the first place.

I screwed up by:

1. Becoming relaxed at the range. I lost my focus on the fact that shooting is a dangerous activity. Been shooting on that range since 1989 and hearing the same range commands over and over again. I stopped "hearing" them.

2. I allowed myself to become distracted. Shooting the breeze with long time friends at the range had become as big a event as the shooting. I was often still engaged in conversations with others when I should have been more focused on shooting and what was going on around me.

3. Hubris. I was the "guy" many new shooters got sent to for help. I was one of the "in" crowd. I have had "training". I was a Instructor. Trouble is I started thinking all this meant something.

I have made the following changes:

1. I now shoot at different times. This allows me to avoid the "people" that competed with my shooting for attention at the range. I also totally seperate shooting from everything else. If I must talk to you I will unload and safe my firearm first.

2. I changed all my patterns. I don't shoot in the same range stall that I have used for years. Stall 19 practically had my name on it. Well I took down the sign.

3. I used to go to the range on Sat. and stay until Hunger forced me off. Now I go shoot and leave, staying focused on my task.

4. I saw my Doctor for a check up, told him about my mistake and had him give me a once over to rule out any obvious signs adverse health conditions that may have contributed to my stupid error.

I am working with the range on making changes to the range to increase safety.

1. I have suggested and designed a flashing light system for Cease fire periods. I found a vendor that has a Keystone solution and offered to pay the first 150 dollars of the cost.

Anyway so many of you were so supportive me when I first posted, I felt you all deserved a follow up. I want all of you to know that I took each and every suggestion and gave it serious consideration.

Big"justhowsafecanyoubewithagun"jim
 
Good Going, Jim.
You've clearly put a lot of thought into this.
Every step you've taken makes sense.

Fud
 
Good thoughts bigjim. You've brought a few things to my attention to as to how my husband and I handle range time as well.
 
Thanks for the threads, bigjim. While I'm sure it was a terrible experience for you, you're going above and beyond the call in your efforts to correct the error. I especially like the idea of the light system for range cease-fire, and I respect that your commitment to it extends even to the financial aspect. You can also rest assured that people are learning from your experience, both at that range and here on THR.
 
I missed the original thread somehow.

In this world of arrogant Yuppies and confrontational types it is good to see someone who is big enough to be able to take responsibility for an action and fix the situation. You are a rare specimen--the type I'd be proud to call a friend. I am VERY picky.
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the kind words. I posted these threads purely as a way to force myself to a higher standard. I am not very good at personal accountability and this was just to darn serious a subject to be dealt with in my normal 1/2 assed manner.

Trust me that being held in a high regard because you dealt with your own stupidity well, is better than many possible outcomes. However, never having to deal with the subject in the first place is better by a wide margin.

So please don't hold me up as something to be emulated. That thinking is at least part of what got me here in the first place.

My new Motto: There are no expert shooters. There are shooters with experience. How you get that experience is up to you.
 
Jim ... I salute you - twice!!! :)

I first salute you, again, for ''coming clean'' with that original thread and salute a second time after reading your most well thought out analysis and proposed actions.

I honestly cannot fault that and commend you. Glad you posted this one as well - it not only gets a few folks to read that first thread, who may have missed it but - your conclusions and thoughts are themselves of great value, to any and all of us I consider.

Shooting and safety apathy, complacency, carelessness .... these are things we can all suffer from if not careful - maybe even more so for us long time shooters. This is good and timely material. Thanks.
 
Thanks for sharing the story. Hope the lighting system works out for the club. Way to come clean.
 
I missed your original thread, but I will likely go back to read it. At any rate, it takes a BIG man to stand up straight and confess their mistakes, and an even bigger man to learn from them. You are aptly named, bigjim.
 
Quoted from bigjim: "So please don't hold me up as something to be emulated. That thinking is at least part of what got me here in the first place."

Actually you are wrong on this aco???? Jim. I think it is important that fellow shooters actions, thoughts and reactions to situations are posted, reviewed, and examined. You obviously thought enough of the rest of us to post your initial error and after serious consideration, you realized your mistake and are attempting to make changes. If all of us will listen and take to heart the experience you posted and examine our own practices regarding how we handle ourselves at the range and with guns in general we all win. It takes a big man to admit his mistakes to his family and friends and to learn from them. It takes a bigger man to post his mistake on the internet, which then requires all of us, his shooting family, to understand and learn so that we do not let his mistake be in vain. Thank you for having the willingness to post. It is on all of us now to learn and not let history repeat itself.
 
Glad to hear you are using the experience and not letting it get you down. Sounds as if you're doing everything right.

lpl/nc
 
Bigjimm "I posted these threads purely as a way to force myself to a higher standard"

Jim, I honestly believe that you just wrote the definition of "The High Road". I think your actions and contrite spirit show that you belong there.
 
Glad you stayed with it, bigjim. You are no doubt now one of the safest shooters on THR. And because you shared your story, may we all be safer shooters.

R/fiVe
 
very pro active changes glad you didnt give up shooting like you said in your first post on the subject. that light idea good thinking.
 
bigjim,
I haven't been around much lately but I just finished reading the thread(s) and just wanted to say "Thanks". -This is one of the main reasons I come here. I hope to have learned a few things by reading about what you have gone through. If one of us remembers what we have read here - and it makes the difference in what we do - well then, you've turned a bad experience into a mighty good thing. Of all the bad things that COULD have happened - you've managed to get a good result. I'd say we've all come out a bit ahead here. Thank you sir - for setting a good example of how to deal with a mistake of this nature.
 
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Big Jim,

There are severla brands of electronic earmuffs that both muffle gunshots and boost soft sounds. These wonderful inventions amplify the range commands you might otherwise miss. Consider adding a set to your range gear.

Folks, "going cold" on a range is an interactive process. You have to get an acknowledgement from _each_ shooter. Look them in the eye and observe if they have put an unloaded gun on the bench. (or holstered it, etc). Do not assume they understood you. You might wind up needing a change of boxers, or a pine box.

Jim, you failed to check the range for folks downrange. They also failed to check for 100% participation in "cold range". Like Mr. Reagan said, "Trust, but verify."
 
Good Thinking

Your thoughtful re-construction of what you did wrong and even better what steps you specifically took to improve the safety aspects will certainly help.

My old track coach in high school used to tell us "It Never Hurts to Review our Fundamentals One More Time". He was right, and so you are you. Shooting is a dangerous activity, and we cannot afford to take the safety aspect for granted.

All of us who are experienced shooters - as you are - get 'comfortable' with it and that comfort level may be a key component of a Stupid Gun Mistake. For me, it was a Negligent Discharge. Fortunately, I was alone and the muzzle was pointed in a safe direction. But none the less, it was an upsetting experience that I did not expect.

I now shoot exclusively at an outdoor range (Desert Sportsmen in Las Vegas) unless the weather's bad -- only then do I go to an indoor range. But every time I pick up a firearm, I now check and double check whether the gun is loaded and I ensure that the muzzle is NEVER pointed in the direction of anything I'm not willing to destroy.

Thanks for your comments -- and your Reminder to us all.
 
Jim thanks for being so honest here. You have given me several things to think about, and I think your posts will help me to be more safe at the range.
 
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