Humble Pie

[PCal]

I was always told that there were two kinds of shooters. . . . .those who have had an ND, and those who will have an ND!

I'd always pooh-poohed this assertion as I consider myself a very safe and pretty competent gun. Backstops are non-negotiable, muzzle awareness the same, rifle is unloaded getting into/out of a high seat, etc, I take pains to let my companions know the rifle/shotgun is empty after unloading, etc. Basically, I'd considered the chances of an ND happening to me as very-slim to zero.

Until it happened!

I was recently unloading the chamber of my .22 after removing the mag', and my gloved knuckle caught the trigger (which takes a measured 3lb pull) as I turned the rifle onto its side to access the bolt, sending the round into the grass bank I had the muzzle pointing towards!

It was nothing overly-dramatic. I was alone, nobody saw it, nobody was hurt, the sky didn't fall in and if I wasn't making this post to this day nobody would even know about it. Muzzle awareness saved the day, so the only casualty was my pride and ego.

But! The very fact that it happened brought me out in a cold sweat, and it's been on my mind since it happened. The lesson here is beware of complacency. I was in two minds as to whether to post this, to be honest, but for me not to would be hypocritical, and if this tale makes anyone think about their own practices it can only be a good thing. From now on, gloves are off when unloading, and I'll be making certain I know exactly where my knuckles are in relation to the trigger.

I'm now wiser and a good deal humbler

Thank you for being so open and honest and sharing this event. A lesson we can all learn from.

 

[76thirty]

I’ve had 2, one was with a friends ratcatcher as kids, checked it was empty, appeared clear and went to dry fire it, not realising a pellet had been previously loaded and stored that way in the corner of their “office”, subsequent .22 hole in the plasterboard

Second one was in the army, I fired a 3 round burst instead of a single shot as someone had flicked my selector to auto and I’d not pressed it hard enough during the make ready drill to ensure it was in semi auto, I was let off with this as due to typical officer cockups we were doing a nbc shoot in the rain at dusk.
Both were both my fault though. My daughters have started to take a mild interest in airgun shooting and even question if a guns clear when I’m putting things in and out of the cabinet, which is good.

 

[Island]

More years ago than I care to remember I used to block book stag outings on a bit of land in Angus. The bookings came with the services of an old stalker called Peter (I think!).

For whatever reason I was using his rifle one day, an old .243Win that looked like it had been browned rather than blued, the manufacturer of which I have no recollection. The only thing that I do remember about it was that it had a single set-trigger that was so light it could discharge just by thinking about the shot.

We were making our way along the tops, dipping in and out of peat haggs, with me carrying the unloaded (and unslipped) rifle on my shoulder. Peter came sliding back down a hagg, having peaked over the top, excitedly whispering about a very good stag that was so close you could throw a stone at him.

He clambered back up to keep an eye on him whilst I readied the rifle. Kneeling down with the muzzle pointed at the ground just beside my left knee and removing the safety catch I drew the bolt back at the speed of continental drift, desperate not to make any noise at all, fingers in to stop the round making any noise at it lifted from the magazine and chambered. Ever so slowly pushing the bolt home I took a firm grip on the bolt handle and lowered it down. As I gave it a final nudge to make sure everything was locked up there was an almight roar (always seems louder when you don't expect it) and I was showered in wet claggy peat.

After settling ourselves down (and ascertaining clean underwear required all round) we checked everything over thoroughly and could ascertain no mechanical fault with the rifle (as a proper, old fashioned stalker Peter would never be so presumptious to point the finger at the client...). We could only assume that at some point I had inadvertantly set the trigger whilst carrying and then, when lowering the bolt, a gloved finger or knuckle or some part of my hand had brushed the trigger.

I have never, to this day, forgotten the sickening sense of dread I felt as I realised what I had done, of what could have happened had my drill not been what it was (I had muzzle awareness drilled into me ever since I first took an interest in shooting). It still chills me to think of it now...

 

[old keeper]

I think gun accidents are like most things in life, if you do something enough, one day something will go wrong.

I've had a couple of "moments" over the years mainly due to the "familiarity breeds contempt" effect. it's a really horrible feeling when something does go wrong but I suspect most shooting people who handle guns a great deal will also have a"moment" at some stage, hopefully not serious.

 

[muddy42]

I’ve never had an ND (come close three times) BUT I am not so arrogant to think that it could never happen to me…because it can. Anyone who says otherwise isn’t worth listening to.

The main factors are (in my opinion):

New/unfamiliar rifle (Sauer 202’s do my nut in despite being lovely to shoot).
Tired/cold/wet/dark-combination thereof.
Lazy drills.
Taking shortcuts like climbing obstacles when made ready
And finally my pet hate, (even the thin ones) gloves.

Just my view.

I'd add to that "the final stages." I.e. when the deer has been identified and the backstop is OK, but the shooter is waiting for some reason - deer to move broadside, stand up, away from another deer or a tree. The rifle will probably be loaded and excitement levels will be high. Maybe the shooter moves a loaded rifle to get a better picture, decides to crawl a bit further on, maybe the deer moves, maybe the shooter picks up the binoculars and gets distracted.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

I'd concur with the unfamiliar rifle AD, I sold a rifle with set trigger to a keeper friend of mine, many years ago now. He shot his Diahatsu with it, rifle on passenger seat when it discharged. Till the day the estate sold it ,it had a patch pop rivetted to the roof. Pre moderator days too,bet the muzzle blast and flash got his attention.

 

[gixer1]

I often wonder where the 30-06 round landed that I had an AD with many years ago - scared the bejesus out of me and put me off tikka rifles for a very long time.

I still use muzzle up but have often wondered if up in the air is better than into the ground….

I call it an AD rather than a ND as I truly am not sure what else I could have done to prevent it as the gun was not old, it was recently purchased and it was down to the trigger mechanism coming loose (it had been seen on other T3’s as well) the rifle was repaired and checked and all was well but I always had the heebie jeebies with it after that.

The worst part was that I was with the factor of the land when it happened…I was immediately embarrassed and apologised as I had the rifle up in the air, cycled a round into the chamber and as soon as I went to put the safety on “bang”….I figured I brushed the trigger or something so cycled it empty a few times and no issues, I then cycled it again with a round and “bang”….it went straight back in the slip to the gun shop!

It happens, your good sense and auto-procedure prevented any issues so no harm done…

If a 30-06 round lands somewhere down by you….it’s nothing to do with me!

 

[Foxyboy43]

A dear old pal, long gone, was in the police and stationed in a fairly hostile part of NI way back at the start of the Troubles. Standard issue then was a full auto capable sterling (or sten?) which was repeatedly thrown into the back of the elderly and very cold land-rover when each shift at a vehicle checkpoint changed - by the same near time-served lifetime pc who of course knew it all and listened to no-one - especially when it came to firearm safety. Soo on the very night that a plug-in heater had been installed for the comfort of those poor freezing souls coming off checkpoint duty yer man did his usual stunt and threw the gun in just before climbing aboard. Off course Lady Luck decided that tonite was the nite and said firearm set off a burst of 9mm - most of which riddled the brand new heater.
I believe the loss of the heater got him more abuse than the ND.

 

[Koenig]

I'd add to that "the final stages." I.e. when the deer has been identified and the backstop is OK, but the shooter is waiting for some reason - deer to move broadside, stand up, away from another deer or a tree. The rifle will probably be loaded and excitement levels will be high. Maybe the shooter moves a loaded rifle to get a better picture, decides to crawl a bit further on, maybe the deer moves, maybe the shooter picks up the binoculars and gets distracted.

If you move, (i) safety on and (ii) finger off trigger (if it was on it.

 

[Heym SR20]

It’s a few years since this thread was started. One thing not mentioned is fatigue, either through cold, wet or hard hard day stalking, or since the pandemic, illness.

Fatigue has a sneaky way of creeping up on you and causing you to do / not do things that you wouldn’t normally do.

Its why you need drills and a way of doing things. I only ever take a fully loaded ammo card / wallet out stalking. And when I finish i want each still filled - either a live round or an empty case for each shot fired. If you don’t have a full card there is a round lurking somewhere.

Most chainsaw accidents happen either to untrained inexperienced operators, or those who have been driving a saw for a long time, are tired and just trying to finish a job in the dark and wet - and next thing they know they are pinned by the tree they were working on.

And lets forget many other dangers of being in remote places in poor weather with heavy objects. A friend realised that lowering a stag over a ten foot cliff with only an eight foot long rope tied around himself was not a good idea when the deer was already over the cliff. He was fortunate though that he was tied on because the deer got stuck and that stopped going over a 50 foot cliff!

 

[NullMac]

First rule of guns - never point a gun at anything you don't want to destroy

2nd rule - all guns are always loaded.

Absolutely. Saved my ass.

Both points also made to the online armchair generals on the Alex Baldwin debacle.

 

[Puds]

I’ve had one, with the semi-auto shotgun whilst roost shooting. Shot a pigeon, bent down with gun vertically in my right hand to get another cartridge out of the bag with my left hand & still looking up at the flight line for incoming pigeons. The trigger caught on a twig in the brash I was hiding in and it went off about 6” in front of my face (fortunately the muzzle was still vertical), scaring the living crap out of me in the process.

 

[Woodsmoke]

It’s a few years since this thread was started.

Hard to believe it was in 2016! I remember it as though it were yesterday though. That lesson was well-learned, and to this day gloves are off before I even think about unloading. Thankfully, it's not happened again since. Hopefully because the lesson was burned into my psyche!

Glad I reopened it

 

[bfltd0]

Good thread to resurrect!

NDs are pretty inevitable. The only way to avoid them entirely is never to go shooting with anything - ever.

I felt rather foolish when a 5-round grouping and zeroing practice with an L85A1 started off with a 3-round burst. Especially as I was the shooting team captain and a military RCO...........Cold and wet conditions (if it ain't raining, it ain't training), but nevertheless, an ND, no matter how many extenuating circumstances you can produce.

All 3 rounds were on the Figure 11 target - but not exactly in a "group".