# Confess: tell us about your AD's



## milquetoast (Nov 25, 2006)

James Jarrett, who is quite a horseman as well as shooter/instructor, once told me, "You show me somebody who has never fallen off a horse, and I'll show you somebody who hasn't ridden much." Jarrett maintained that we are _all_ going to have an AD someday; our mission is make sure that when our turn comes, it will be _benign_, that there will be only embarrassment, not death or injury.

Of course, I didn't believe him. I had been handling guns -- a lot -- for over 20 years, firing over 10,000 rounds a year, sometimes much more.

There are two kinds of shooters: Those who have never had an AD (or ND, if you prefer), and those who haven't had an AD yet.

My AD was with a Ruger .22/45. I knew the magazine was out, because I saw it there on the table, picked it up and put it away. I knew the chamber was empty, because I pulled back the slide and looked. I did not know that there was another magazine in the gun, because I assumed that the one I picked up and put away was the one from the gun. When I pulled back the slide to inspect the chamber, I loaded one from the magazine.

I lined up on a leaf on a bush outside the window, backed by a cinder block wall, because I knew that was a safe direction -- cinder block walls stop .22's. And it did, too. Windows, however, don't stop .22's.

Yes, there was a hole through the leaf -- I'm not making that up for dramatic effect, I really did hit the leaf. (I was a fluke, though, after the bullet penetrated glass.)

I called the glazier and had the window repaired before my wife got home. She never knew; still doesn't.

Nowadays, all my dry-firing, and loading and unloading, is done with the gun pointed at a target that is hung in front of a couple of old Kevlar vest panels, against an exterior wall that is backed by a cinder block wall on the outside. I now believe with all my heart, with a religious conviction, that I WILL have another AD some day, but I am determined that it will be benign.

Your turn: Have you had an AD -- yet?


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Mine was a ND, Negligent Discharge. This was just pure stupidity on my part. 

I was about 17 and deer hunting in Vermont. Let's just say I was not a overly excited about being there because I am not a fan of hunting (I don't have a problem with people that hunt, it's just not for me). Anyway, I was sitting in a clearing with my .30-06 across my lap, bored off my a$$, and I started playing with the safety. The safety was right behind the trigger just outside the guard. Click, click. Click, click. Click, click. Click, BOOM! Needless to say it scared the crap out of me and I haven't been deer hunting since. Haven't had an ND since either though.


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

I was in my thirties with my Ruger Blackhawk. 

I had been trying to get a good shot at a turtle in a tank on some property the family owned. The turtles and alligators had pretty much eaten all of the fingerlings we had stocked in the tank, and I wanted to get rid of some of them.

I started walking around to the other side of the tank, and decided it wasn't too smart to walk on rough ground with my gun cocked.

I lowered the muzzle of the revolver toward the ground, decocking as I prepared to place the gun in my holster. 

I missed hitting my foot by about two inches.

I think I probably jumped higher than I ever had before, or since.

WM


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## PX (May 14, 2006)

No...

But, thanks for asking!


J. Pomeroy


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## L8models (May 5, 2006)

I was about 16 or 17. My buddy and I had just wrapped up an evening of dove hunting. We were sitting in his old 79 Ford pick up and I had my Remington 12 gauge sitting in my lap. While attempting to eject the shells, the gun went off and blew my passenger side window out and the plastic door panel. THANK GOD,that the gun wasn't pointed at he or I...


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## tex45acp (May 26, 2006)

In the fall of 1976, I was going deer hunting with my Dad. He asked me if I wanted to hunt with the Winchester model 70 in 30-06 or the Winchester model 94 in 30-30. Since I was going to be in heavy brush, and the shots were going to be less than 100 yards, I chose the 30-30. I reached the stand about 4:30am, stepped in quietly and cycled the action to load a cartridge then all of a sudden "BOOM" and there was a hole in the top of the stand and in my pride as well. Oh I forgot the part about ruining a good set of camo pants, and a horrible ringing in my ears as well.

Fortunately I have never had any unintended discharge in my handguns!!


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## Revolver (Aug 26, 2006)

I haven't and hope I never do.


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## fitron92 (Dec 22, 2006)

Not yet.
And I hope never.....I hate to ruin a good pair of Levi's.


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## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

I’ve come close but haven’t completed the process yet. I was working on my Glock and was clearing it. For some reason I put a mag back in and chambered a round. When I did my second safety check out pops a round. Opps.

When I was in the Air Force as a Security Policeman I was once in charge of the clearing barrel. A women had just loaded her .38 but couldn’t get her thumb snap over the gun. I looked more closely and saw a cocked hammer. I put my thumb in-between the hammer and the gun and took it out of her holster clearing it in the clearing barrel. That could have been nasty. Especially since she was my roommates girl friend.


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## propellerhead (May 19, 2006)

When I first rented a Bersa 380, I wasn't sure how the trigger worked. I loaded the gun, took aim at the target and took the first shot. Damn, that trigger was long. I rotated the gun to where the top was on the right. I kept it pointing downrange. I pulled on the trigger a little, intending to take up the slack to see how far it goes.... BANG! Oh, single action now. Good thing it was pointed down range and I was the only one shooting at the time.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

Bought a SKS from a guy I knew from work, took it to the range loaded 10 rounds and took aim, squeezed the trigger all 10 rounds fired. had to replace a part now it shoots fine but it shook me first time.


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## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

I haven't had any. *knocks on some wood real fast*


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

tony pasley said:


> Bought a SKS from a guy I knew from work, took it to the range loaded 10 rounds and took aim, squeezed the trigger all 10 rounds fired. had to replace a part now it shoots fine but it shook me first time.


Yeas ago, I had a friend w/ an SKS that did that when he loaded it.


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## Spenser (Nov 6, 2006)

My cousin handed me a .22 that he told me was clear. I believed him, more fool me. All the reason in the world to check the chamber no matter what. Anyway, we're walking down a creek bed, looking for hogs. (I know a 22 isn't recommended for wild hogs, but that's neither here nor there.) My finger crept into the trigger guard, and blam!

I had the gun pointed up, fortunately. I at least kept in mind the safe direction mantra that was drilled into my head as a kid. But it could have been bad. I haven't had one since, but that incident sticks in my mind still today.


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## MLB (Oct 4, 2006)

Years ago, a pal of mine had completed his build of a black powder rifle. At the range, he loaded up for me as I didn't quite know the procedure. I cocked the hammer and as I brought the rifle to my shoulder he was saying "careful, it's got a very light trigger". 

Too late. My poor handling (finger in the trigger guard too early) caused a discharge while the rifle was still pointed up at about 20 deg. Downrange and safe, but it scared the crap out of me.

Know the rules: It's always loaded. Finger out of the trigger guard until ready to fire. Maintain a safe direction. Know your target and beyond.


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## Waffen (Feb 8, 2006)

None here, and hope it stays that way..


W


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## milquetoast (Nov 25, 2006)

*Here's a good one*

Of the AD's posted above, I don't consider the full-auto episodes as real AD's, because in those, the gun was assumed to be loaded, the gun was pointed in a safe direction, the finger was on the trigger intentionally and appropriately. I think of an AD as not intending the gun to go bang, and being very surprised when it does.

Of the true AD's described above, some involve Rule One "I didn't think it was loaded." Some involve Rule Three "Finger off the trigger until sights are on target." So far, nobody has reported any bodily injury, just property damage, because of Rule Two, "Don't point gun at anything you don't want to shoot." Granted, a truck is something you don't want to shoot, but it is better to shoot a truck than yourself or somebody else. In some of the cases above, the direction of the gun was pointed in a safe direction intentionally, others by luck. Still, Rule 2 is what makes AD's benign.

For those of you who haven't had an AD yet -- good for you! Your turn will come some day. When it does, may it be benign!

Anyway, here's a good AD for you, on video:
http://ochevidets.ru/rolik/745/


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

milquetoast said:


> Anyway, here's a good AD for you, on video:
> http://ochevidets.ru/rolik/745/


OW!

:smt103

WM


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## MLB (Oct 4, 2006)

*Bad MoJo?*

While you can't guarantee that you'll never have an AD, I don't subscribe to the notion that "everyone will have one someday". It's not an inevitability. Maintain safe handling and you won't accidentally discharge the firearm.

Similarly, just because you've done it, you haven't "gotten it out of the way" either. It's not fate, it's discipline.

That's my take on it anyway :mrgreen:


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## falshman70 (Jul 13, 2006)

I had one at the range when I was just getting started shooting. After slide lock I would drop the mag and release the slide and pull the trigger. This so that I could get used to racking the slide with a new mag in. Anyway I must have gotten distracted and thought I had gone through my routine - don't ask me how I thought I remembered the slide locking and me releasing it when neither had happened, but when I pulled the trigger I sure got a surprise. Now the pistol was pointed downrange, but I saw it hit the floor. I was very embarassed and have never forgotten that slipup.


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## martial_field (Oct 16, 2006)

I had one during a competition. Most competitions have a "cold range" meaning there are no loaded handguns unless you are up to shoot and the RO (range officer) tells you to "Load and make ready." At this competition, the range was hot, so competitors could and did have loaded guns but, of course, no one could handle his/her gun unless they were up to shoot and the RO told them to load and make ready. At a cold range, when you are done shooting, there is a procedure you go thru to make sure the range is clear or "safe." When you stop shooting, the RO will say: "If you are finished, unloald and show clear." Once you have dropped the mag and racked back the slide and hold it back to show the RO the chamber is clear, the RO will then say: "If clear, hammer down and holslter" so the competitor dry fires the weapon (while pointed safely downrange, of course) and holsters the handgun. Only at that point will the RO say: " The range is clear" or, less correctly, "the range is safe." At the hot range, the RO will simply say: "If you are finished, holster" which also means you must put the gun on safety if it has one.

WEll, I confused the two procedures. When I finished shooting the course of fire and the RO told me to holster, I dry fired the handgun before holstering. ONly, it wasn't a dry fire because there was a round in the chamber. I had the gun pointed safely downrange but I was very surprised and totally embarrassed. Hopefully, it won't happen again. 

WEll, to my embarrassment and chagrin, I mixed


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## martial_field (Oct 16, 2006)

milquetoast said:


> James Jarrett, who is quite a horseman as well as shooter/instructor, once told me, "You show me somebody who has never fallen off a horse, and I'll show you somebody who hasn't ridden much." Jarrett maintained that we are _all_ going to have an AD someday; our mission is make sure that when our turn comes, it will be _benign_, that there will be only embarrassment, not death or injury.
> 
> Of course, I didn't believe him. I had been handling guns -- a lot -- for over 20 years, firing over 10,000 rounds a year, sometimes much more.
> 
> ...


From what I have read and experienced, this is the right attitude. Even if you go thru life as a shooter and never experience an AD, you should prepare as if you will. I read that there is a hotel not far from a popular gun training range in the southwest that is host to a lot of people attending classes at the training grounds. This hotel has, based on experience, placed steel plates in each of the rooms for patrons to use as a target for dry firing practice. If someone does have an AD, the steel should prevent any serious injuries to the other guests.


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## clic2323 (Nov 26, 2006)

last year i was skeet shooting with friends and in loading 6 rounds 5+1 in my moss 500 i chamberd the first round and began to load the rest when (bamm) luckly it was pointed downward but it scared the sh*% out of my friends
the first and last time


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## James NM (Jan 4, 2007)

Anyone can have an AD - even the great Jeff Cooper. I just read in a recent gun rag about his. He was bragging about the sweet trigger on his new chrome Smith 29. He unloaded the cylinder & was dry firing to enjoy the trigger pull. On the second "squeeze" he got quite a surprise. One of the rounds had stuck in the cylinder when he "unloaded" it. 

I'll bet a 44 Mag going off indoors without hearing protection is unpleasant.
At least no one was injured because the muzzle was pointed in a safe direction.

It can happen to anyone.


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## kraigster414 (Jan 13, 2007)

Nothing like getting off to a good start (this is only my second post) but in my line of business, we call it a NEGLIGENT discharge. Accidental is when a meteorite decides out of 150 billion homes to land on YOUR roof. The overwelming majority of ND's are due to human error not to a mechanical failure. Flame me if you will but this is the way I was trained.


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

kraigster414 said:


> Nothing like getting off to a good start (this is only my second post) but in my line of business, we call it a NEGLIGENT discharge. Accidental is when a meteorite decides out of 150 billion homes to land on YOUR roof. The overwelming majority of ND's are due to human error not to a mechanical failure. Flame me if you will but this is the way I was trained.


But you get more responses if you call them "accidental". No one likes to admit they were negligent.

:smt022

WM


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## kraigster414 (Jan 13, 2007)

Wandering Man said:


> But you get more responses if you call them "accidental". No one likes to admit they were negligent.
> 
> :smt022
> 
> WM


I hear ya but when it comes to guns and the serious consequences of mishandling, you have to play "tough love" me think. In the military, government security, and LE world, we call it a "negligent" discharge, pure and simple. And in every case I have reviewed, the action was attributable to human error, e.g., not clearing a weapon properly or unfamiliarity with the workings of the weapon - all things that could have been prevented.

While the term "accidental" may sound better, it's not a term my colleagues or I are allowed to use. After the dust settles and hopefully no one was killed or injured, there is a lot of "explainin'" to do on the part of the "discharger" - including serious disciplinary action (sometimes). Not pretty.


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## reconNinja (Sep 26, 2006)

My buddy and I were at a friend's house during a party one night many years ago, and the three of us came across a rusty old shotgun in a closet, and some shells. We took it out in the back and unbeknownst to me, my buddy had very very little knowledge on firearms; especially rusted out shotguns twice as old as we were. Well he loaded it up and pulled the trigger, nothing happened. He turned it to the side, to where the barrel was pointed to his immediate left, while I was behind him on his left. He then slid the pump forward and *BOOM* the gun fired and damn near jumped out of his hands. There were all sorts of people on the right side, he just got lucky.

NEVER NEVER NEVER fuck with a gun that you don't know how to operate. All those warnings stamped into the slides of guns mean something.

And I'm sure most if not all people on this board know enough about guns that it would likely never be a problem, but just because you know the safety, certainly doesn't mean others around you don't.

Personally, I try not to even give myself a chance to AD/ND by carrying Condition 3(full mag, chamber empty) whenever I have the gun.

edit- This probably wins the gold though, so don't feel too bad fellas


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## milquetoast (Nov 25, 2006)

*worthwhile accessory*

Kevlar pistol case for ALL administrative handling in quarters.

http://www.safedirection.com/

If you do have an accident (or a "negligent"), make sure it is only embarrassing, not fatal.


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## TJCombo (Dec 30, 2006)

I was 20yo, and was living in a duplex in a bad section of town. I had no money to buy a proper handgun, and really felt I needed one. My uncle gave me a Davis .380 semi auto. What a piece of junk. Anyway, I was on the phone one night, picked up the gun removed the magazine and began dry firing, heard a knock on the door, put magazine back in, put phone down, answer door, tell salesman I don't want any, return to phone call, forget I put magazine back in, resume "dry firing" BANG..or should I say POP....it was a Davis .380...anyway ND occured, no injuries, live and learn.:smt083


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