Close Calls

[Trapper Jim]

So back in the day getting ready for a Wild Boar hunt I was loading my truck the night before as I have always done. I sleep better that way. I was so proud of my 300 Grain Hornady Bullets over a compressed load of 2400. Ammo..Check. Gear...Check Gas...whoops I better go uptown and top off my tank. So feeling good about America and learning how to use self service gas stations, I drove out of my driveway in my Old Ford Lariat F150. Proceeded through a few stop signals (not many roundabouts then), got cut off by an itiot in a Civic, with his puny horn, that caused me to brake suddenly, cut the driveway too close and bumped the curb, and finally pulled up to the pump. Went inside to prepay but they said pump it and then pay so back to my truck I go. I opened the gas cap (unscrew) charged the pump and started filling the tank ( I had two tanks with a manual valve). Bored with no small TV screen to watch and ticked off cause I am still paying the same for gas as compared to a full service station, I looked around (early days of SA) and noticed at eye level (I am vertically challenged you know) the muzzle of my Nickel Plated 8 inch Model 29 is staring at me dangling on the edge of my diamond plate tool box ! Yes, it had slithered around all over the top of the lid on my way to the gas station. I absent mindedly had set it up there as I was going to keep it up front for the pig trip. Lucky to say the least! Not one of my prouder moments. I will forever be embarrassed but I did get the Boar. 213Lb Russian Red. What your story?

Oh yeah....the gas to fill both tanks was $12.00

 

[STEEL CORE]

Took the Family to Disney Orlando once I think in 1992, drove long hours and had my Walther PPK/s (BG Days) (Before Glock), pulled into the Holiday Inn registration area in our 80's version Plymouth Voyager, got out to check in and my .380 fell to the ground at my feet.
OOPSIE, I had forgotten I had put it on my seat at the side in case of Alligator attack or something.

 

[caulfieldian]

I drove up to Lafayette from Indianapolis to visit the local conservation club my buddy used to be a member of and we shot in the evening until darkness. We packed everything up and left, and I drove through some twisty gravel roads and all the way back down I-65 going 10 over, per usual.

It isn't until I brake at a stop light at around 62nd and Georgetown or somewhere near there where we heard a weird clattering noise and then I saw my AR15 slide down my windshield and off my hood into the road.

I had my girlfriend hop out of the vehicle and grab it and toss it in the back while a minivan full of confused kids stared at us.

It seems that I had set my M4 block II on the roof rack while we were packing up and I forgot about it. It was dark and I assumed everything had been packed away. It was blocky enough and the roof rack of my blazer seemed to be a perfect fit because I drove over bumpy roads and over an hour total with an AR stuck to it. I doubt I would have noticed anything other than a noise had it fell off upon leaving the range or on I-65. Still a pretty trippy memory and I got pretty lucky I didn't lose it!

 

[blue2golf]

I was standing in front of a friend's M1A1 Abrams on the Table VIII boresight line, ready to act as front ground guide to back up the tank. Per safety regs, the main gun was pointed up in the air. What I didn't know was the gunner was pissed off at his TC and was angrily charging the coax and dry firing it multiple times. What the gunner didn't know was there was a belt of 7.62mm still in the feed chute.

Suddenly, '"bbbbrrrrttt!!"....right over my head, about a 20 round burst, I never would've known what hit me. We spun around and saw soldiers in the far distance, but none of them fell over. We breathed a sigh of relief, the gunner apologized to me and we all kept it quiet.

 

[Hookeye]

None.

Maybe having a touch of OCD.