i messed up big (WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES)

[vwfred69]

I was showing my wife's dad and uncle my xd .40, had it empty and locked back when i showed it to him. when i put it in the case i slid the wrong mag in. Her uncle asked "does it come apart easy to clean" so i flipped up the slide release and racked it pulling the trigger to release the slide. Boom, I treated the gun as loaded even though i thought it was empty so the shot went into the ground, but i was tightly holding the slide over the ejector when it went off. lets just say my hand isn't a pretty sight.
I have been raised with guns, taken gun safety class, and respect guns. double and triple check your gun before cleaning!

On a side note my wife DIDN"T say we have to get rid of our guns.

 

[mettle]

Hand OK? Esteem intact? Hope all is OK.

 

[No Time to Shoot]

Hope your hand is ok!

 

[Slab]

wow man. glad you can even type this thread. thanks for the constant reminder to check your weapon

 

[redneckmedic]

REPEAT THESE 10 TIMES AND YOU ARE FORGIVEN

(That is what I did when I had my ND at Indygunworks place , thank God it was only a pellet gun vs door!!!)


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1. Assume That Any Gun, at Any Time, is Loaded.

When someone tells you a gun is not loaded, that's fine - but don't believe it until you see it for yourself. If you offend your buddy by checking a gun after he's told you it's unloaded, then so be it. Better safe than dead. Make it a habit to check no matter what. This is a very important habit to get into.

2. Always Point a Gun in a Safe Direction.

This one should be self-explanatory. It is the bedrock of all gun safety, and is the most important rule. Another way to say it, which Dad taught me many years ago, is, "Never point a gun at anything you're not willing to shoot."
3. Keep Your Finger off the Trigger.

This is something I see way too often. Some doofus will have his or her finger on the trigger of a gun they are simply carrying, looking down the sights of, etc. Don't do it! Keep that finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot, and after shooting, move it back out of the trigger guard. And please don't be offended that I used the term "doofus" if you have been guilty of this, because I have been a doofus before, too.
4. Know What You're Shooting at.

Your target is whatever you have decided to shoot. And - this is extremely important - it must be a conscious decision when you shoot something. Don't get lax about this. You need to know what you are going to shoot at, what is between you and it, and what is beyond it. Pay attention.
5. Be Familiar With Your Gun.

Take the time to learn about the operation and features of the firearm you are planning to use. The time to learn this is not while you are shooting... that is when you need to be learning about grip, shooting positions, trigger control, etc. When you step up to the firing line, you should already know how to operate the gun you'll be shooting.
6. Don't Shoot at Hard Surfaces (Including Water).

Water might not seem like a hard surface, but its density makes it pretty dangerous. It has a tendency to allow bullets and shotgun shot to ricochet (glance off) and fly off in an unintended direction. Not good. Hard surfaces like metal, rocks, and hard wood can do this too - and they can even send the projectile back to the shooter, which can be hard on a feller, because shooting oneself, even indirectly, can be a pretty nasty experience.
7. Don't Rely on a Safety Mechanism.

Many guns have a safety device to prevent the gun from firing. These are often reliable, but not always. And some guns have even been known to fire when the safety is released, most notably Remington bolt-action centerfire rifles, which naturally leads to the conclusion that safety mechanisms are often useful, but not completely reliable. Use the safety, but don't count on it! Continue to follow the number one rule: Always keep the gun pointed somewhere safe.
8. Load Your Gun When You Need to.

Some, including the NRA, will tell you to keep every gun unloaded until you're ready to fire it. This is not a sensible rule, because guns used for hunting and defense purposes will be needed in a hurry whenever they are needed, and there is no time to be messing around loading your gun when you need it to save your life, or to take the game you're hunting. If you need your gun for defense from human or animal attackers and it's not loaded, it becomes a liability rather than a benefit, and your safety goes down the tubes. So load your gun, and handle it responsibly.
9. Use the Right Ammo.

Make certain the ammunition you're using is right for your gun. Just because the ammo can be crammed into the gun, don't assume it's the right stuff for that popper. The groceries you feed your gun need to match up with the gun's design and strength factors. This is usually marked on the gun. If you have any doubt, contact the gun's manufacturer or a qualified gunsmith.
10. Pay Attention!

It's easy to get distracted when you're having fun, and target shooting can be a lot of fun, especially if you're enjoying it with friends and family. Take extra care to follow safe gun handling rules, and don't be afraid to correct others when you see them improperly handling firearms. They may not like it, but all participants must follow gun safety rules if everyone is to come home safe and sound. And that's what we always want to see!

 

[ferg409]

hope your hand is ok.

 

[22lr]

Hope your hand and your ego recover.

 

[bigus_D]

I have a habbit of tripple checking any weapon whenever I pick it up.

Open action, look to see if chamber is empty. Repeat twice more.

I do this even if somebody hands me a gun that I just watched them check.
I do this even when I just set the gun down after tripple checking, even if I'm the only one in the room and I know all of the ammo is locked up.

This must be done before assuming the gun is empty. If I only checked it once, then it is still loaded. If I only checked it twice, then it is still loaded. If I put it down, then it is loaded again. Tripple check on the way into the safe, tripple check on the way out of the safe. Tripple check on the way into the range bag. Tripple check on the way out of the range bag.

TRIPPLE CHECK TRIPPLE CHECK TRIPPLE CHECK.

The only gun I don't tripple check is my carry weapon, as I know it is loaded. I do, however, verify that it is actually loaded with one check whenever I take it out of the nightstand.

Glad to hear nobody was hurt!

 

[sig-sweet]

VWfred69,
Takes a manly set to put your story on here for us to read; I appreciate your honesty and putting yourself behind the eight ball to remind us all to keep it safe and think before we do. Hope you heal quickly and I am so glad to hear your wife has good sense about her, she's a keeper. Good luck to ya pal and thanks again.

 

[Dukshead]

Been there and done that!!! Hope your hand heals. Ego will take a little longer than the hand though.

 

[IndyGunSafety]

Thanks for sharing this. It could happen to ANY of us. I hope your hand is alright.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Man am I thankful that I own Sigs and a S&W 642. None of these require pulling the trigger to disassemble. I always hear the stories of how people got in a hurry and forgot to check. While I do check, anything is possible.

 

[femurphy77]

Hope the in-laws were gun people so they weren't "totally" freaked out by it otherwise you know how that will go. Good on for having it pointed in the right direction. Talking about checking and re-checking, everytime I go to the 1500 I have already unloaded prior to entering the building and rack the slide a couple of times to ensure anything in the chamber has ejected. Last go around what appeared to be a rookie leo told me it wasn't necessary to rack it back before handing the weapon over for the tie-wrap, what the. . . .? I do it for me, not him!

 

[wtfd661]

Thanks for posting and I hope your hand heals well.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Even though you "messed up" (most of us have in some way or another when it comes to firearms) on one of the rules...

Following the other rules may very well have saved a life.

The 4 "main" gun safety rules work well together; so well that even if you break one of them, following the others usually won't end in disaster.

Your hand will heal, I promise.

And thank you for having the hueveos to share your story.

-J-

 

[HandK]

Yep the first time we forget to practice safety fate will rear its ugly head and bite us every time, Glad to hear everyone was alright, Hope your hand is OK, That is the one thing I do not like about the Glocks and XD's but then again we are suppose to pull mag out run slide back check and make sure it is clear, then dismantle. +1 for sharing it could help save someone else.

 

[vwfred69]

 

[GuyRelford]

Kudos to you (and +1) for being man enough to admit to your mistake and post your story so that the rest of us can learn from it!

Being a newbie here, I don't know the answer to this question, but I assume there's been an "AD" thread before, in which folks have all admitted to their misadventures? I'm sure there would be a lot of great lessons to be learned!

 

[GuyRelford]

YIKES!!! Just curious, did your hospital (assuming you went) report you to the police as a "gun shot" victim? Although technically, I think you were only a "gun victim," not actually a "gun SHOT victim"!!!

 

[alfahornet]

Outch. Hope your hand is healing well. Thank you for sharing this story. It is a very good reminder to always treat every gun as loaded, removing the mag, check and then recheck the chamber before pulling the trigger.