"Just Unload It in the Parking Lot"

[Ark]

The golden rule is golden for a reason.

Sad that a range employee didn't have the proper respect for safe gun handling. When you handle a lot of guns, you have to be MORE safe, not LESS! When lots of strange guns are coming across your workbench, statistically speaking you WILL run into a gun with a busted extractor that won't clear the chamber when you run the action. Or, whatever other low-probability event might happen.

If you have a workspace for guns, put it somewhere with a designated safe wall. As long as I keep everything on the workbench pointed to the right, a negligent discharge is going into the cinderblock and dirt.

 

[Sling10mm]

I imagine unsafe gun handling happens way more often than we think when it comes to gun store employees, not to paint them all with the same brush.

I have related this story on here before, but will repeat it here.

I was at McGalliard Guns and More in Muncie when a guy came in to sell his Sig Sauer pistol. He had the pistol in his hand, along with the case, holster, etc. Why you wouldn't bring it in in the case I don't know, but whatever. He sets all of his stuff on the counter, explains to the clerk that he had called and talked to someone about selling or trading the pistol (can't remember which). The clerk then proceeds to pick up the pistol, rack the slide, ejecting a round, and then remove the magazine. Note that the slide did not lock back. Watching this, I started to move in a direction that would make it difficult for the clerk to point the pistol in my direction, and was drawing breath to say something when another employee called over to the first clerk telling him that there was a round in the chamber. To his credit, this younger employee was watching and aware of what was transpiring. So I guess one of the two guys working the front that day had their head screwed on straight.

Anyway, just pointing out that it happens, and happens to people who supposedly know what they are doing. Maybe the guy just didn't know what he was doing, or it could be complacency as someone else mentioned.

This wasn't an accident, it was negligence.
How do you work at a gun range and you don't even know the basics of gun safety?
Before you start to service a weapon how is checking for an empty chamber not the very first thing you do?

 

[Brad69]

So many moons ago when I was a Senior Drill Sergeant the civilian armorers would check the M16A2’s between cycles to code out the worn out ones and replace them on the spot. One of the armorers stepped into my office and handed me a live 5.56 “I thought you might wanna know about this”.
So I had ten DS ‘s and a Supply SGT empty the Arms room clean and mop the entire Arms Room about three times. Clean all 256 M16A2’s six M240B’s and six M249’s which I inspected and rejected several times. Around 1800 the CO and 1SG asked me what was going on “Just a little corrective training” they shrugged and left for the day.
About midnight we wrapped up I never had another issue with that group concerning a live round.

 

[Floivanus]

Step one drop magazine (if available) step two, open action. My kids are 6 and 7 (happy bday to my youngest today) and I drill that into them daily. If we go shooting I have them help load up, step one, remove the magazine, then open the chamber and LOOK. At their age they get it ( although I have to yell at the oldest about trigger finger discipline once in a while BUT he keeps it down range at least)

Too many people now don't get any exposure to shooting. I was blasting dirt with a gold cup and a taurus at 5 years old. Trigger discipline and knowing what is infront of and behind my target were drilled everytime I had a gun near me. I grew up shooting so much that it became boring and I took a ten year break (yup ten years, until November 20th of last year)

This employee who killed the would be customer is going to feel it everyday; being a workplace accident IF he didn't get the training he needed, sadly it should be on the business. But, things like this are why I hate public ranges

 

[indiucky]

So many moons ago when I was a Senior Drill Sergeant the civilian armorers would check the M16A2’s between cycles to code out the worn out ones and replace them on the spot. One of the armorers stepped into my office and handed me a live 5.56 “I thought you might wanna know about this”.
So I had ten DS ‘s and a Supply SGT empty the Arms room clean and mop the entire Arms Room about three times. Clean all 256 M16A2’s six M240B’s and six M249’s which I inspected and rejected several times. Around 1800 the CO and 1SG asked me what was going on “Just a little corrective training” they shrugged and left for the day.
About midnight we wrapped up I never had another issue with that group concerning a live round.

The moment I realized Brad is, in fact, Sargent Hulka.....

 

[HoughMade]

So many moons ago when I was a Senior Drill Sergeant the civilian armorers would check the M16A2’s between cycles to code out the worn out ones and replace them on the spot. One of the armorers stepped into my office and handed me a live 5.56 “I thought you might wanna know about this”.
So I had ten DS ‘s and a Supply SGT empty the Arms room clean and mop the entire Arms Room about three times. Clean all 256 M16A2’s six M240B’s and six M249’s which I inspected and rejected several times. Around 1800 the CO and 1SG asked me what was going on “Just a little corrective training” they shrugged and left for the day.
About midnight we wrapped up I never had another issue with that group concerning a live round.

During Basic, after a trip to the range, cleaning our weapons, a recruit in another company fired off a live round, I assume, disassembling his rifle (in an area where there were 2 companies present between the barracks). No one was hit. I can only imagine what the results were for all concerned. Before we left the range (as I'm sure you know) our DS inspected every rifle's chamber and we had to empty our pockets. Don't know how this happened over in Bravo Company.