Tell Your ND Stories

[KBCraig]

Well, I committed the unpardonable sin today. It's my wife's birthday, so I was wrestling our 3 year old into his clothes so we could take her to lunch. We get to her store and start walking across the parking lot, when I think I must have lost a little weight, because my pants are sagging.

Well, they were only sagging on the magazine side, because that's where all the weight was. Yup: empty holster at 3:00!



So I felt a mite nekkid today, with my pistol safely at home. I guess I could have thrown bullets at a bad guy.

Kevin

[longtooth]

KB, I know why you put this confession here. For all above post ND means neglegent discharge. For you on the wife's B-day ND meant no discharge. Glad every one returned home safe & you can be sure your secret is safe w/ us.

[JJ99SS]

I had an SKS loaded in the closet of my appt for "home defense". Well one night I took it out for the usual, "I just want to mess with it" time. Well I never chamber a round in any gun thats in the house (makes me nervous), but I always check them anyway. I remove the clip and pull back the bolt...hold it open and look in the chamber and saw "nothing". With the gun pointed up I released the bolt and it slid home with a HUGE bang! Well needless to say I was in utter disbelief that it had just happened, as were my prior to the shot...sleeping cats on the bed, who's tails looked like those fuzzy dusters all huge and puffed out.

I was looking at the hole in my celing when I realized that I may have just shot someone upstairs in the appt above! I panic....but realize that I MUST check to see if anyone was hurt. I was beyond scared at this point. I walk out of the appt only to my amazement....I remembered that I was on the 3rd floor! Well I run back inside as not to alert anyone where the shot had come from and proceed to call a buddy a few buildings over and asked casually if he had "heard anything unusual". He immediately says to me..." YOU SHOT YOUR GUN OFF IN YOUR APPARTMENT DIDN"T YOU!!!" To which I reply sheepishly....."yes"...

I take nothing for granted anymore as I now live on the first floor and have a family with 3 kids living to my right. No telling how far the 7.62 round went but I read above that a pistol round will go far enough as well.

[KBCraig]

I had an SKS loaded in the closet of my appt for "home defense". Well one night I took it out for the usual, "I just want to mess with it" time. Well I never chamber a round in any gun thats in the house (makes me nervous), but I always check them anyway.

Welcome, JJ!

One of our regular posters uses a signature that says he's scared of unloaded guns, implying that most accidents are with "unloaded"guns. I agree with him on that. Another signature claims the poster is afraid of two things: a bang that should have been a click, and a click that should have been a bang.

Either is very bad news.

You had a bang that should have been a click. Does it make you rethink gun safety?

I want to gently suggest that you gain some confidence about your firearms. I've known people who worry about loaded firearms, so they constantly check them: and by checking, they are at greater risk of unintended discharges.

I never wonder if my firearms are loaded, because I make sure they are! In my house, there are four loaded handguns, and one loaded shotgun. I don't worry about them being loaded, because I know that they are, and I'd assume they are even if I didn't know.

I'm not critisizing your UD, just pointing out that your nervousness about your rifle's loaded condition was a direction factor in launching an unintended projectile.

Kevin

[HighVelocity]

JJ99SS, glad to hear that nobody was hurt. I am curious, on your SKS, did it have a detachable box magazine or were you using stipper clips through the top?

Just trying to picture in my mind how a round got into the chamber since I've never owned an SKS.

[JJ99SS]

Had the box magazine (30 round) In hindsight I'm not too surprised the round was there...I should have looked more closely. However I am surprised that the round discharged with just the force of the bolt hitting home. I wasn't near the trigger. I had pulled the bolt back and let it fly when I loaded it at the range and never a problem.

[The Marshal]

Had the box magazine (30 round) In hindsight I'm not too surprised the round was there...I should have looked more closely. However I am surprised that the round discharged with just the force of the bolt hitting home. I wasn't near the trigger. I had pulled the bolt back and let it fly when I loaded it at the range and never a problem.

Love my SKS.... just a quick reminder, I have read that if you disassemble the firing pin, it can be put in *backwards* or *upsidedown* and if you do.....well lets say when you finish slam-firing the full 30-rnd magazine, you are gonna be Mr. Popular at the range.

Welcome to the forum!

~Bill

[Odin]

Someone once told me that if you've never had a negligent discharge, then you either don't know what one is, or you're a liar. Let's hear some of your stories so others can learn.

I hope that's not true. Not only have I not had a ND I hope to never have one. I'm a bit obsessive about gun safety, but I know that's no guarantee.

I've also been riding motorcycles since the 80's and never went down (on the street, not counting spills on dirt bikes). People say the same thing about motorcycles, you've either gone down or will some day. I hope to also avoid that scenario.

I think with firearms you can carry and shoot your whole life and never have a ND, but with motorcycles a certain degree of safety is just out of your hands.

[GlockenHammer]

I agree with you Odin. Maybe the quote was either you'vd had one or you will (or you're a liar).

I think the quote is bull, but I'm making it my life's work to prove it wrong. I also think that is the point of the quote--our desire to prove it wrong has exactly the right effect. Of course people go their whole lives without an ND (just like you've never laid down your bike). However, every time you go out, you realize that is a possibility and are actively working to prevent it.

That said, there are people that have had NDs (and people that have laid their bikes down). When they share their experience with us, that helps us avoid whatever pitfalls begat them.

Here's to a life without NDs...

[deadeyearcher]

I was at the range about a year ago with my brother, his boss, and his boss' son. My brother and his boss' son were shooting while my brother's boss and I were watching them, when we heard a shot and out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy a couple of lanes down who was "quick drawing" not draw quite quick enough and put a hole in the floor about a foot away from where his foot had been. That guy sure got out of there fast.

[nitrogen]

Someone once told me that if you've never had a negligent discharge, then you either don't know what one is, or you're a liar. Let's hear some of your stories so others can learn.

Or, you're like me, and are just lucky so far, and havn't had yours yet.
After 10 years or so of gun ownership, and in the last year of carrying constantly, I have yet to have one. Every once in a great while I catch myself doing something I know I shouldn't be doing, but I still catch myself. I know it'll happen one day.

[barres]

I'll call a recent incident I had my first ND. At the range, my wife was having difficulty with my Colt Model 22. She just couldn't group her shoots worth a flip. I went to her lane and picked the gun up, visually inspected the sights (which looked fine) sighted in on her target, and fired. The bullet went just where it was supposed to go - down-range through the target and into the backstop.

Why was this an ND? Because I didn't notice that my wife had taken her ear muffs off when I came over to her lane!

That happened over a week ago, and I am still beating myself up about it. Thank God it was a .22LR, and not her 9mm or my .40SW!

[longtooth]

Yes sir. I bet her ears would still be ringing if it were a heavey cal.

[cyphur]

The closet thing I've had to a ND was when I took my Remington 700 out for the second or third time. It has a jewell trigger which is set to next to nothing - can brush it sideways and it almost goes off. Great for target shooting....

However, I was not used to the trigger yet and I settled in to shoot - fingers out of the trigger guard - and sighted in. Got comfortable, slowly brought my finger up into the trigger guard and "boom!!!" - a nice hole in the target down range.

Hadn't intended to fire at that time, but that is one reason why I now dry fire my rifle every night just about - familiarization.

[pistolchamp]

Glock match, San Antonio, Texas 1999, first stage, first competitor, me, at low ready position, before the timer went off, my Model 24 did... scared the bejeebers out of me... just a bit too much trigger pressure under stress and bang, safe direction, no harm done other than my pride and getting disqualified on the first shot.