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Well, my distaste for the terminology of "accidental" discharges is well-documented on this forum. But the story says what the story says ...

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... hoots.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Man accidentally kills himself at shooting range, official says
By Claire Osborn | Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 07:26 PM

An Austin man died today while cleaning his gun inside his car in the parking lot of a Pflugerville shooting range, said Jim McLean, assistant Pflugerville police chief.

The man, who was not identified because his relatives had not been notified, had left Red’s Shooting Range at 1908 Pecan Street West in Pflugerville around 1 p.m. after shooting his gun at the range, McLean said.

There were no witnesses to the shooting, he said. Police were notified when someone discovered the man’s body inside his car about 4:40 p.m., McLean said.

Detectives found a gun cleaning kit on the front seat of the man’s car, McLean said.

The car was not running but the vehicle’s doors were closed when the accident happened, the assistant police chief said.

“This is just a terrible tragedy,” McLean said.

eeep I drove by there today.

Cleaning a gun inside a car?

Did he really get it that dirty in one range session?

Why did he not simply wait until he returned home, spread his stuff out under good lighting, break out the solvents while he had good ventilation, and do a proper job of inspecting, cleaning, lubricating, etc?

We may never know the answers . . .

Not a good way to go.

sobering.

Maybe he just wanted to kill himself with a clean gun.

yerasimos wrote:Why did he not simply wait until he returned home, spread his stuff out under good lighting, break out the solvents while he had good ventilation, and do a proper job of inspecting, cleaning, lubricating, etc?

If it was truly unintended, I suspect he wanted to go back to "carry mode", and had bought all the hype about how clean a gun must be to be reliable. For the most part, we waaaaay over-clean our guns, well beyond what is necessary for proper function.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Maybe he just wanted to kill himself with a clean gun.

Or, he wanted his suicide to look like an accident for insurance purposes.

chabouk wrote:

Or, he wanted his suicide to look like an accident for insurance purposes.

Them's some hard sayins'.

I really hope more info gets released.

Very sad.

Is this the only documented case of someone pulling out the cleaning kit BEFORE the ND?

The Annoyed Man wrote:Maybe he just wanted to kill himself with a clean gun.

OK...that is funny.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Maybe he just wanted to kill himself with a clean gun.

OK...that is funny.

It is not funny when someone dies---especially from a gunshot wound, and especially in today's political climate.

chabouk wrote:If it was truly unintended, I suspect he wanted to go back to "carry mode", and had bought all the hype about how clean a gun must be to be reliable. For the most part, we waaaaay over-clean our guns, well beyond what is necessary for proper function.

Depends on the gun; when I shoot my everyday .357 with .38s, I always prefer to brush out the leading before putting .357s back into it, as it makes it hard to eject .357s. OTOH, that's impossible to do with it loaded, much less with the cylinder closed. I suspect he was just wiping the gun down with a protectant cloth (or trying to wipe off the loose carbon before reholstering to keep from making a mess of his clothes and holster) and got on the trigger accidentally.

yerasimos wrote:

03Lightningrocks wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Maybe he just wanted to kill himself with a clean gun.

OK...that is funny.

It is not funny when someone dies---especially from a gunshot wound, and especially in today's political climate.

I don't believe I recall reading where anyone said it was funny that someone died. The comment was funny.

chabouk wrote:Or, he wanted his suicide to look like an accident for insurance purposes.

On a serious note, this is a real possibility. It would be beyond ingenious.