How quickly it can all go wrong with a gun. Close Call .

[twyacht]

Just got the call.  A co-worker going through a divorce is moving out of his house. He has a small gun safe, and had some fellow co-workers helping him get his things, and the safe tonight.

While unloading the safe for moving, the owner said, "Nothing in the safe is loaded",.... well,.....there might be one "in the tube" of that 9mm handgun.

While he was trying to clear the weapon, "something" happened, and a round fired into the mattress with 5 guys standing around. All of whom I work with.

There are many "gun enthusiasts" at work and he is in for a hard time tomorrow, and for many days to come.

This will be posted all over his car, office, anywhere he goes he will see it:

Treat firearms as if they are loaded

This rule is a matter of keeping a certain mindset. The purpose is to create safe handling habits, and to discourage reasoning along the lines of, "I know my gun is unloaded so certain unsafe practices are OK." The proposition "the gun is always loaded" is used as a shorthand, even though it may be assumed-- or even positively known-- that this is not true of a particular firearm.

Many firearm accidents result from the handler believing a firearm is emptied, safetied, or otherwise disabled when in fact it is ready to be discharged. Such misunderstandings can arise from a number of sources.

    * Faulty handling of the firearm. A handler may execute the steps of procedures such as loading, firing and emptying in the wrong order or omit steps of the procedures.
    * Misunderstandings about a firearm's status. For instance, a handler may think the safety is on when it is not. A round of ammunition may be in the chamber or in the magazine while the handler thinks it is empty. A handler may receive a firearm and assume it is in a certain state without checking whether that assumption is true.
    * Mechanical failures. Wear, faulty assembly, damage or faulty design of the firearm can cause it not to function as intended. For instance, a safety may have been worn down to a point where it is no longer functioning. Broken parts may have given the firearm a "hair trigger" (a very sensitive trigger). A dented or bent body of the firearm may cause jams or premature discharge of ammunition. Sensitivity to impact may cause a firearm to discharge if dropped or struck against another object.

If a handler always treats firearms as capable of being discharged at any time, the handler is more likely to take precautions to prevent an unintentional discharge and to avoid damage or injury if one does occur.

No one was hurt, but kinda pissed off and ears ringing to boot.

[blackwolfe]

Glad to hear no one was hurt.  The guy is certainly in for some razzing.  That will heal easier than a wound, but may take longer.  Sounds like his mind was on the divorce not the gun.

[Green Mountain Gringo]

I came close to causing the same situation 20 years ago.  A few friends were over, I brought out the biggest gun in my collection at the time, a .357.  It was fully loaded and unloaded it in front of them, slapped the bullets on the counter and set the gun down.

One of the people picked up the gun and started handling it safely, admiring the weapon.

I looked down....1,2,3,4,5

1,2,3,4,5....rounds on the counter. 

I had the quick presence of mind (FINALLY) to carefully ask for the gun back and unloaded the final round.  The one that would have killed one of my friends, or my neighbor in the adjoining apartment or myself or in the least would have created enough noise to ensure police involvement.

It was an immature practice from a younger me, but one that almost changed my path in life.

To this day I unload a weapon, set it down and then try to unload it again before feeling confident that is unloaded.  Even then I handle it as though it is loaded.

Glad to hear that you friend only killed his bed.  I'm wondering, who's side of the bed was it? 

[Kid Shelleen]

I am really glad to hear that everyone walked away uninjured. That could have been very bad. I hope that you said your prayers last night. Man, I'm thankful that you are OK.

[Ping]

No one was hurt, but kinda pissed off and ears ringing to boot.

Don't blame you one bit for being pissed.

[Sponsor]

[m25operator]

I'm not MOM or anything, those of you who got my RO school class info, I hope you have read it.

IN my close circle of friends, and now you are too, it is a game almost, we can stand in a circle and pass a gun around, and every one of us will look into the chamber to see it clear, even though we are in a 3' circle, and watching each other, don't take the chance, trust but verify, you will never go wrong, when you have non gun or non shooters you want to show firearms to, tell them EVERY GUN YOU OWN  IS LOADED,  that gets their attention, and lets you control the event, you control the firearms from then on, with their approval.  Always explain the " don't point this at anything you don't want to destroy " even though you just unloaded it. Jump their ass if they don't comply.

Great subject. Thanks.