Almost had a ND

[CrimsonSoul]

I was out at my dads shooting a few months back with a new little 22 rifle I bought for my kids (as well as our AR and pistols) got home and set about cleaning the guns. Got to the little 22 and thought to myself *hmm I should probably dry fire it so the hammer will drop* (only way to drop the hammer). I guess God was looking out for me because for some reason I decided to drop the mag before I pulled the trigger (gin was pointed in a safe direction but would have went through some walls). We'll I tell you what, I drop theag and see a bullet at the top of it and my heart starts beating a mile a minute, while I think about what could have happened. Lesson learned, always, ALWAYS check to make sure it's unloaded before you try and dry fire, if I hadn't decided to drop the mag on a whim there's no telling who may have got hurt (not to mention patching the walls).

Sorry the editing is crappy, typing on my phone

[SHogun62]

I won't lie, after 14 years between law enforcement and military service, I suffered my first AD/ND last year. Not sure who was more rattled, the cat after the bang happened, the wife after the initial what the heck moment, or me for being complacent with my first striker fired weapon...Nonetheless, lesson learned well. Replaced the floor slat, chalked it up to the same philosophy we had in the military...Unless you've had an Article 15, you aren't getting promoted to E-5, and ever since then, I've double cleared my weapons outside, in the yard before cleaning or anything else. Mind you, Once I can buy my own house, I'll be putting a clearing barrel in place for such occasions. Glad you were more attentive than I was, hope the same thing doesn't happen to you.

[Abraham]

Thank you both for the safety reminder.

I'm something of a nut about gun safety, and I like to be reminded to keep up my gun safety attitude.

[Jusme]

Glad nothing catastrophic happened, I am so OCD about checking, double checking, checking a couple more times, and then verifying all of my checking. I have been fortunate I have never had a ND. I know a lot of people who have, one had a nice 12 gauge hole in his ceiling and a much larger hole in his roof, one had a 45 LC through his wall. my BIL has a .270 hole in a stereo speaker, and a LEO who shot a 9mm through the bottom of his car's trunk and gas tank.

[Glock4ever]

I was out at my dads shooting a few months back with a new little 22 rifle I bought for my kids (as well as our AR and pistols) got home and set about cleaning the guns. Got to the little 22 and thought to myself *hmm I should probably dry fire it so the hammer will drop* (only way to drop the hammer). I guess God was looking out for me because for some reason I decided to drop the mag before I pulled the trigger (gin was pointed in a safe direction but would have went through some walls). We'll I tell you what, I drop theag and see a bullet at the top of it and my heart starts beating a mile a minute, while I think about what could have happened. Lesson learned, always, ALWAYS check to make sure it's unloaded before you try and dry fire, if I hadn't decided to drop the mag on a whim there's no telling who may have got hurt (not to mention patching the walls).

Sorry the editing is crappy, typing on my phone

Good reminder. I would also suggest you analyze the root cause of why the firearm was loaded when it wasn't supposed to be. How did this happen? How can you prevent this in the future?

[K5CLC]

I'm sorry guys, but I really need a dictionary of the new abbreviated English language. I read 'almost had an ND' and I sat here for a while going , "N..D... ND... N. D. North Dakota? Nuhh.. Duhh... Neehhh Deee... something gun related.. something gun related... OH!!!! Negligent Discharge..!!! I got it!! hurray for me.
Anyhow, I too have been close to making that mistake which terrified me enough to really be extra careful, and my mother n law is a great example - when she showed everyone her new Walther PPKs by waving it around at everyone (not thinking about it) to which i grabbed it out of her hand, and unloaded the magazine and ejected the round that was IN THE CHAMBER. She too became terrified, and she didn't even remember loading it.

[Lynyrd]

I had one ND. I was 16 at the time. And now I'm an old gray haired man and it still scares me to think about it. The first deer I ever killed I had climbed up on the limb of a tree to hunt. (No, I didn't have a stand.) I tied a rope on my gun and pulled it up after I got on the tree limb. It was not loaded at the time. When I shot the buck I got so excited I immediately wanted to get down. I started lowering my gun back to the ground with the rope and something hit the trigger and it went off about halfway down. Luckily it was pointed at the ground. In my excitement I had neglected to clear the chamber, or put the safety on.

My heart was already racing with buck fever, and when the gun went off I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I will never forget how bad that scare was.

[dlh]

I always drop the mag. then open and clear the action before any cleaning takes place.

Keeping the loaded mags completely away from the cleaning table is a very wise idea too. Very easy to put your brain on hold, insert a loaded mag then "dry" fire---oops. I know, I almost did it.

[Dan20703]

Always good to have this updated in our memory bank to remind us of the simple basic rules. Thanks for the reminder.

[rotor]

Two thoughts, to err is human and never dry fire a rimfire. Of course in your case it would not have been a dryfire. Glad all are OK.

[twomillenium]

Complacency, is the biggest enemy of experience. We all need to remember that safety applies just as much to the experienced as it applies to the newbie. Glad it kicked in at the last moment, better than no moment.

[Noggin]

at nearly 64 years old I am still waiting for my first ND. Though way back in 1975 I was sitting next to a friend of mine when he had one. It was at the Royal Military Academy - we had just returned from the range with our private weapons (that was what we did on Wednesday sports afternoons instead of playing Cricket - the world's most boring game). We were sitting in his room in "Old College", cleaning our guns before returning them to the Armoury, I had just put my .357 back in it's case and he was reassembling his .380 PPK when there was a bang and a cloud of plaster and brick dust. Then for several seconds we both sat staring at this 5" dia 4" deep hole in the wall behind his desk. Good thing the building is 200 years old, no sheet rock, it has 18" of solid brick between the rooms. We looked outside in the corridor for the gathering crowd or some members of staff - Nobody - Nothing. So we went back and looked in the hole for the bullet - no sign, eventually found it on the floor behind where we had been sitting it must have bounced out between us. Anyway stuck a poster over the hole then rushed down to the DIY store for some Polyfilla and a small can of cream paint. Within a few hours there was nothing to see.

[OldCurlyWolf]

at nearly 64 years old I am still waiting for my first ND. Though way back in 1975 I was sitting next to a friend of mine when he had one. It was at the Royal Military Academy - we had just returned from the range with our private weapons (that was what we did on Wednesday sports afternoons instead of playing Cricket - the world's most boring game). We were sitting in his room in "Old College", cleaning our guns before returning them to the Armoury, I had just put my .357 back in it's case and he was reassembling his .380 PPK when there was a bang and a cloud of plaster and brick dust. Then for several seconds we both sat staring at this 5" dia 4" deep hole in the wall behind his desk. Good thing the building is 200 years old, no sheet rock, it has 18" of solid brick between the rooms. We looked outside in the corridor for the gathering crowd or some members of staff - Nobody - Nothing. So we went back and looked in the hole for the bullet - no sign, eventually found it on the floor behind where we had been sitting it must have bounced out between us. Anyway stuck a poster over the hole then rushed down to the DIY store for some Polyfilla and a small can of cream paint. Within a few hours there was nothing to see.

While I can't say It has never happened, the 2nd time was 38 years ago caused by a worn hammer spur on a double barrel shotgun. I put the old thing up and never loaded it again.

I was following the 4 rules so there was no damage done.

[The Annoyed Man]

I had an ND in 1996 or 97......my first, only, and last one. It was enough to make me more attentive. I put a .44 magnum hole into the ceiling of my bedroom. I discharged the weapon with the muzzle within a few inches of my left ear. My hearing has never been the same since, and my ears have never stopped ringing.

I once started a thread on another forum discussion board which I owned at the time, with a title of something like "C'mon and 'fess up, have you ever had a negligent discharge?" I should have added "of a firearm" at the end of it, because a few of the initial responses ran the gamut from "colorful" to "deleteable". But the thing was, although it wasn't a gun forum (it was a political forum), most of the guys and a few of the women were gun owners, and it was surprising how many had had one ND in their lives. It's also significant that exactly none of them had a second one. The experience is traumatic enough that nobody wants to have another one. And by the way, none of the respondents who had had an ND were women. Men...... How do we survive to adulthood?