Goodbye little .380, i'll miss you.

[jiggerachi]

Have you ever done something so bone-headed that you were imbarrased to tell anyone, but for some odd reason had to get it out...if only to maybe take your licks and get over it, or maybe give a few laughs at your expence? Well this is one of those times and since this is a semi annonymous forum, i'll put it here. ...go easy on me guys.

First off I am a fairly smart guy, but absent minded so im prone to doing dumb things from time to time. For this reason I take firearm safety very seriously and so far, knock on wood, I haven't had a single serious accident with a firearm. I got lucky this time...

I got home late from work, I was tired and my wife had been with our one month old son all day and wanted to get out of the house. So we both thought we'd head up to the gun shop to go looking for a decent holster for my little bersa .380 and get something to eat afterwards. The .380 was going to be my t-shirt and shorts carry piece. I pulled it out, and like I always do when im heading somewhere with it, unloaded it, left the 7 rounds on the table, locked the slide back and left the mag out, placed it in the case. Walked out of the house, put the case on the roof of our SUV while I clipped our son in the car seat. I think most of yall know where this is heading...

Well I noticed that my car that I drove that day was blocking us in so I thought i'd move it. My wife jumped in the drivers seat of our SUV. I climbed in and we drove off.

Fast forward about 15 minutes. We're cruizing down the highway and we hear this clunk clunk clunk on the roof, what the heck was that?? I looked out the back window to see my beloved little bersa sliding down the middle two lanes still in the case at 60 mph. We take the next exit and proceed to make a u-turn. My mind is reeling now, trying to think about what to do. I had no idea. I couldn't just leave a firearm on the highway how reckless would that be, I had to do something. Should I report it to the police?? I just got my CHL so I was thinking if it would be in jeopardy if they found out I was stupid enough to drop a gun on the highway. Oh well we decided to just put the flashers on and pretend we broke down in the middle lane, i'd jump out and grab the case, providing it was still in one piece.

Coming up to the spot we thought it fell off, we couldn't find the case, but we did see a bunch of tiny little black pieces of plastic everywhere. Pulled over and I thought well it's hopeless now, i'll just walk up the shoulder and see what I can see from here. On the way I found the slide, magazine, and half of the frame had miraculously made it all the way to the shoulder. Looking over on the road I could barely see the metal part of the grip bouncing around each time a car hit it. I really consider myself lucky as I recovered the 2/3rds of the pistol that had the serial numbers engraved in them.

Anyway, I feel like I've lost a good friend, I feel like less of a man. We went to chilli's I don't think I said a word for 30 minutes except "i'll have a 24oz shiner bock, better make that two of them." I didn't even have the dignity to carry my CZ 9mm with me, I pulled it out and left it in the car.

Moral of the story, I guess, is pay attention, things happens, and always make sure a weapon is unloaded if it's not strapped to your hip.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here you go...




P.S. keep an eye on the For Sale section. I'll have about 375 rds of the elusive .380 target loads for sale later today.

[OverEasy]

Learn'n costs money. You got off cheap. Save your ammo for your NEW .380!
If it had been a Glock, it would still be in one piece and shoot too!
Welcome aboard!!
Regards, OE

[USA1]

Ouch.

Nothing to be ashamed of.
You could view this as an opportunity to replace it. Perhaps with something you've been eyeballing lately.

[Purplehood]

Road Kill.

[ddstuder]

[Dan20703]

My neighbor just did that with his wallet but he didn't stop because he didn't see it fall off, just heard a strange sound on the roof.

[karder]

Sorry about your loss. The only way to get over it is to buy yourself something new! I am sure the Misses will understand,

[jiggerachi]

I bought my cz 9mm a couple months ago so I told my wife the little bersa could be her gun, so now we gotta start looking for another lady pistol. Its going to have to wait though, our tv blew out last week so there just went $600.

That's why I'm going to sell my .380 ammo, to start a lady pistol fund. I loved the little gun, but can't justify another one. I was too scared to shoot the ammo I had.

[Excaliber]

Have you ever done something so bone-headed that you were imbarrased to tell anyone, but for some odd reason had to get it out...if only to maybe take your licks and get over it, or maybe give a few laughs at your expence? Well this is one of those times and since this is a semi annonymous forum, i'll put it here. ...go easy on me guys.

First off I am a fairly smart guy, but absent minded so im prone to doing dumb things from time to time. For this reason I take firearm safety very seriously and so far, knock on wood, I haven't had a single serious accident with a firearm. I got lucky this time...

I got home late from work, I was tired and my wife had been with our one month old son all day and wanted to get out of the house. So we both thought we'd head up to the gun shop to go looking for a decent holster for my little bersa .380 and get something to eat afterwards. The .380 was going to be my t-shirt and shorts carry piece. I pulled it out, and like I always do when im heading somewhere with it, unloaded it, left the 7 rounds on the table, locked the slide back and left the mag out, placed it in the case. Walked out of the house, put the case on the roof of our SUV while I clipped our son in the car seat. I think most of yall know where this is heading...

Well I noticed that my car that I drove that day was blocking us in so I thought i'd move it. My wife jumped in the drivers seat of our SUV. I climbed in and we drove off.

Fast forward about 15 minutes. We're cruizing down the highway and we hear this clunk clunk clunk on the roof, what the heck was that?? I looked out the back window to see my beloved little bersa sliding down the middle two lanes still in the case at 60 mph. We take the next exit and proceed to make a u-turn. My mind is reeling now, trying to think about what to do. I had no idea. I couldn't just leave a firearm on the highway how reckless would that be, I had to do something. Should I report it to the police?? I just got my CHL so I was thinking if it would be in jeopardy if they found out I was stupid enough to drop a gun on the highway. Oh well we decided to just put the flashers on and pretend we broke down in the middle lane, i'd jump out and grab the case, providing it was still in one piece.

Coming up to the spot we thought it fell off, we couldn't find the case, but we did see a bunch of tiny little black pieces of plastic everywhere. Pulled over and I thought well it's hopeless now, i'll just walk up the shoulder and see what I can see from here. On the way I found the slide, magazine, and half of the frame had miraculously made it all the way to the shoulder. Looking over on the road I could barely see the metal part of the grip bouncing around each time a car hit it. I really consider myself lucky as I recovered the 2/3rds of the pistol that had the serial numbers engraved in them.

Anyway, I feel like I've lost a good friend, I feel like less of a man. We went to chilli's I don't think I said a word for 30 minutes except "i'll have a 24oz shiner bock, better make that two of them." I didn't even have the dignity to carry my CZ 9mm with me, I pulled it out and left it in the car.

Moral of the story, I guess, is pay attention, things happens, and always make sure a weapon is unloaded if it's not strapped to your hip.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here you go...




P.S. keep an eye on the For Sale section. I'll have about 375 rds of the elusive .380 target loads for sale later today.

I feel for your loss.

Thanks very much for sharing something that can happen much more easily than we'd like to admit to any of us without constant awareness and double checking of our guns, particularly while they're not attached to us. This can happen so easily that, after some close calls (not with guns) I make a practice of not putting anything on the roof of my car ever - I always put it inside, so the worst that can happen is that I lose track of it in a place where it's later recoverable when I get around to looking for it.

A similar situation often occurs in rest rooms, with the gun left on the back of the toilet tank or the TP holder.

Your story is a great reminder for everyone, and I salute your courage and generosity in posting it so we can all benefit from the lessons without repeating the experience ourselves.

[MoJo]

Be glad it was only a gun, what if it had been your son? Yes it has happened! I always lay things on the hood instead of putting them on the roof just for this reason you can see stuff on the hood. Sorry about the loss of your gun have you considered seeing if that is covered by warranty?

[Sasnakra]

I'm at a loss for words.....
Ok, here's an attempt, "It could be worse!"
Have you considered seeing if Bersa (or even better GLOCK ) would want to use your tragic event in an ad?
Best of luck on the next one.

PS - Have you ever considered a lanyard?

[seniorshooteress]

IMO I don't think any gun warranty covers a 60mph highway bounce but if it does let me know cause I too, have a Bersa .380 and if I decide to see how far I can drop it before it breaks, I might need that warranty info. Evidently Timex didn't produce the Bersa .380. So sorry for your loss. Are you planning on having a memorial service?

[gigag04]

That stinks man.


A Kahr P380 would've survived though - and probably torn up the car that hit. JK...I'm biased, I feel like this gun is rock solid.

At my dept there are tons of stories of leaving stuff on top of the car. My most recent was leaving my ticket book, along with an arrestee's license on top. It slid off as I turned left and I had to hop out a dodge cars looking like frogger to get it. One of my partners was nice enough to punk me out on the radio and ask me if I wanted him to hold traffic back.

To make it worse, since I was transporting the arrestee and all that is recorded, when you watch the rear cage camera you can see me in the rear window dodging cars. That was free though...loosing a gun is rough.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

I looked at the pictures of the gun parts
before I actually read the OP's tale of woe.

I thought he had to get rid of the Bersa because
the lime green paint caused it to die of shame. :-)

Good luck on getting the new gun of your dreams,
or your bride's dreams.

SIA

[Oldgringo]

Check your homeowners/renters insurance policy?