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Has anyone ever considered giving up guns, shooting, and or hunting?

OrphanedcowboyOrphanedcowboy Member Posts: 351 ✭✭✭
edited January 2002 in General Discussion
I had something happen that has me totally freaked out, I almost shot myself, point blank. I have been handling guns for going on 29 years, got my first "gun" when I was just 7 years old, albeit a BB gun, it was a big thing, I was taught to respect it, and when I had proven myself, my grandfather gave me a Winchester Model 61, which led to my fondness of Winchesters. I love hunting, shooting, and I love nothing more than to just hold a rifle and admire it. I have never discharged a rifle in any manner that ever put anyone, myself included in danger, and I pray to God I never do again, but I was rushed, I got a text message that my grandfather was on his way to the hospital, I hurried and made a cardinal mistake, I put a loaded weapon in it's case. I rushed to the hospital to find out he had a touch of pneumonia(?), and was going to be just fine after some medication and some rest. I stayed awhile and had totally forgotten about the gun and gear locked in my truck. I finally got home and unloaded everything and was getting the gun out of it's case and I must have grazed the safety putting the gun in or pulling it out of the case, and I must have touched the trigger, and had I not been bent over the bullet would have surely hit me, I know I violated so many rules, rules I have taught my family, and my friends and their children, and That is what has me so shook up, I have a routine I follow, loaded with saftey on to the truck, unload and pack away, after pointing in a safe direction and uncocking trigger, I always do this, but how is it possible I could have by passed such a standard routine that I have probally done several thousand times. I am and have gave considerable thought to the fact that I could have lost my life very easily, and God only knows wear that bullet landed, a hot handloaded .243 will do a number on a ceiling and a roof, I can only imagine what it will cost to repair. I guess I am just rambling, but if I have no more respect than that for a weapon, I really don't deserve to own one, Thanks for the ear.
Orphanedcowboy@msn.com www.texdeer.com www.Orphanedcowboy.com
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Comments

  • ysacresysacres Member Posts: 294 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I too had a 270 go off in the house, My friend and I were cleaning guns, he striped it down put it back together, ran the bolt and BANG,The bullet lodged in my son's closet. The floorplate had stuck down Anyway it's a good refresher course on safty.Just glad nobody got hurt.
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We already had this thread, in a similar way, but not exactly. Bottom line, almost all of us have had an AD, dont get so shook up about it, learn from it and move on. You wouldnt stop driving if you had an accident now would you? Buck up buddy, it happens, you are ok and no one was hurt, jump back in the saddle and go.
    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,696 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Psychologically, your reaction questioning your "responsible ownership" of firearms is quite natural after the accident you describe.The same thing occurs for most people after they have an accident with some piece of technology--the most common being an accident with an automobile.People have been "in a hurry" and done everything from cutting-off their fingers with a power saw, to running over their own children with a motor boat. When such things happen, it is not unnatural for the involved person to experience a certain level of "fear" or distain for the machine they were using--commonly including a "distrust of themselves" relating to their ability in the use the "technological device" involved in the accident.Normally, people learn from their mistake and continue in their use of the tool they had the accident with. If they continue to experience "excessive fear" relating to the technological device involved in the "incident of stress or tragedy" some form of psychological counseling might be needed. They have effectively developed a "phobia" of the technological device connected to their accident. And counseling can be useful in over-coming phobias.Sadly, in this "age of irrationality", "fear of firearms" is not recognized as a phobia in need of curing, but is instead seen as the cure itself--or in today's mixed-up world, Orphanedcowboy, YOU'VE BEEN CURED!
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  • Evil ATFEvil ATF Member Posts: 1,195 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don't beat yourself up.There are two kinds of gun-owners:1. Those who have had accidental/negligent discharges.2. Those who will.Sometime I'll tell you about the time that I shot my wife's $10,000 piano with a Ruger 10/22.
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  • OtomanOtoman Member Posts: 554 ✭
    edited November -1
    Get a good nights sleep and hope you feel different about it in the morning,This is probably one of your best "Self Taught" Lessons...
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I had a "boo boo" with my parent's car before going to church one Sunday afternoon. It only ran about $300 to fix but mom and dad made me do the driving to and from church so that the experience wouldn't cause me to shy away from driving or develop over-reactionary bad habits. Read through the 10 Commandments of Firearms Safety a few times, pick up your favorite shooting magazine and then go to the range with a ton of ammo. You are responsible because you recognize the error of your ways. An irresponsible person wouldn't be having the reaction that you are having right now. Keep the faith.ids
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  • badboybobbadboybob Member Posts: 1,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Ditto all of the above.
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  • RUGERNUT3RUGERNUT3 Member Posts: 247 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    give it up. GIVE IT UP? MAYBE....JUST ,,,MAYBE.....JUST MAYBE...WHEN I DIE........see no evil, THINK no evil...and for sure DO no evil........thats just a really evil thought, gives me goose bumps........as ATF says...dont beat yourself to death over it buddy, just learn from it so as not to repeat..I rear ended another car in my truck the other night (bumper to bumper, just put a 3/4 inch crack in the kids plastic bumper...nothing to mine)my fault I know, but there were circumstances too lenghty to detail. And my Ins. WILL go up, but if I wanted...being the bi-polar, anxiety filled, compulsive worry to the max person I am...I could still been goin through the " woulda,coulda, shoulda thing",.....dont....after a little time passes you would be kicking your butt over giving up something up you love...I dont think many of us feel too passionate about TOO many IMPORTANT things that matter cept our famlies,friends,country, guns,outdoors...so hang in there, time will answer your guestion for you....
    "ANY" EXCUSE IS A GOOD REASON TO BUY "JUST 1 MORE".& VICIE-VERSIE!
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  • RembrandtRembrandt Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    ...."From my cold dead fingers"......(quote from Charlton Heston AKA Moses)[This message has been edited by Rembrandt (edited 01-14-2002).]
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  • thesupermonkeythesupermonkey Member Posts: 3,905 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Ok,I'm a little confused. How do you 'accidentally' touch a trigger and nearly shoot yourself with a long rifle? I just can't picture it...Munkey
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  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Evil- What kind of piano was it?
    Happiness is a warm gun
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  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Had an AD when I was about 16 & damn near took off my foot w/ a 12 gauge when a some brush caught the trigger. Have never trusted a safety since, but never thought of abandoning shooting. I've had some other 'almosts' - involving sharp objects, cars, chainsaw. Made me a little more cautious, but life is a learning experience. No loaded firearms ever in house except for those planned that way. I *did* however quit deer hunting after being shot at twice, figuring my luck wouldn't hold for a third time.
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  • mudgemudge Member Posts: 4,225 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Had an AD with the Commander some years back.Slide took some meat off the web of my hand as it came back. Bullet (FMJ) went through one of my boots (luckily, not being worn), through the rug and pad and was deflected by the hardwood flooring into the baseboard. Barely dented the baseboard. Barely deformed the bullet. Good old "no power" .45.Mudge the clumsyps. Evil's right.....those who have, those who will.
    I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!
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  • anderskandersk Member Posts: 3,627 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Whew ... glad you were not hurt. Now, learn from it and go on. You'll be even more careful than before.Thanks for passing along your experience ... you may save others lives or injury.Man, it is tough at times not to do stupid things when in a rush or other things on the mind. But don't give up.
    Ken
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  • whiteclouderwhiteclouder Member Posts: 10,574 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My grandkids love to look at the scar on my right leg. Glad I wasn't practicing with a .45Get up and get on.Clouder..
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  • songdogsongdog Member Posts: 355 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    orphanedcowboy- I had one of these AD just a couple of weeks ago. A couple of friends and i were out Coyote hunting and we had justed topped a hill when my 257 ripped off a round right by my ear. THe three of us hit the deck like we were in nam or something. We all asked each other if it was them, then i checked my bolt and sure enough it was me. I then checked the safety and it was still on. I have no idea what happened. I had the gun checked out by a gunsmith and he said that nothing was wrong. The thing that really caught my attention was when by best friend said that if i had not been so careful as to where my gun was pointed he could have died. The kicker is that his older brother died 2 miles south of our farm 13 years ago due to a horse riding accident. Now that is scary.songdog the lucky
    Be bold in what you stand for, careful in what you fall for.
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  • buddybbuddyb Member Posts: 5,368 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You will be the safest person around firearms from this day forward.A scary lesson, but you will remember it.Thank goodness no one was hurt.
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  • OrphanedcowboyOrphanedcowboy Member Posts: 351 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks Guys, I was pretty shook up over it, but I had 3 guns come in today, and when I put my hands on them I thought to myself, how could I possibly give up something that give me so much enjoyment, and If I hadn't been bent over it surely would have hit me, but then it may not have gone off either. You can bet your sweet rear it won't happen again, from now on when I am done hunting, I will leave with an empty chamber or gun, period!
    Orphanedcowboy@msn.com www.texdeer.com www.Orphanedcowboy.com
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  • jdb123jdb123 Member Posts: 471 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    my girlfriends dad who has been featured in hunting magazines in the past had a rifle he was cleaning go off in their house and lodged into a very thick wood table {.243} no one was hurt but like everyone is saying this sort of thing happens all the time it just happens, we just have to pray we no one gets hurt
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  • concealedG36concealedG36 Member Posts: 3,566 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    AD, where's Dano? Glad you're okay cowboy.
    Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals[This message has been edited by concealedG36 (edited 01-14-2002).]
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  • PelicanPelican Member Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Has anyone ever considered giving up guns, shooting, and or hunting?Reckon I bout' done all three. Hadn't bought a huntin' license in probably 18-20 years. Only time I ever shoot anything is to see why it don't work right. And, like I've said here before, I wouldn't have an FFL if I didn't need it to make a living. Even went to a gun show this past Sunday. Only went to try and find a part I needed. Did see a lot of old friends I haven't seen in years and enjoyed that. Didn't see a single gun I really wanted (and I even had money in my pocket - just in case).Why would someone that got in the business because of a love of firearms get to this point? I really don't know. Burnout? Complacency? Apathy? All of the above?Like the old saying, "Times change - taste change". Reckon I just changed.Say-la-vee!
    "Audemus jura nostra defendere"- - - - - - - - - - - - -It is hard to make a comeback if you have never been on top.
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  • BullzeyeBullzeye Member Posts: 3,560
    edited November -1
    I've never had an AD, but then again I'm still young.I just make sure when I go to the range I only bring as much ammo as I plan to fire. I dont leave without firing it all up and locking the chamber open.I dont ever load my guns in the house, even if all I want to do is make sure the action loads or ejects the round right. Too unsafe.I just try and act like the guys at the gun store. Never hand someone a weapon without opening the action and leaving it open. Especially never ever hand someone a weapon with a mag in it. Even if you know the mag's empty.Bottom line: live ammo never touches my gun unless I'm at the range. It's just safer that way.
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  • daddodaddo Member Posts: 3,408
    edited November -1
    I'm not worried about accidental discharges as much as those who shoot in any direction on purpose. Take two primers and get some sleep._____________________________________________ "Did I hear that someone killed a piano?"
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    This is why I carried my semi-autos in "condition two" (chamber empty) for so long when I had the 5 lb. triggers on my Glocks, but treated them like "every gun is always loaded" anyway. What you learned, I suppose, is what all of us should know, that on some level "it" could happen to anybody, including me. It's why I treat my guns the way they say you "should" when some guys choose not to. I always use holsters that fit, and cover the trigger or a pocket that is lined to protect the trigger. I never point the guns at anything I'm unwilling to destroy. I say that, but then catch myself making a stupid move when I'm trying to clear jam from an oversized casing at the range, or when I'm putting on a Pachmayr slide-on grip or something. One time I caught myself pulling on a rubber gun grip with the muzzle pushed against my belly. Even though the gun had been cleared -- every gun is always loaded. My mistake, man.None of this is any fun to admit, but if every gun is always loaded, each of the "harmless" acts could be the end of me. But the odds are a lot better if I am SCRUPULOUS about my gun handling. All I have to do is make the one human mistake. Anybody here not human? Notice I didn't say stupid, I said human.I guess the bottom line is I know guns are dangerous. They're supposed to be. But I don't skydive, I don't para-sail -- I carry for self defense. Hoping I never have to kill anybody to defend myself, or my neighbor who maybe doesn't "believe in" owning guns. It makes sense to me.... Trust me, our boys overseas occasionally have oopses like you had. They don't come home because of it. They learn. They go on, because they know why they're doing it. When I no longer know why I carry, I'll stop.
    "The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."
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  • OtomanOtoman Member Posts: 554 ✭
    edited November -1
    I have had 2 friends that had an A.D. both with .22 pistols. One was quick Drawing and pulled the trigger before the gun cleared, Dug the bullet out himself. The other had a .22 pistol discharge as he was taking it out of his pickup. My wife is a nurse in surgery and got to help remove the lead, man was he embarassed...When someone checks a gun and hands it to me I always check it again just to be on the safe side. But it is something that can happen to any of us!
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  • jazzjazz Member Posts: 83 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Give up guns and the shooting sports?Bite your tongue! No, No, and NO!
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  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Bullzeye -From your post, it's clear you don't use live ammo for the purpose, but if you wish to run a round through a weapon, you can obtain dummies or snap caps which will do the job in complete safety.
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  • BullzeyeBullzeye Member Posts: 3,560
    edited November -1
    Thats what I had in mind
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  • HAL-9000HAL-9000 Member Posts: 38 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well I had a friend shoot a 12G up into a big tree limb while I was standing under it. As you would guess part of that pattern bounced off that limb and hit me in the back of the head, you should see my skull film.I've had several other close calls, where stupid hunters shot at sounds (which was me walking up the road)Was actually hit in the chest by a spent round that bounced off my hunting jacket. No I don't hunt anymore, but its not for any of those reasons. I'm an avid shooter and will be until that day GOD ask me to leave.good shootingHAL
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  • Judge DreadJudge Dread Member Posts: 2,372 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sex is the best alternative ,the worst shot you can shoot will be only a 9 month problem hehehehe!(Smallest caliber in the world and the biggest exit wound!)& all victims survive!
    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ░ ▒▒
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  • 218Beekeep218Beekeep Member Posts: 3,033
    edited November -1
    You outdid yourself Dread..218
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  • Diesel DummyDiesel Dummy Member Posts: 193 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don't give it up! You made a mistake (Thank God if that's your inclination) learn from it and go on. Don't beat yourself to death.
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  • sandman2234sandman2234 Member Posts: 894 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Seems as though hot handloaded .243's are high on the list of AD's. Wife grabbed one as we came out of the hunting woods to move it off the floormat.Web of her hand pushed the safety up as her fingers curled around the grip of the rifle.When she lifted the gun, off it went.Was a brand new Chevy p/u, owned by my inlaws. Father inlaw was cool, but mother in law got bent out of shape. I had the floorboard fixed, mat, carpet, right front tire, radiator hose,flexible brake line,all replaced by GM.Glad it didn't hit one of us, or the tranny or engine. Give it up? Nope, don't think so, although we did quit for the day, since we were 125 miles from home and that was our transportation.
    Have Gun, will travel
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