OT - Stupid Human Behavior

[deerwhacker444]

The thread by 86'r with the blown up Marlin got me thinking. What's the stupidest thing you've ever done with firearms or reloading equipment that could have gotten somebody hurt that you'll fess up to.?

When I was in HS, I was sitting in the front room with my single shot .410 across my lap watching TV. Somehow out of stupidity, the "empty" shotgun went off while I was messing with it, blowing the front arms off the matching living room chair and leaving a nice patter on the living room wall. Luckily, a friend who was visiting and sitting in the chair, left and went home shortly before it happened. I hate to think about what could have happened if someone was sitting in that chair when it went off, probably would have darn near blown somebody's hands off. The chair went to the dumpster and a coat of paint erased the wall pattern. Nonetheless, the memory will be with me always.

[stew71]

Back when I was 16, I was duck hunting with my Dad with my brand new Mossberg pump gun. He was on one side of the blind, I was on the other, with the muzzle pointed away in a safe direction (thank God). I must have forgotten to put the safety on after the last bird came in, and when I shifted around to get more comfy...well.....the chambered round went off, and scored a direct hit on a few decoys that we had piled outside the blind. For the rest of the day, I kept checking and re-checking that safety while avoiding the glare from my old man. Lesson learned to be sure!!!

The only other stupid behavior I can recall wasn't a dangerous situation, but dumb nonetheless. I was late getting to one of our local weekend Garand matches with my M1 chambered in 30-06. I rushed to the line, was getting all prepped, when I noticed that I had grabbed several boxes of 7.62x51. Dohhhhhh........match was over before it began.

[Jayhawker]

The stupidest thing I've ever done was shoot my gunsafe.

I'd just finished cleaning a 44 spec revolver and had loaded it prior to putting it away. A home defense firearm should be loaded in advance, right? Well, I just had to wipe some finger prints off the cylinder, so I cocked the hammer to rotate it forward. I kept my finger on the trigger because I was going to immediately let the hammer back down, but my oily thumb slipped off the hammer allowing it to spring forward and fired the round in the chamber. Bamm! I don't think there is a shot so loud as an accidental one. Put a Speer Gold Dot right into the front door of the safe. The Browning safe held up though, the round didn't penetrate. If it hadn't hit the safe, it would have traveled through the house ending up who knows where. Boy, I'm glad I was the only one home and had some touch up paint for the safe. I see that dimple in the safe door every time I open it now and it constantly reminds me to be and act safely. Quite a humbling experience!

[C. Cash]

Friend and I went bunny hunting and we came back to my home to dump off our guns. He had to rush off somewhere and he put his gun, a Marlin Mod. 60, in my closet. A day or so later I decided to take some of my guns out.....took his Marlin out and heard a little voice of reason that whispered "you'd better check the chamber" but then thought...no I can trust old Bobby to not give me a loaded gun.....pointed the muzzle at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. The roof of a single wide trailer will not stop a 22lr....makes a nice size exit wound in the metal roof. Apparently your mother who is in the next room thinks you have just killed yourself as well, and things can get a little tense.

Shooting my newly built percussion 45 cal. Kentucky pistol at a burned out Eucalyptus stump, I got a suprise. That stump was harder than a diamond and at the shot I got walloped in the gut by the rebounding ball. I made a "YUUUUP" sound like the skipper on Gilliagans Island and doubled over. Looked around, embarrassed but thankfully only the birds and bunnies saw it. No penetration but boy did that welt smart!

Non-plused, several years later I shot a burned out tree from about 10 feet with my 12 Gauge, and got a nice tattoo of 7 1/2 shot across my midriff. Did not penetrate but a very nice welt. Same thing as before, and last time I ever did that. Apparently that is why they tell you in Hunter safety to never shoot at a hard/flat object!

Did I mention that I am thankful that the Good Lord looks after small children and fools?

[piller]

The dumbest thing that I will admit to is putting fingers on both triggers of a side by side and trying for a fast follow up shot. Lost some skin on my fingers and got a bruise on my shoulder from that.

[Old Ironsights]

Sorry... Statute of limitations...

No ADs or UDs though...

[kimwcook]

Oh......I'm not going to go there.

[Ysabel Kid]

I've got examples of stupid things I've done in practically every human endeavor, but since you asked specifically about ones relating to firearms, here's one of many:

Where I grew up north of Indianapolis it was considered a suburb, but I used to routinely shoot my .22, blackpowder, or a shotgun in my yard and none of the neighbors cared. We had an unfinished dettached garage that I would occasionally test some guns in, shooting into the stud cavity that was filled with insulation. The garage had a brick exterior, I never caught a bounce-back, and it never went through to harm anyone or anything.

Fast forward to my first place after college, one half of a duplex my wife and I rented before purchasing our first home. One night I got the itch to test a .22, so I went out to the garage and fired it into the wall above the garage door. I thought that this should be fine, as the garage was insulted, and even had drywall on the interior. I figured I would patch the holes later.

What I forgot was that the exterior was NOT brick. I fired three shots - all in a nice group - and the next day went outside and saw - to my horror - that they had not only punched right through the exterior wall, but had blasted a rather large chunk of the vinyl siding along with them! Lord knows where they ended up. I was so embarassed and mad at myself I couldn't see straight for a week!

[Otto]

I was at the local public outdoor range with my nephew, shooting a Vaquero. Bang, bang, bang, pop. Squib (no powder?)

I had to go to the next lane and ask the guy whether, by chance, he had a cleaning rod. He offered me a brass rod, and, as I was tapping the bullet out, I tried to play it off with some stupid comment. The guy just looked at me.

I went back to my lane, reloaded, cocked the hammer, squeezed the trigger...

Pop. Two squibs in a row. I ask the guy... he just looked at me. I tapped the bullet out, packed my stuff, and left.

[gundownunder]

I think I was about 12 or so when I shot an uncles .22 at a tractor tyre in the paddock behind the house. I didn't see a problem till one of my shots bounced back past my ear

[Rusty]

My only ND was when I was in a hurry one time to unload a Savage Pump. I racked three rounds out and racked again... noting came out so I pulled the trigger without checking the chamber. BLAM! I sent a load of #6 shot into the top of the closet door.

[creosote]

When I was maybe 14 years old I took a shot at an Ironwood tree from maybe 25 feet.
I quickly learned why they are called Ironwood trees when the bullet from the .22 short
bounced back into the front of my right thigh.
I thought I was going to die , but only got a really big bruise.
I also made no mention of the incident to my Dad and Uncle who had brought me along on the camping trip, I was young and ignorant but not Stupid,grin.
creosote

[Buffboy]

Closest I ever came was when road hunting pheasents years back. Spotted one in the ditch, stopped, I bailed out on the side the pheasent was on, it got up and flew around the back of the vehicle. I shot just as it reached the road and coincidentally as a guy from the other side of the car was rounding the back. It was close, but no pellets hit him.

Now if you want to know about other people and ADs, I've still got a(patched) hole in my front door of my house.

[bogus bill]

When I was eleven out of curiosity I took a 12 gauge shell apart to see what was inside. I figured I would take the primer out with a punch and hammer. Thank god, I already had got past the wads, shot and powder!
Whats the statuet of limitations for stupidity? 50 or 60 years ago I could thread a needle with a .22 rifle. A buddy and I were out shooting in a quarry. We had split up doing our own thing. I was laying on the edge of the quarry in tall grass. Saw my buddy walking along with his .22 kicking cans over a hundred yards down and away. I seen a can on the path just ahead of him I knew he was going to kick. I shot the can away from him as he drew his leg back to kick it.
The results were more than comical. Harold couldnt see me in the tall grass but shot about 18 rounds fanning my area! I could hear the rounds sliceing the grass all around me. I deserved that one. I think we were 12 years old or so. If pa would have found out he would have killed me.
Another time as a kid I and two brother friends were going out to plink. They were part indians with no father. Cecil had a win 94 and while I wasnt looking shot it close to my foot yelling DANCE! I had a 22 rifle and responded with shooting the heel of his boot off. The concusion of the blast of the 30/30 hitting the ground actualy stung the bottom of my foot. We were 13 or 14.
One of my most embarassing one was about 40 years ago. I had a old winchester 92 in 25-20 that was a shot out mess. Had it since I was a kid. Finaly I got it totaly restored and rechambered in .357 mag. I wish I hadnt, but finaly I decided to take it to a gun show and sell it. I would have bet my house it was empty. Many people handeled it. Then a guy came along, opened it up and there was a .357 mag in it! I belive either someone palmed a round in it to discredit gunshows, or it had got stuck in the magazine tube and finaly got jarred loose!
I might be dumb, but you cant say I aint honest repeating these sins! You got any hidden sins?

[JustaJeepGuy]

I came closer than I'd like to a negligent discharge with a Luger once. I put a full magazine in it, and manually racked the action 8 times--or so I thought. Fortunately, my younger brother (wisely sitting to my right) and I had just been discussing the loaded-chamber function of the extractor, and he pointed out to me that the extractor was indicating a loaded chamber. So I racked the action a few more times, just to make sure--and then checked that the magazine was truly empty....

[Old Ironsights]

On NDs, I DO have to relate his story...

I was living an an apartment/flophouse in Anchorage when one of my roommate's friends let one loose into the floor.

I, being in my room with the door closed and not knowing what was going on, but not hearing shouting/more gunfire, walked out of my room, took the Blackhawk from the slackjawed idiot, took the remaining rounds out of the gun, handed it back to him, and told him to leave. Now. He left.

After I cooled off a bit, I dug the bullet out of the concrete floor and gave it to the guy as a reminder.

Aparantly he was lowering the hammer on a full cylinder when the hammer slipped his thumb... at least that was the story.

Fortunately for all concerned, the apartment building was essentially a freestanding concrete bunker so nobody paid attention to the bang and the factory 158 couldn't get through a 6" prestressed slab to the apartment below...

[shdwlkr]

stupid thing I did once was fire a friends 10 gauge double. fired both barrels at the same time he laughed his head off. Didn't drop the shotgun and hit the ducks he couldn't and I made him wade out and get them and then handed his shotgun back to him and stuck my right hand in my belt and drove home one handed as my right side was sort of numb. It was really fun driving a stick with only my left arm home. My folks just looked at me funny and I said that I had shot a shotgun and forgot to hold it in my shoulder. Had the black and blue marks to show them but never did I shoot a 10 gauge.