Well, had the second accident discharge in 64 years of shooting today.

[RicinYakima]

Nothing very exciting happened and no one noticed but me. I have a Stevens' Marksman SS 22LR. It was given to me because it had 11 22 short bullets stuck in the barrel. I thru the barrel away and put a nice Marlin Micro-Groove barrel on the action and chambered with a Winchester 52 D reamer I had. Little thing weighs about three pounds and shoots very well at 25 yards.

It is a tipping barrel action and you have to put the hammer on "safe" before you can open or close the barrel as the firing pin sticks out the front of the frame. After about 25 rounds of Federal standard velocity, I saw I had five Federal "Ultra-Match" B's left over from shooting the Springfield Model 1922 I rebuilt. My, I wonder how well they would shoot?

When I snapped the action closed, it fired. I don't know if I failed to pull the hammer back to safe or it was stuck forward. All those years of safe practice worked, as the rifle was pointed down range when it fired. (The other four rounds made a touching group at 50'.)

Always be prepared, it will happen to all of us!

 

[462]

Glad there were no injuries.

 

[smokeywolf]

All those years of safe practice worked, as the rifle was pointed down range when it fired.

Quite possibly the most important of all safety protocols. Never ever allow the muzzle to* cover a life-form that you don't want dead.

*Edit to add

 

[Spindrift]

Good habits pay of in the long run. Nice rifle, by the way!

 

[L Ross]

Now that would make a hell of a "Gamer Gun" in our Boy's Rifle Match.

When Sue and I taught Hunter Safety I used to harp on which of the 4 rules of safe gun handling was the most important. Other instructors, who apparently were unwilling to think for themselves, would get apoplectic with outrage saying, "All the rules are important." My contention was if everything else went wrong, and there was an unintentional discharge, as long as the muzzle was pointed in a safe direction, all you had was an embarrassing aw shit moment.

Instructors who learned to teach by rote from their DNR Warden instructors would argue to the death over this. One of these same instructors also argued with me about a Remington 870 with a rifled slug barrel. He told the students you could only shoot sabot slugs in them because conventional Foster slugs would, "destroy the rifling in the barrel."

Then there was the argument over field dressing deer. Sue and I eventually quit instructing as the drama was just too annoying.

 

[Bret4207]

I've had 2 AD's in my life. One was trying to figure why my Smiff 19 locked up. It turned out to be an overtravel thingy behind the trigger that was loose. I kept pulling the trigger and looking at the gun trying to figure it out and KABLOOOIE! Scared the snot out of me, but as you noted, the gun was pointed down range. Maybe not really an AD, but I considered it one.

2nd time was entirely my fault and sheer idiocy. Fast draw practice among the hairy chested supermen. Smith 681, 1 357 158 JSP into the floor of the head at an unnamed SP station. We all kind of figured we should stop playing around after that...

I know of a Marksman in 25 Stevens RF Long. I've tried to buy it several times, no joy. What a fine little small game rifle that would make using converted Hornet brass (IIRC) after altering to CF!

 

[Brad]

Got a hammer extension for my Marlin 1895 after my thumb slipped when manually cocking the hammer and of it went. Round went down range but sure got my attention.
limited clearance under the scope was the issue.

Muzzles down range is always a good idea.

 

[462]

When I replaced the Chileno's original trigger with a Timney I went through the usual adjustment procedures, and at 1 1/2 pounds the sear remained solidly in place. Don't know how many hundreds of rounds later, but it happened as I closed the bolt. Though I'm not bothered by the old cock-on-closing Mausers, I think there may be an unintended safety factor to the cock-on-opening design.

 

[Ian]

"Plan on it firing" when chambering a round should be added to the list. Countless holes in floorboards, damaged slabs/carpet etc indoors can attest to the need. Yes, it was a "safe" direction, but only in the sense no one got hurt. Pointed at the berm (ish) or at least downrange or at the ground beside the pickup or at the soft dirt of the front yard is better than the transmission, the refrigerator, or floor of the gun room. I had an AD doing draw and reloading practice. I had made sure all the mags were empty and all ammunition was in the house and nowhere near me...so I thought. Somehow a magazine with one cartridge in it was in my belt pouch, and ever faithful to Clint Smith yelling "keep your eyes on the f------ threat!" at me many years ago, I didn't observe it, didn't notice the slight mass difference, and the bullet ended up somewhere in the hillside behind the bush that was my target.

 

[JWFilips]

I have a Good friend who was a Baltimore detective for most his life: after 2001 he went to work for Homeland Security as a range training officer!
He always told me "the more you shoot the more chances of an accident no mater how safe you are"
Words of wisdom!

 

[462]

The day before my son-in-law and I started our Front Sight class, some guy shot himself in the leg while holstering his pistol.

A few years ago at the local range, a one-armed jerk shot himself in the chest when chambering a round in his Ruger Mk. ? pistol. I wasn't there, but heard that he was not seriously injured.