There are three types of gun owners...
"Those who have NDs (Negligent Discharge), those who will have NDs, and those who will never have an ND again."
-Unknown
So, for anyone reading that I haven't told yet, I fucked up yesterday. And because I was irresponsible, I now have a hole in my floor, and my hearing might be a bit fucked up. While refitting the stock on my shotgun, I had a negligent discharge. I had been shooting earlier that day, and I had apparently forgotten to unload the magazine tube. Anyways, the stock of my shotgun is just held on with a long screw. If you over-tighten the screw, it goes too far into the gun, and will prevent you from pumping it and/or pulling the trigger. Locks up the gun, if you will. So because of this, when refitting the stock, you need to check the pump/trigger for functionality. I screw the stock on, check it for wobble, pull the trigger, "click," then I pump it, pull the trigger again, and BOOM. Loud boom, smell of burnt powder fills the room, ears suddenly feel really warm, and I can't hear -anything-. As my hearing starts to come back, my ears start ringing louder than ever before... Luckily, it was just a light 2 3/4" target/birdshot load, so it didn't wreck -too- much, and it was pointed in a safe direction. The hole really isn't even noticeable unless you're looking for it, but nonetheless, it's still there. Nobody was hurt, though, and the only damage done was a hole in the floor and a solid blow to my hearing.
This is one of those experiences in life I'll only ever have to go through once. I always check magazine-fed firearms for ammo the second I pick them up, but my standards aren't quite as tight with shotguns and bolt-action rifles, or weapons with integral magazines. This, no doubt, will change that.
-Unknown
So, for anyone reading that I haven't told yet, I fucked up yesterday. And because I was irresponsible, I now have a hole in my floor, and my hearing might be a bit fucked up. While refitting the stock on my shotgun, I had a negligent discharge. I had been shooting earlier that day, and I had apparently forgotten to unload the magazine tube. Anyways, the stock of my shotgun is just held on with a long screw. If you over-tighten the screw, it goes too far into the gun, and will prevent you from pumping it and/or pulling the trigger. Locks up the gun, if you will. So because of this, when refitting the stock, you need to check the pump/trigger for functionality. I screw the stock on, check it for wobble, pull the trigger, "click," then I pump it, pull the trigger again, and BOOM. Loud boom, smell of burnt powder fills the room, ears suddenly feel really warm, and I can't hear -anything-. As my hearing starts to come back, my ears start ringing louder than ever before... Luckily, it was just a light 2 3/4" target/birdshot load, so it didn't wreck -too- much, and it was pointed in a safe direction. The hole really isn't even noticeable unless you're looking for it, but nonetheless, it's still there. Nobody was hurt, though, and the only damage done was a hole in the floor and a solid blow to my hearing.
This is one of those experiences in life I'll only ever have to go through once. I always check magazine-fed firearms for ammo the second I pick them up, but my standards aren't quite as tight with shotguns and bolt-action rifles, or weapons with integral magazines. This, no doubt, will change that.