Have you ever accidentally discharged a rifle or pistol?

[Sunni Man]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. Finding nothing, I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

 

[progressive hunter]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr gun safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself s being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

I have twice,, but both times were down range,,,

OH wait, there was a 3rd time while deer hunting,,
I was sitting behind a log and shot a deer and levered a 2nd shot and when I got up dragged the trigger and damn near blew a toe off with a 45-70,,,

 

[Asclepias]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

It should be second nature for you to clear the chamber if you were in the military.

 

[progressive hunter]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

It should be second nature for you to clear the chamber if you were in the military.

an empty chamber is damn near a useless gun,,,

 

[night_son]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr gun safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself s being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

Always clear your weapons—always. A weapon is always loaded, whether or not you've removed the magazine, the barrel or upper or lower receiver. Always treat every weapon as if it is loaded. Beyond that, cool story. I was twelve when I found a Belgian pistol my grandfather had brought back from WW2. Long story short . . . the slide seemed to be frozen in place and I knew nothing at that point in my life about semi-auto handguns. After fooling around with the weapon, and while pointing its muzzle at my noggin, I accidentally pulled its trigger. It went off. Had the wrong caliber bullet not been chambered, I would have shot myself in the face/head. What happened instead was the bullet, which was too large in diameter to go all the way down the barrel, fragmented and sprayed me with shrapnel in the face and one of my hands. Stupid. But I lived to talk about it.

 

[Asclepias]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

It should be second nature for you to clear the chamber if you were in the military.

an empty chamber is damn near a useless gun,,,

An uncleared gun has a tendency to kill people because you were too retarded to clear it. You shouldnt own a gun if you dont know how to clear it.

 

[Agit8r]

I totally thought there was gonna be a wedding involved...

 

[Moonglow]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. Finding nothing, I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

Soft mortar, must be old and rotted.

 

[Sunni Man]

Like I said, I chambered the round while I was half asleep in the middle of the night. Foggy brained, I neglected to clear the weapon.
But that's how fatalities happen with a supposedly unloaded weapon. ...

 

[Daryl Hunt]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. Finding nothing, I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

I have done something stupid as well. Had to replace a very large picture window. But you followed a Rule #2. You pointed it in a safe direction even though you assumed it wasn't loaded. You did violate rule #1 which is assume all weapons are loaded until you clear the action. I always open the action before I hand a weapon to another person. If a person hands me a weapon I always open the action and clear it. But at all times, I adhere, like you did, to rule #2 unless I intend on shooting something or someone. There are people wandering around with open carry that scare the living crap out of me the way the haphazardly handle their weapons.

 

[Sunni Man]

One time I was out on maneuvers and we had been shooting the 50 cal that was on top of an APC.
We stopped for lunch and was eating when all of a sudden the gun fired and sent the round down range. Startled, everyone dove to the ground for cover.
The 50 cal's were known to cook off a round after a few minutes if one was left in the gun while still hot. Which is what had happened. ...

 

[Maxdeath]

Have never accidentally discharged a weapon. Doubt I ever will. I always do a triple check. Was drilled into me from very early on that a weapon was dangerous if not handled correctly.
Have hunted and acted as a guide most of my life.

 

[Dick Foster]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. Finding nothing, I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

Never. I was always very careful with firearms and was taught from an early age to be extremely careful with them and to use them well.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

One time I was out on maneuvers and we had been shooting the 50 cal that was on top of an APC.
We stopped for lunch and was eating when all of a sudden the gun fired and sent the round down range. Startled, everyone dove to the ground for cover.
The 50 cal's were known to cook off a round after a few minutes, if one was left in the gun while still hot. Which is what had happened. ...

Reminds me of a story and what my reaction might be.

In a Foreign Legion outpost in North Africa, the Comandant line up all his men and said, "I have some good news and some bad news". One of the men asked, "What's the good news". The Commandant said, "Today we get to change shorts". Another man asked, "What's the bad news" The Commandant said, "You change with him, you change with him, ........." And a 50 cooking off sounds like a shorts changing affair to me.

 

[JGalt]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. Finding nothing, I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

Like they say, the loudest noise in the world is a bang when you're expecting a click, or a click when you're expecting a bang. I've been around guns since I was a kid growing up, back in the late 1950's and early 1960's. My dad was an avid hunter and shooter, and he reloaded several different calibers. he had 12 kids all together from two marriages, and nobody ever had an accident.

I've had three negligent or accidental discharges in my lifetime:

1. Back around 1964 on my Grandfather's farm in Arkansas. He had a single-shot bolt-action Remington .22 rifle that I used to hunt rabbits. I once leaned it against a barbed wire fence to go through the wires, and it fell over snagging the trigger on something. It went off about 6 inches from my head.

2. In 1977 I was drinking with a friend at my house. We were talking about some jerk we both knew and in my half-drunk bravado, I said let's go kick his ass." I stuck a cheap Saturday Night Special .25 auto in my back pocket and in went off, blowing a hole through my pocket. The bullet bounced off the floor and landed a couple feet away.

3. In 2009, I bought an old Browning A5 autoloader 12 gauge shotgun. The first thing I did was to disassemble it down to the component level, clean and oil everything, then put it back together. I then took it out back to test it. Apparently the stock was a little slick from the oil and as I raised it up to the target, I prematurely put my finger on the trigger. It fired unexpectedly, slipped out of my hands, rechambered another round halfway to the ground, and landed on the ground behind me with the barrel pointed right at me. Luckily it didn't go off.

Since then, I've become an avid collector of guns, a competitive shooter, and am a handloader for 10 different calibers. I've also memorize the four basic rules of firearms safety. Those accidental discharges I had as well as every other firearms accident could be prevented if people lived by those rules.

1. There is no such thing as an unloaded firearm. Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.

2. Never point a firearm at anything you don't intend to destroy. It's called "muzzle discipline." There are several firearms I keep loaded and chambered all the time. They are always stored in a position that if there was a fire in the house, it wouldn't endanger anyone outside when the chambered round cooked off.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.

4. Be sure of your target and what's behind it. Bullets can travel a mile or so, and still be lethal.

I would also add:

1. Never consume alcohol while using a firearm.

2. Use the right ammunition for the right gun.

3. Observe the condition of the fired cartridge case for signs of excess pressure: split necks or heads, flattened primers, or punctured primers could be a sign of out of tolerance headspace.

There are also a shitload of rules and things to look for when you take up handloading: Loose crimps that can cause bullet setback when chambering, protruding primers that can cause out of of battery firing and blow up a pistol, trimming cases too short, causing excessive pressure, double-charging the powder, under-charging the powder that causes a bullet to get stuck in the barrel, changing the type or brand of components, a whole bunch of things that can go wrong.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Dont know if you'd call this an accidental discharge or not.
My Father in law gave me a Remington .270 700 model and at the time I didnt know about the malfunctioning triggers on the 700's.
Aimed it downrange and the trigger wouldnt budge, I dropped the muzzle towards the dirt but still downrange and gave the trigger a yank and it went off.
Scared the shit out of me!!

 

[hjmick]

Never.

 

[Shawnee_b]

Once about 12. A cock pheasant landed, where it had to be flushed. Unk put 2 12ga rounds in the Rem 1100, I didn't know, he never ever did that before, EVER, hell it was a flush, lucky to get one off. I shot, missed, put the shotgun next to my side and my pocket flap hit the trigger. It was a safe direction. Bofus learned from that one.

 

[westwall]

My story ...

I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns while hunting small game starting at age 10
So when I was in the Army I was a crack shot with my M-16. But I never carried a pistol nor did I receive training with one, and only shot a military issue .45 a few times.

When I completed my 2 year Army conscription, my wife and I rented a small house out in the country. I bought a Colt 1911 .45 pistol to keep around the house since we lived a ways off the main road. Being Mr firearm safety, I kept the pistol unload, safety on, with the clip out, in a holster between the mattress and box springs of my bed.

One night about 2am I heard something, or someone prowling around outside. Still half asleep, I got the pistol, put the clip in, chambered a round, and walked around the outside of the house. Finding nothing, I figured it was just an animal and went back inside. Priding myself as being very safety conscious. I took the clip out of the pistol and placed them both back under the mattress.

(did you catch my mistake?)

A few weeks later a friend come over to the house. I was a cool crisp fall day, so we started a fire in the brick fireplace and pushed the couch up close to take advantage of the heat. I mentioned the new pistol I'd purchased and wanted to show him. Being Mr safety, I only brought out the pistol, and left the clip full of bullets still under the mattress.

I set down in the middle of the couch with my wife on one side and my friend on the other. I took the pistol, pointed it at the fireplace, to show my friend how smooth the trigger action was, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!! The wife and my friend jumped straight up into the air, and my wife was hysterically screaming her brains out. Between the loud discharge and her screaming, my ears were ringing. I went completely limp and couldn't move a muscle. I just knew I'd been hit by a ricochet bullet. I just set there and slowly moved my eyes scanning myself for a bloody bullet hole.

I had forgotten about chambering the bullet that night looking for a prowler and put the pistol away loaded!!

When everything calmed down, and thankfully no one was hurt. I looked at the fire place to see where the bullet struck it.
By pure luck, the bullet had embedded itself in the soft mortar between two bricks and didn't ricochet.

Accidental? Yes. Negligent? No. What's the difference? Negligent discharge your finger pulled the trigger. Accidental is a weapon malfunction. Because I did everything correct though, when the gun discharged, no damage was done.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have been very fortunate when it comes to Firearms... No accidental discharges of any kind... but...

my gun has went off prematurely a couple of times...

This is my rifle...
this is my gun...
one is for killing...
one is for fun...