A safey lesson at the range, I will never forget

[jshwak]

My two good friends and I decided to take advantage of the cold yet sunny Saturday that we had last week, and head out to the range. We had a wonderful time shooting and conversing, and as my friend and I were cleaning up we witnessed a rather scary accidental (negligent) discharge.

While my friend and I were cleaning, my other friend was firing the last few rounds out of his Taurus 9mm http://www.taurususa.com/product-det...eries=&search=. As he was shooting, the slide locked back as if it were out of bullets and without confirming this he advanced the slide forward and prepared to holster the gun. When he went to holster it, he was "playing with the trigger" and bang!! the gun fired about 1' away from his foot.

I'm not a gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination and I'm still fairly young and inexperienced compared to some of our senior members here, but This whole thing has me wondering:

1. Why would his pistol lock the slide like it had fired the last round?
2. Do you guys know of any issues with this particular model/manufacturer?
3. Any advice for my friend?

I'm just thankful that we are all safe, and had an otherwise very good time, but would like to know the communities thoughts.

disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I have the model of the gun correct, I know it was a pretty new Taurus, 9mm, 17 rounds capacity, full frame, and looked very close to this one.

[ruggerio]

Any advice for my friend?

sure, one of the fundamentals

"TREAT EVERY GUN AS IF IT WERE LOADED period, exclamation point"

[Gewehr]

As stated above, treat every gun as though it is loaded. Also, you may want to review the 4 rules of gun safety with your friend.

As far as how this could happen, your friend may have been putting pressure upward on the slide release while shooting. This would cause the slide to lock back with more rounds in the magazine.

Again, PLEASE stress gun safety to your friend and make him understand (if he doesn't already) why we follow every rule, 100% of the time.

[streaker69]

Chances are, the reason it locked back before empty was his thumb was riding slide release while he was shooting and push it up just enough for it to lock.

[marks]

I'm certainly not among the most experienced/seasoned members here, but for what it's worth:

First, I'm glad that no one was hurt.

Not being familiar with that gun, I'm not sure if it has known defects or recalls associated with it. I'd be curious as to the ammo that was being used and/or whether or not there were any modifications to the gun. I also wonder how many total rounds have been through it. Was it in need of maintenance/cleaning/repair?

But in my opinion, none of that really matters. Guns are machines, and they can certainly fail or misbehave. So, it all comes down to the first rule of gun safety: All guns are always loaded.

Of course, the other rules that follow would apply here as well, but in this case, your friend didn't get past the first one. It's a good idea to get in the habit of checking the chamber after firing what you believe to be the the last round. That's even before putting the gun down, loading another magazine, etc. Sure the slide's locked back, and you've dropped the magazine, but is the chamber empty?
Then, prior to packing it in for the day, with the magazine out, and the gun pointed in a safe direction, I repeatedly rack the slide (at least 3 or 4 times), and visually and physically inspect the chamber.

But, I suspect, you already know this. It's your friend that doesn't. So, as to advice: If that wasn't a wake-up call, I don't want to imagine what would be. If you feel that he actually grasps what happened, and understands all of the above, then, like a horrific traffic accident might make a person a better driver, that may turn your friend into a safety conscious, responsible shooter.

If you don't believe that to be the case, I'd ask him to give up shooting/firearms ownership, for everyone's sake.

Mark

[Pkspawn]

Gun is always loaded
Keep finger off the trigger
Safeties are NOT to be relied upon.. Which is why you have the first two above.

Isn't the slide locking back controlled by the magazine. That would be the first place to look. Using an aftermarket mag? Maybe spring/follower got hung up just long enough that round wasn't there, it locked the slide, then when he released it, it loaded another round? Was he using reloads? Maybe a round was little to long for the mag and got it hung up?

We had a new shooter at the range almost do that. thought the gun was empty and was about to basically muzzle sweep everyone. But the person that was teaching him stopped him before he did, and grabbed him, and cleared the gun.. Me and another shooter a few lanes down, were like "Sure am glad you are there teaching/watching him"..

[jshwak]

Thanks for the reply guys, it was definitely an experience that shook all of us. The first thought that came to me and my friend (who was cleaning) was "what if he had swept us with the gun when it fired".. we could be dead !!

It seemed to me that the experience was certainly eye-opening to say the least. Although I agree w/ you all %100 that it may be prudent to go over the tenants of gun safety w/ my friend, I'm not sure how to go about that in a tactful manner that is not insulting.

[Pkspawn]

I dunno, sometimes you shouldn't be concerned with being tactful or afraid of hurting someone's feelings. Especially when a mistake could cost a life.

Rather a live pissed off ex-friend.. Than a dead friend.

[marks]

Thanks for the reply guys, it was definitely an experience that shook all of us. The first thought that came to me and my friend (who was cleaning) was "what if he had swept us with the gun when it fired".. we could be dead !!

Absolutely. The good news, is that at this point, with that event in the past, the worst that can happen is some bruised feelings.

It seemed to me that the experience was certainly eye-opening to say the least. Although I agree w/ you all %100 that it may be prudent to go over the tenants of gun safety w/ my friend, I'm not sure how to go about that in a tactful manner that is not insulting.

My guess is that a good friend, will want to remain safe to go out with you all again, and have a good time. A stern, "WTF were you thinking? We all need to stay safe, if we're going to be here to shoot again", shouldn't offend, or if it does, only briefly.

Think of it this way: You owe it to a friend (anyone, really) to discuss this with him, regardless of the outcome.

[JasonK007]

My two good friends and I decided to take advantage of the cold yet sunny Saturday that we had last week, and head out to the range. We had a wonderful time shooting and conversing, and as my friend and I were cleaning up we witnessed a rather scary accidental (negligent) discharge.

While my friend and I were cleaning, my other friend was firing the last few rounds out of his Taurus 9mm http://www.taurususa.com/product-det...eries=&search=. As he was shooting, the slide locked back as if it were out of bullets and without confirming this he advanced the slide forward and prepared to holster the gun. When he went to holster it, he was "playing with the trigger" and bang!! the gun fired about 1' away from his foot.

I'm not a gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination and I'm still fairly young and inexperienced compared to some of our senior members here, but This whole thing has me wondering:

1. Why would his pistol lock the slide like it had fired the last round?
2. Do you guys know of any issues with this particular model/manufacturer?
3. Any advice for my friend?

I'm just thankful that we are all safe, and had an otherwise very good time, but would like to know the communities thoughts.

disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I have the model of the gun correct, I know it was a pretty new Taurus, 9mm, 17 rounds capacity, full frame, and looked very close to this one.

Just wanted to chime in. Going to the range with people can be risky. People go with friends, family, etc for a fun day out and sometimes become relaxed about the safety aspects. See http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/125...w-shooter.html for my little range day experience. I would just try to help educate those with you on safety and keep a close eye on them, even if experienced.