Whats your worst experience with an AD or mechanical failure with a pistol?

[alpacaheat]

Bought a used Ruger Blackhawk, intended to stop at range after dinner. Loaded it, put it in a holster and went to dinner. Range plans got scrapped. Came home, opened my gun closet, stepped in, attempted to unload it. Loading gate would not open. It appeared to be jammed. Turned on the light in the closet. Looked like debris in cylinder drive area. Cocked and lowered hammer a couple of times. It got better. Third time, as I was letting hammer down , my dog bumped my leg. Hammer dropped, finger was off trigger but transfer bar did not fall out of the way.
Heard a loud noise like someone dropped a book on the floor. Had no idea the gun had fired. I was looking for the book I heard drop when I heard my daughter screaming, "it hurts, It hurts!" That's when I realized the gun had fired. Ran into the room and there was blood all over her legs.
She was seated at the desk in the adjoining room. Bullet went through drywall, through the stud bay without hitting anything, through another 1/2" drywall panel, through the back of my desk, through my computer, my metal trash can, through the other side of the desk, lodged in a stack of printer paper.
It missed my daughters knees by maybe a half inch. She was sitting cross-legged in the chair, or else it would have hit both legs. Blood was from splinters from desk hitting her legs and she was on an aspirin dose for a medical condition.

Scared the shit out of me! I've never had a close call. Always the most safety conscious person around firearms. I keep that bullet where I can see it as I reach for my carry gun. I thank God every day that she wasn't hit. I beg my wife and daughter to forgive me every time I think about it.

This is the first I've said anything publically about it. It happened a few years ago. I've told several family members (gun owners) to keep it from happening to them. I pray it never happens to another person.

Holy chit, you win the thread...which isn't a good thing.

Did you clean the gun before carrying it? Just curious, not pointing fingers.



I bet Bripro has some great stories. He breaks a lot of guns.

[wanneroo]

I think Manx's story is a good reminder of why I have set rules on where exactly I handle firearms and how I store them. I have one very specific place in the house and one in the barn and I think that helps minimize any issues if there is a mechanical issue or some other freak event. That way you are not sending rounds through walls or down range at your neighbors. There are two cases where I had a round chambered and had to use force to disassemble the firearm due to a jam and again did it at a very specific place that way if something happened and the round launched it wasn't going down range at anyone.

[alpacaheat]

I am also very careful in how I handle my pistols in the house when loading, checking, holstering, etc. I always point towards the end of the house, towards the outer wall (and neighbor's house instead of in towards my home and towards the kids' bedrooms.

If I would have a ND for some stupid reason, it would have to go through a lot of material and some distance...likely wouldn't even penetrate the neighbor's wall even of it did make it out of mine. However, if I fired towards the interior of my home, it's 10-15 feet to my kids.

I consciously point "at the neighbors" when handling.

[IrocGuns]

Did you at least get to enjoy a full extended mag during that incident prior to fixing that terrible, puppy killing, possibly out of battery KABOOM making, and unintentional possession of an illegal SMG Para pistol?

ha - not quite, probably about 4 - 5 rounds...lol

[Yoder]

Mine was a few weeks ago at an IDPA match. Hit the trigger accidentally switching from my right to my left hand. Round went into the trees. I found after the match that the trigger safety on my Glock wasn't engaging. I have no idea how long it was like that. I replaced the trigger bar and the reduced striker spring and it's good now. Man did I feel like a jackass.

[claudel]

When I first got my S&W 649 a few years ago I was practicing drawing and replacing it in my pocket ( unloaded, fortunately )
and one time when I was replacing it I heard a bowel-loosening "click" trying to put it in the holster while it was still in my pocket.

I learned the right way to do that ( there is no right way to do that ) the relatively easy way...

[Yoder]

To get a personal data point for the Glock systems out of this I want to know something. Now obviously there can be different finger sensitivity factors/perception involved, but my question is this; did the little nub on the trigger not give the normal minuscule yet quantifiable take up when applying pressure, or was it the internal parts that had nothing to do with that little "block", as I'd assume it would be.

When the trigger reset it did not come forward enough for the trigger safety to engage. I noticed there was a problem when my gun started bump firing. I changed the connector to a 3.5 lb and also changed a couple springs so it wasn't stock. I also have about 15-20k rounds through the gun with these parts. I'm doubtful it would have happened with a stock Glock.

This happened because my dumb ass hit the trigger. Having it really light and the safety not working didn't help.

[mpan72]

My brother in law shot through the lane divider at a gun range in Philly. He had a ftf and turned the gun toward himself while inadvertently pulling the trigger a second time on the round. It fired as it crossed about halfway to his face. Yes I am sure it went through the divider. He never went to the range with me again.

I had advised him about gun safety before we went and he assured me he knew what he was doing and had been to ranges before. Years later he made a comment about my brother and myself. Something along the lines of not being the "right kind of person" to own guns. He was a douche.

[fallenleader]

maxndriver's incident is why i am anal about how my guns point even when they're by their lonesome.
as i walk downstairs every morning, i ensure my handgun is pointed in a direction away from people in adjacent rooms and etc, i even try to avoid carrying it holstered when im above someone else in the home. loading/unloading is always pointed in the direction furthest from members of family or at ground. it's also why i quickly stopped carrying shoulder horizontal. before i stopped carrying shoulder overall.
Most of us got things that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. and props to the family sticking it through, people have left for less.

onto issues. nothing major, sluggish cycling, frame pins vibrating out.
my wife's sr22 lost one of it's sight dots. went to the range with stock sights, 3 white dots. came home with one of the rears missing. i swore they were painted on... guess not.

[DennisH82]

I have probably told this story before but it really made a change in how I handle weapons loaded or unloaded. I was 17 just joined the Army and was at a live fore range for squad movement techniques , picture a v of v formation also known as Traveling over watch. We had just been cleared to move downrange when a ceasefire was called. The Drill told us all to place our weapons on safe and get down in the prone, still in formation. A 17 year old with a loaded M16A1 in the rear V laying there, bored, flicking the safety on , then to semi then to full auto back and forth during the 20 minute cease fire. During one of my moments of fiddling with the safety I pulled the trigger and dumped about half my 20 round mag straight forward. By some miracle I missed two Soldiers to my front and just laid their with a WTF look on my face when my world went white. It seems my drill kicked a field goal with my head and sent my steel pot down range. I received special attention for the rest of my time in Basic but I learned a valuable lesson about forgetting how dangerous weapons are and stupidity. I haven't had a ND since then and I am constantly working on not ever having one again.