JUST had my first accidental discharge...

[StealthBeast]

My self-confident has just been cut into 1/10.

I've been trying to come up with the words to explain, to justify, or even to apologize or suppress the reality to what just happened.. I'm usually very eloquent with my speaking but finding the words to wholly articulate on this matter is... fucking impossible.

About... 2 hours ago maybe. I had an accidental discharge (Edit: read, negligent discharge) from my AR15. In what could be described as a huge brainfart, I, in one smooth motion, dropped the bolt and pulled the trigger with the intention of dryfiring the gun in a safe direction.. with the loaded mag in the firearm. I was not paying proper attention.

The firearm discharged. The shot (indoors) popped my ears and I couldn't hear right for half an hour, and I still have ringing in my ears. The firearm was pointed in a safe direction and nobody was hurt. I've got the .223 round in a ziplock bag so I know it did not bounce and overpenetrate...

My parents have completely restricted me from my ammo.

Thanks to my redundancy in safety, no one was hurt by my accidental discharge because the firearm was pointed in a safe direction... But it goes without saying that it should have NEVER happened in the first place.

I do not wish to be both an idiot AND a hypocrit, so I shall say this: There is absolutely no excuse to have an accidental discharge. I strayed away from simple protocol... It's because of people like me that we have so many ridiculous gun laws. It is people like me that give firearm owners a bad name.

I would ordinarily say, "You think it would never happen to you, but look at me!" but to say so would be to blame human nature and imply that firearms cannot be trusted in the hands of citizens. I've let down myself, I've let down the entire firearm's community, and above all else, I have permanently damaged my parent's trust in myself.

There's not much I can do now but learn from my mistake, and hang my head in shame...

[BimmerJon]

Don't beat yourself up too much.

Accidents are just that, accidents.

I think the word "accident" gets played out too much like when people get shot 7 times while "cleaning their gun" lol

You seem to have generally, just had a "stupid" moment

[Atomic Dog]

Without pissing in your cornflakes, you did not experience an accidental discharge. You created a NEGLIGENT discharge. There is a big difference. The gun did exactly what it was designed to do.

Be thankful nobody got hurt, and make sure it does not happen again.

[GlockedAndLoaded]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

The real test is to see how careful you are in the future and how much of an impact this will have on your future handling on firearms.

[Curmudgeon]

Take it from someone who has had one, this was not an accidental discharge, it was a negligent discharge.

Be thankful that, unlike me, yours did not involve any blood loss.

I also wish to acknowledge you for posting this. It is an opportunity for all of us to stop, take a deep breath, and evaluate our safety measures and procedures.

I know I will.

We are all human. I'm glad your human-ness did not result in a loss greater than your access to ammo.

I sincerely thank you for posting this.

[ChamberedRound]

Don't beat yourself up too much.

I disagree, respectfully.

BEAT... YOURSELF... UP. Badly. That's in part how we learn.

Feel like shit. Loathe. Shame yourself. Do whatever you must so that you don't forget that you just NEGLIGENTLY, not accidentally, NEGLIGENTLY, discharged your firearm.

Remember what happened, so that there isn't a next time. Because if there is, you might kill someone.

[GlockedAndLoaded]

AS OF THIS LINE WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THIS WAS A NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE

____________________________________________

[GunLawyer001]

A valuable lesson that could easily have cost you dearly.

I never dry fire guns. Never. The risk exceeds any possible benefit. And what is the benefit, anyway?

Never dry fire any gun. Never place your finger on the trigger unless you're ready to fire, or you're FULLY in control while doing maintenance. Most importantly, never point a real gun, a toy gun, an airsoft gun, a pellet gun, a nail gun, or anything gun-like at another human being, unless you are prepared to kill them. It's just a piss-poor habit to have, same as dry firing gun inside the house.

I've had one unintended discharge in 3 decades, and that was with an open-bolt SMG that jammed, and as I extracted the magazine the bolt slam-fired without benefit of my finger on the trigger. Fortunately, I had it aimed down range, so no harm done, except I learned a lesson in safety.

Guns have no brains, they rely on you using yours.

[GlockedAndLoaded]

Guns have no brains, they rely on you using yours.

And ours malfunction much more readily.

[cigarmanpa]

A valuable lesson that could easily have cost you dearly.

I never dry fire guns. Never. The risk exceeds any possible benefit. And what is the benefit, anyway?

Never dry fire any gun. Never place your finger on the trigger unless you're ready to fire, or you're FULLY in control while doing maintenance. Most importantly, never point a real gun, a toy gun, an airsoft gun, a pellet gun, a nail gun, or anything gun-like at another human being, unless you are prepared to kill them. It's just a piss-poor habit to have, same as dry firing gun inside the house.

i have to disagree with you on this. Dry firing is a fine way to practice you trigger control and over come a flinch provided you make sure the weapon is clear.