Safety: first last always !

**AxiTech** · August 18th, 2009, 07:48 PM

I got a call to go and do some impromptu shooting with a buddy today. This guy is one of my best friends. The kind of guy you could hand all your keys to and leave the planet for a year and when you come back, find that he fed your animals, cut your grass, and helped your kids with their homework. A good guy and thoughtful, very safe.
So, we go to the range. He hands me his 9mm carbine and I'm looking it over and with no mag in it, I cycle the action to make sure it is clear, shoulder the weapon, aim downrange, and sample the trigger pull. BOOM !!!!
He handed me a loaded weapon. He's trying to kill me! Apparently I did not cycle the bolt far enough to unseat the round that had remained in the barrel from the last time it was fired. My fault, completely! I mean that. I could make excuses, but safety is my job. Yours, too, but in this instance I was holding the weapon, so it fell to me to check it. I failed.
I'm just posting this so you all have something to think about after your range trips. It only takes a second to recheck that weapon, and I need to be more alert when I check a weapon for loaded status.
Just a side note: This same guy handed me a huge bag of fireworks on the fourth of July and told me to continue lighting them. He had to leave to take care of some sort of emergency. The very next one I lit, misfired and almost hit me in the face and landed on his roof and tried to burn his house down, the second shot out of it(multi-shot rocket deal) just missed my right ear, hit my little girl in the foot, (she is ok) and almost set his Harley on fire under his carport, and proceeded to burn up the bag that came with his wife's favorite folding camping chair. I'm not sure but I think he may be trying to get rid of me.
He is a member here so I won't tell you who he is, but if something happens to me, I wrote his name on the underside of my mailbox. Somebody turn him in for me if I 'go away' mysteriously.
Seriously, I posted this to remind each of us to take that second look. Safety is a job that we all answer to.

**MrsMtnJack** · August 18th, 2009, 08:05 PM

does he have a nice insurance policy on you?

**AxiTech** · August 18th, 2009, 09:50 PM

Naw, he's not the kind of guy to try and profit from killing a buddy, he's such a nice guy that he'd do it for free.
BTW, How did this get into the calender section? Anybody know how to move it to the proper section? Does anyone think it being in the calendr section is some kind of an omen about my time running out? Crap, now I got me all scared !!

**MrsMtnJack** · August 18th, 2009, 09:55 PM

lol, what are true friends for? I think i will get a policy on you also!!!!
send me your vitals/details quick!!!
(jk...)

**LittleRedToyota** · August 18th, 2009, 10:00 PM

i think you did well actually.

you treated the gun as though it were loaded. you pointed the muzzle downrange...knowing your target and what was beyond.

a great example of why we follow redundant safety rules...you can get away with violating one (and, actually, you didn't even do that)--the problems come in when you simultaneously violate multiple ones.

i'm sure the BANG surprised the crap outta ya, tough.

**levib** · August 18th, 2009, 10:25 PM

My dad handed my brother a gun with a chambered round earlier this year by mistake, thinking it was empty for whatever reason. Dad said "it's not loaded," but my brother checked it as he was taught to do from a young age. Round comes flying out, and we all give each other the "oh shit" look for a few seconds. We laughed about it later, but like LittleRedToyota said, it's why we have redundant safety rules. Even if he had gotten around to pointing it, it would have been in a safe direction, since that's how we were taught to handle firearms.

Glad nothing ill came of it.

**wa3ra** · August 18th, 2009, 11:51 PM

I have to say that the best lesson that I picked up in a long time came from Jason's Utah class awhile back...cycle the bolt or slide three times; if shit is still coming out after that, you've got a problem...