Just finished swapping grip frames on some P320's. I brought home a new arrival in .357 Sig, a compact slide, on a grayguns x-carry frame. I wanted to put a full size upper on the shorter x-carry frame which I did, and put and dropped the compact upper in a standard compact lower. Done. Almost.

I checked the full size, chamber and mag well, pointed in a safe direction, dry fired. Then a few more. Several minutes later with dry firing and presentations out of my system, I inserted an empty mag, pointed in a safe direction, and pressed the trigger.

My ears rang, a hole appeared in a box of MRE's, and I heard the empty ricochet off the drywall nearby. Good god. I'm that guy.

It's something I did once before, nearly 40 years ago, after clearing a pistol. I dry fired, it, cleared, it pressed the trigger, and when I inserted that empty magazine, obviously not an empty magazine, I couldn't resist resetting the striker just one last time...which obviously chambered a round from the NOT-empty magazine, and the only thing I had going for me today was a safe direction.

The solitary round exited the box of MRE's and made a sizeable hole in the drywall behind it. I checked outside; it never passed through the wall, so there's an expanded Gold Dot in the wall there somewhere. My ears are still ringing. My wife asked about the sound; it's the reloading room. I told her it was a primer (which is true...).

Morale of the story kids, don't be a dumbass like me.

Glad you're okay.

Glad nobody was hurt.

A good reminder that even experienced people can make mistakes, and a reason why there are redundant safety rules when handling guns.

I respect you for fessing up. It happens, no matter how experienced you may be. What matters is where the gun is pointed.

I've shot for 50 years, instructed for 25. I've had two AD's. The two "victims" (in my home )were a concrete floor and drywall backed up by concrete block.

Embarrassing, but not fatal. Are you still going to eat the MRE's?

Thank you for the reminder.

quote:

Originally posted by Nipper:

Embarrassing, but not fatal. Are you still going to eat the MRE's?

Very embarrassing...which is why I told my wife it was a primer. I'd never hear the end of it.

The MRE's were something like chicken loaf, so thankfully I'm spared ever having to eat them. I remember chicken loaf. It's not a fond memory.

Much like the time before, after repeated dry firing and knowing the firearm was empty, one last check, retract the slide, a visual check of an empty chamber, release the slide, point in an empty direction...and...

Once cleared and "hammer down on an empty chamber," that magazine shouldn't go back in again, empty or otherwise, especially if it's going in the safe. I'm a stickler for following the safety rules. It only takes once, though.

If yer gonna "kill" something, it might as well be a chicken loaf MRE.

I was "playing" with a fully loaded P220 loaded with hollow points years ago. Lock the hammer back, thumb the hammer forward. Lock the hammer back, thumb the hammer forward. The barrel was even pointing at my leg, right to the femoral artery area. I racked the slide and a 45ACp hollow point came flying out (!!!!!!)

Almost shot myself in my femoral artery. That was a freaking wake up call. Have been much safer and more careful in my gun handling ever since. Almost bit the farm that day.

I nearly had something similar happen to me but, it was with an AK47. Was doing some bench work on it in my detached garage and inserted a magazine I thought was empty and chambered a round. I instantly knew the bolt chambered a round as opposed to slamming into an empty chamber. I dropped the mag and racked the bolt. Out came a 7.62x39 round. I nearly dropped to the floor at that instant. From that point forward, I make CERTAIN no mags are in the area when I work on any firearm.

Very glad your ok, hope the ear ringing stops soon. ND are terrifying at best and fatal at worst. I was a witness to one a few weeks ago, I about shit myself. Fix the wall before the wife see’s it!

I had a ND many years ago, like you Thank God it was pointed in a safe direction.
To this day I CAN NOT pull the trigger on a gun without *really* looking at the chamber.

Thanks for bringing up a good reminder for us all.

I shot a home in a nice performance floor with a Glock 29 6-7 years ago. I’d come back from a Long hard week of hunting and was pretty frazzled, not sure what I was thinking but I’d already emptied the pistol placed the bullet back in the mag and put the mag into the gun.

I pulled it out and didn’t realize the magazine was in it I racked the gun and pulled the trigger.

Embarrassing, expensive and lucky are 3 words I’d use to describe the situation.

Several weeks ago I’m sitting in my truck in front of the LGS indoor range waiting for my son-in-law to shoot, when this other truck pulls up into the second space from me. His wife and (apparently) granddaughters get out, then he’s kneeling in the empty space between us when BANG! I guess he thought clearing his carry gun was necessary before entering the store/range (it’s not). The ladies had already walked to the front of the store. I was a little startled, checked to see if there were any new holes in my truck or me, then to make sure he hadn’t shot himself (he hadn’t) and then I got out and went inside. One of the guys from the store came out right away to check on it but didn’t make a big thing about it. There may have been a discussion prior to letting them shoot, but I didn’t hear that part; they may have just been getting the safety briefing. (I take my hearing aids out to put earplugs in and then the e-muffs go on before I go into the range area.) Could have been very bad for one or both of us had he not been pointing it into the asphalt. I bet his ears were ringing awhile, though.

Had a similar experience once with a 40 cal Glock model 23. I was at an outdoor range shooting with a friend. I was to the right of my friend. It was just the two of us.
I had probably shot several mags full and was on the last one. After what seemed like I had shot a full magazine, the slide locked back. Here's where things went wrong. Instead of removing the "empty" magazine and dropping the slide, I dropped the slide and removed the now empty magazine, confirming to me the gun was empty. I walked behind my friend to the other end of the firing line and before putting it its case, pointed it at the side berm and pulled the trigger. BANG! My friend turned toward me and said, " Did you mean to do that?" Not really was my sheepish reply. What had happened, of course, was that for some inexplicable reason, the slide had locked back with one round still on top of the magazine. Thinking the gun was empty, that round was chambered, when I dropped the slide and removed the now empty magazine. As said earlier, even experienced shooters can make dangerous mistakes. I no longer have that Glock.

A magazine with a round still in it looks very different than an empty one, how did you miss that?

Welcome the newest member of the Hole in the Wall Gang

Thank you for sharing.

It happens, and that is why your reminder is so important.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
A magazine with a round still in it looks very different than an empty one, how did you miss that?

Not the OP, but your eyes can play tricks on you, especially if you give a half glance and don't look closely. If you expect to see an empty magazine, your brain may well ignore the round at the top and register it as an empty magazine. Basically, replacing the real image with your anticipated image.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
A magazine with a round still in it looks very different than an empty one, how did you miss that?

I obviously did not look into the chamber before dropping the slide. Where was the part, that said I did anything smart that day ? The implication of your post is that it couldn't have happened to you, which means you have missed the point of the thread.

Anyone whose response to reports of this sort is, “That was stupid: How could you make such a mistake?” is exactly the one who should be most concerned about its happening to him in the future. If someone doesn’t understand and appreciate how our minds work and how bad habits, flawed perceptions, etc., lead to such accidents, that’s the person I least want to be around when he’s handling a gun (or any other dangerous object), so thanks for the warning.

In this case the first step to correcting a problem isn’t the recognition that we have it, but rather the recognition that we are all susceptible to making such mistakes.
As we all are.