Firearm Safety Friday!!

Our regularly scheduled post has been preempted by something very important, and that's firearm safety!

First, a little video:



So let me tell you the story...

A friend recently moved back to the area, and as enthusiasts often do, we were going through his gun collection. He had a neat little double action only .380 semiauto.

Right before my eyes, the little handgun was removed from its place in the safe. Then the magazine was removed and the slide was worked vigorously, twice. Took aim at the pillow, just see how the trigger stacked, and BOOM! Dead Pillow.

Okay, it really wasn't much of a boom, but it was attention grabbing for sure.

So what happened? The best we can figure is that extractor did not pick out the cartridge in the chamber. It was an old round that had been in there for a while.

Negligent discharges happen. Guns fail in ways that can make them more dangerous than they inherently are. But regardless of the handgun's malfunction, or of the failure to tactilely inspect the chamber, further disaster was averted by following the simple rule Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

Now before you ballistic rangers and keyboard commandos start talking about how negligent discharges "never happen" or "you've never had one", my response is this: either you don't use firearms very often (like never) or you're a liar. Now I am no Clint Smith or Rob Pincus, but I have been an instructor for almost 2 decades and instructed thousands of people. I have seen more NDs than I can count, and I have had a few over the years myself.

Simply following that most important safety rule of gun handling, always point the gun in a safe direction, has helped avert disaster in each of those negligent discharges.

Be safe. Be smart. Don't be stupid.