Hair-raising ND

T

Tom Servo

Staff
Below is a 95gr .380 FMJ. Due to a negligent discharge, it ended up plowing through two plastic rifle cases, a wooden 2x4 bench, two layers of drywall and a chunk of carpeting. Though it was robbed of most of its energy, it still bounced hard enough to cross ~35 feet of a retail salesfloor and lightly impact a wall.

380_nd1.jpg


380_nd3.jpg


Notice that it's still largely intact. This isn't a post about ballistics. It's about carelessness.

The shooter claimed to have had a "malfunction" with a Kel Tec P3AT. Said malfunction occurred while either loading or unloading the gun. The shooter was facing opposite the firing line and towards the wall separating the range from the salesfloor.

He claims not to have understood how the gun fired, as the "clip was out" of the gun when it discharged. He attempted to pick the gun up before I stopped him, but his finger was inside the trigger guard when he did so.

It's my belief that he dropped the magazine and, believing the gun to be unloaded, pulled the trigger. I've seen this happen.

Fortunately, nobody was standing in front of the wall through which the bullet exited. It traced a 45 degree angle downward and struck the floor roughly 10" ahead of the wall. Observers on the salesfloor noticed a "ting" sound when the bullet hit the opposite wall, but the cause was not immediately apparent.

What we've got is a violation of the first three rules of gun safety that could have ended in tragedy if the angle had been slightly different.
 
R

rantingredneck

New member
"but it's only a .380!!!"

Ok, now that I've got that out of my system :D.

Just goes to show how far hardball ammo even in light calibers can penetrate. JHP's aren't to shabby in that regard either for that matter.

Tom, if you don't mind sharing (here or PM), where did this happen? I'm assuming indoor range with retail space attached. I know of (and frequent) a few of those places 'round these parts. Just curious as to which.......
 
R

rantingredneck

New member
If it was my gun shop/range, I'd have one less customer, too.
Click to expand...

Indeed..........

The closest indoor range to my house has a trophy collection of things (walls, target carrier rails, etc.) that have been shot in the 15 years or so they've been in operation. 3 ND's in that time. This range hosts a lot of local LE agencies for their range qual's. All 3 of those ND's were LEO's during qualifications. I expect they didn't qualify. They were also not allowed back at this particular range.
 
T

Tom Servo

Staff
Happy the clown wasn't pointing at you when he fired the unloaded gun.
Click to expand...
There were two rifle cases stacked on the bench, and the bullet went downward through both. The top one was open, and if I were the gambling sort, I'd place odds that he thought the foam in the case constituted a backstop of some sort.

He could not explain why he was loading his weapon away from the firing line, or why he pulled the trigger. I doubt he knows why.
 
M

MLeake

New member
My guess would be...

... he pulled the trigger to verify clear.

My question, as yours, would be why wasn't he checking this with the muzzle pointed downrange?

As I shoot regularly where Tom Servo works, I can verify that there are fold down tables in each lane. It's easy to do everything you could want to do while keeping the muzzle downrange. If this guy was facing the sales floor, the only thing against that wall of the range are some benches. I can't conceive of a reason to face that way with a pistol in hand.

+1 on glad nobody was injured. There are usually at least eight people on that sales floor, between staff and customers. I've only seen fewer near closing time, and then it's still been four or more people.
 
M

MLeake

New member
Horse Hockey...

Horse Hockey right back at ya, CWPinSC; I'm referring to checking clear in the function check subsequent to reassembly, assuming he'd taken it down for some reason. This is EXACTLY how the Army trains reassembly of rifle or handgun, ending with a function check that includes pulling the trigger on an empty weapon.

It's also done at clearing barrels, when clearing the weapon prior to reholstering it before entering areas where an empty chamber is mandated. (For whatever reasons, slides didn't have to be locked back, but magazines were dropped, chambers were cleared, safeties were checked, and triggers were pulled to check function, prior to reholstering.)

I know; I just had the refresher training a little over a year ago. Pulled an IA tour with the Army, and had to go through a few weeks of Army appreciation training at Fort Jackson, in your own state.

So, if he's used to that routine, I could see how this would happen. Not saying it's good weapons handling, but I can see exactly how somebody could get stupid.

FWIW, I agree with you that the standard method would be to drop the magazine, lock the slide back, and visually and/or fingertip check the chamber, then leave the slide back. "Rack the slide" usually means cycling it fully, but I assume you meant "lock the slide back."

Cheers,

M
 
Last edited:
M

MLeake

New member
For whatever reason...

...Smokey Bears weren't worn often by the drill sergeants; they were mostly in patrols or boonies.
 
T

Tom Servo

Staff
Easy with the Equine Hockey, guys! :)

I'm aware of the military drill, and many police officers do the same thing after clearing a weapon. Frankly, it's always given me the willies, as it really dilutes the perceived importance of Rule #3.

This guy wasn't military or law enforcement. That much was obvious. We can speculate as to "why it happened," but there is no "why." He couldn't clearly recall the sequence of events that lead up to the ND.

The guy doesn't know enough about guns to handle them safely. He got sloppy, stuff got broken and people were placed in harm's way. That's the long and short of it.
 
M

MLeake

New member
How is the shop handling it, Tom Servo?

Is the guy going to be allowed to come in again, if he pays damages?

Is he simply being banned?

Will he be required to take additional training from staff members, prior to being allowed to shoot again?

BTW, one of our horses is quite talented in both dressage and hunter/jumper (won jump at Chateau Elan last year), and the babies are about to start training, but none of them have any talent whatever on the ice.

Horse Lacrosse might be more likely... Horse Hockey would probably not go so well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top