The Anatomy of a Negligent Discharge
The vast majority of gun owners are responsible and safety conscious. No gun owner wants to fire a round unintentionally. That's the reason it's called an unintentional discharge. However, when we look at any instance of an unintended discharge, we'll find avoidable errors. Such is the case with a story I saw posted on a gun forum.
I don't know the individual who posted this, so I'm unaware of this person's experience carrying and handling firearms. Here is the entire text, with only curse words redacted.
Terrible experience, first off thank God no one was injured except my pride and my confidence as a gun owner. I'm here to get my — chewed by the community because I deserve it for sure but I also would like any helpful tips as well, no matter how redundant. So my family and I were getting out of my vehicle, they clear the car and just as I'm about to shut my door, I can see the end of the magazine sticking out of a “beanie” on the console shelf that I tend to tuck it in at times but USUALLY on safe. This was literally that 1 out of 10 times that my .40 wasn't on safe, I grab the entire beanie to move it out of sight.. middle finger landed right in the trigger well through the outside of the beanie.. BANG!, heads turn immediately.. round through the console, mushrooms, stops inside the door just left of the speaker (Thank God). So ashamed and rattled, lost a lot of confidence in handling a firearm today. I know I —— up, should never grab for a weapon I can't entirely see for sure, any words for me CCW community?
First, the Bad —
It's almost hard to overstate how bad this is. By God's grace, all the terrible things that could have happened, didn't.
First, the man didn't know where his handgun was. For many reasons, the gun should always stay on your person. Many people use ‘car holsters' which I dislike. It's just too easy to forget and leave the gun inside the vehicle. Second, this man didn't use a car holster, instead he opted for a…beanie. I won't belabor the point here, but a handgun needs to be inside a proper holster.
So far, we've identified two practices that had a direct influence on the negligent discharge. And there is more.
We've already addressed the beanie, but gripping the gun blindly through something like the beanie is dangerous practice. The worst-case scenario happened when his finger entered the trigger guard area and he pressed the trigger. Compounding this error is one of the reasons I constantly try to get people to break free from the idea that “guns with an external safeties are safer“.
Another issue with grabbing the gun like he did in the beanie is that he has no control over where he is pointing the muzzle. This gun could have just as easily been pointing back at him, or his family member, or an uninvolved innocent third-party. Quite scary.
Safe gun handling habits are not optional. There is no excuse for being an unsafe, irresponsible gun owner. Here is a free gun safety class if you've never had one, or if it's been years.
I don't know if this man would have gripped the gun differently had he not thought the safety was engaged. But, he mentioned that this was “literally that 1 out of 10 times that my .40 wasn't on safe.” We need to remember a manual external safety does not make the gun any safer than one without. The actions of the person with the gun are safe or unsafe. If you want a gun with a mechanical external safety, great, but don't let it take the place of safe gun handling.
All the points mentioned above are symptoms of a systemic problem. It doesn't appear as though this was the first time the man did something like this. Rather, it's just the first time everything converged in such a way that he fired off a round. In this case, the errors are quite obvious and a responsible gun owner would have corrected them.
However, it is possible to have a system issue that doesn't immediately result in a negligent discharge, and that you don't immediately recognize. For example, lax safety rules for dry fire practice may not result in am unintended discharge right away. But, that doesn't mean you're not susceptible to one.
I wrote a series of articles titles “When Dry Fire Isn't Dry“. The series of articles contained stories submitted by readers in which they had negligent discharges during dry fire practice.
The Good—
Reading what led up to the negligent discharge, we clearly see that it was only a matter of time before something bad happened. So to fix a problem, we have to identify the problem in need of fixing. Additionally, we need to take personal responsibility and not shift blame.
The man in this story seems to recognize he messed up, in a major way. No doubt this incident shook him, and rightfully so. He solicited feedback on how to correct his routine and practices to keep something like this from happening again.
Was he negligent? Absolutely.
Did he put people's lives at risk? You bet.
Does he need to change his systems and get some formal firearm training? Without a doubt.
Should he have known better? Of course.
Should he be barred from ever owning a gun like some suggest in comments to his post? I don't think so.
If he is genuine in wanting help to correct his processes, that is where I choose to focus. He's been given a second chance. Hopefully he uses it to be safer, more responsible and tell others about the importance of safe gun handling.
First comment about the majority of gun owners being safe is a stretch. I work at a shooting facility, I know. 80% cannot recite Coopers 4 rules. 80% of those, break rule 3 constantly.
Glad your ND did not result in an injury.
Wasn’t my negligent discharge but I appreciate your comment.
I’m 63 years old and have been shooting for 50+ years. I have competed in IPSC back in it’s infancy, bought, sold, traded, and carried more firearms than I can possibly remember. I have NEVER ONCE had an accidental/unintentional discharge from any rifle, pistol, shotgun, bb gun, nerf gun, pellet gun or bean shooter I have ever owned PERIOD. I do not consider it luck. When a ‘new’ or more likely clean used ‘different’ firearm comes to my house I take time for us to get to know each other. I PLAY with it, yes, PLAY with it.. I wouldn’t have bought the damn thing if I hadn’t been attracted to it to begin with. I wag it around the house unloaded. I get the feel of the balance, the heft, how it points. I sit in my chair and field strip it. I put it back together. I Feel the trigger. A lot! I oil it, rub it, clean it. I GET TO KNOW THAT WEAPON before I fire the first round through it! Sometimes it saves me the trouble of firing it because that same process changed my mind and I would trade it. The funny thing is, that after my initial ‘courtship’ it was ingrained in me as to the operation and function of EVERY ONE. If needed I can go to my safe in the dark grab any one of them and know these 3 things: make, model and that the damn thing is loaded. Knowing the first two tells me how it operates. Knowing the third tells me game on. If you’re one of those guys who buys a .380 and a box of ammo for his wife who is scared shitless of guns and then chunks it in the nightstand for ‘protection’ then do us ALL a favor and get her a Louisville slugger instead. Lack of education is what leads to unintentional discharges, bad choice intentional discharges,sad stories, funerals and gives firearms and firearms owners a bad stigma. Guns can be dangerous! Almost as dangerous as irresponsibility and ignorance…don’t be THAT guy.
There are two types of shooters: those who have had a negligent/unintentional discharge, and those who are going to have one. Guns are inherently dangerous. Like venomous snakes, if you handle them enough times, the odds are against you. You are likely to get bit. Cooper’s rule #2 is most important for minimizing the consequences.
Safety is habitual, and if it is practiced consistently, it is almost automatic. I have always been a staunch opponent of storing firearms in anything that doesn’t protect the trigger. Another pet peeve is carrying them in pockets, or purses, or anywhere else where the trigger isn’t protected. Thank God no one was injured, that could had been a very tough lesson. I continually see violations of rules # 2 and 3 at public ranges. I think it would be a great idea to make it mandatory to have a safety class whenever a first-time firearm owner purchases a firearm. We don’t allow new drivers to simply get their license and drive, they have to be tested. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times a person handed me a loaded firearm, i would remove the magazine, open the action, and bingo, a live round pops out. It’s very basic to drop the mag and lock the action open to clear it before handling, could save a tragedy from happening.
I agree with all you said except the mandatory safety class. I guess more specifically I wonder in such a scenario, what regulating body would make it mandatory, and how would it work? I agree with the idea that gun owners SHOULD be trained, it’s part of being responsible.Educating gun owners is something I do for a job. I just don’t agree that attending a training class makes anyone safe. If we are to use the driving test analogy, I think we can say that giving people a driving test and requiring classes before getting a license doesn’t ensure people drive safely. Every gun comes with an instruction manual that list firearm safety rules, so no one has an excuse to be completely unaware. Again, I agree with the heart of what you’re saying. I just don’t think that gun owners who only attend a safety class because they are forced will be any safer with a firearm than if they never attended one in the first place.
Answering written questions or performing a few practiced maneuvers with a car or gun hardly indicates competence in my mind. I learned to drive and shoot with my dad beside me in a safe environment. I progressed to familiar roads and outdoor ranges, still with dad (or someone else) providing input. I was taught to make sure the car is in park before I get out and make sure the gun is clear before maintaining it. Step by step, I gained experience. I still remember the first time I drove to a friends house on my own and the first time I walked into a store with a concealed weapon on my belt. The plastic card in my pocket (DL or WCL) proves only that I paid the fee.
Your answer is spot on! I agree! Mandatory training doesn’t address the issue of people who have plenty of money to buy a firearm that damn sure shouldn’t own one.
I don’t know David…snakes have brains and intent that work against you. 50 something years of more rounds than I would venture to guess put through more calibers, brands and gauges than I can remember without a single accidental discharge? Can I REALLY be that lucky? I think not….not ME!
Can you describe a beanie? The only type I know of is worn on the head.
Yeah it’s that kind of beanie from what I understood from the story.