Accidental firearms discharges

Tonight, CNBC is doing a piece of the Remington 700 rifle. There are allegations that it is unsafe. If that is the case, I just wonder how Remington could have avoided serious legal judgments over the years. Anyway, the truth will eventually come out.

Closer to home, a Knox County jailer is reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel to have accidentally shot a friend in the hip. The story goes like this. The friend didn't like guns, the jailer attempted to clear his gun in the confines of the back seat, and fired the gun, striking the friend in the front seat.
The friend was treated and released.

The jailer is now back at work, but can never be a bonded deputy in Knox County.

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You will have an accidental discharge!

said Bob W, my instructor when I got the mandatory training for the Tennessee handgun carry permit. I had been shooting for nigh on forty years when I took that class, but had yet to have the dreaded accidental discharge (AD). But, my time was coming.

It was several years after that, and I had finished a session at the range. I cleared the ancient Ruger pistol, and pointed it at the ground in front of me, downrange. I pulled the trigger to drop the hammer, and instead of hearing a click, I heard a BANG!

Bob was right. I had now had my AD. Eventually, my heart slowed down, and I learned a lesson.

This jailer's event reminds us that we should never deviate from Cooper's* four fundamental rules of gun safety:

1. All firearms are always loaded.
2.  Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target.
4.  Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

It appears from the newspaper reports that he violated rule two, and maybe rule three. But, not to add to his misery, we should all take a lesson from his experience. You see, we are all by virtue of being human, imperfect. So, if we faithfully attempt to follow all four, there is some redundancy built in . . .  and if we miss one, the other three may keep us from a regretful experience.

Another lesson, too - If you have a friend that dislikes guns so much that they want you to disarm, maybe you should find new friends.

*For more info: Jeff Cooper

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Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.