Have you ever discharged a firearm accidentally??

[BHPSteel]

Twice. Saved both times by having good muzzle discipline.

Slam-fire in a buddy's M1A (I guess you could argue it was accidental and not negligent)
Really light trigger on a Smith 627

Both went into the berm.

 

[Ken Ford]

Accidentally? No

Negligently? Yes twice.

 

[Ken Ford]

Someone next to me did once, I was in a gun shop, guy next to me took his 1911 out of his holster handing it to the owner of the shop to look at on a trade, bullet missed my leg by a few inches and blew out the glass counter. I wasn't too happy.

Guns and Gear?

 

[Gixxer]

I always appreciate when folks are willing to post threads about this happening to them. As well as the subsequent stories others post under them. So thank you to the OP and to y'all for sharing.

It helps remind us of the fine line we're walking when we choose to handle firearms.

Paul Harrell gave what I consider to be one of the best dissertations on the true differences between an accidental discharge vs a negligent one. I'll post a link if anyone wants it. And it seems for some here, they definitely experienced an AD which is when following the four cardinal rules will truly save your bacon.

Regarding the ND's. What i believe has saved me from one thus far is some sage wisdom I was told once.

"pulling the trigger is part of the shooting process. not part of an unloading process"

Obviously for disassembly on some guns a trigger pull is required and should be treated deliberately and seriously each time. But the practice of pulling the trigger to ensure a gun is unloaded is an ND ticking time bomb.

Best case is you hear a click and confirm it's unloaded which could and should have been verified by other means.
Worst case is now there's a hole where there wasn't supposed to be one.

 

[Huntfishcamp]

I'm 40 yrs old and have hunted every year since I was 12. I play at the range and in the woods a few times every year and I have NEVER accidentally discharged a firearm, not once.

But, I do have a crazy story...

One year when I was about 15 or 16, my dad invited a friend of a friend (who he had recently met) to our deer camp. The guy was a very heavy drinker. One night we were cleaning guns around the table in my dad's camper, the dude was smashed and I looked up to see this guy pointing his gun literally straight at my face as he was looking down the side of it. I yelled "WOAH, watch where your pointing that!". So he apologized and, I think he had realized what he had done. So he stood up very ashamed, and began to climb down the stairs out of the camper. The mofo discharged his 30-06 somehow walking down the stairs! I was that close to being a goner. My dad chewed him out and made him pack up, sleep in his car and leave the next morning.

 

[BigMike]

Once during a training class. I removed all the "bad levers" off my guns and promptly rehomed them that evening. Finger slipped off of it while dropping the bolt and hit the other ther thing in the trigger guard.

 

[Asbestos]

Once during a training class. I removed all the "bad levers" off my guns and promptly rehomed them that evening. Finger slipped off of it while dropping the bolt and hit the other ther thing in the trigger guard.

I feel they’re aptly named.

 

[Eggmanmja01]

I heard and seen quite a few of them while in the military. JRTC in Fort Chaffee at the "pee haw" was like a shooting range 😆

 

[N.Ga.Trader]

Rifle, no. Shotgun yes, put a round of buckshot through the roof once.

It was a new gun and I accidentally hit the trigger while attempting to hit the slide release to empty out the shells.

 

[fast306stang]

Been round guns my entire life, never had an AD but I've been around a few. Then in my upper 40's I had 2 in about 2 weeks. Made me re-evaluate a lot of things. Never become complacent.

I was surprised how much popcorn a 7.62x39 blast will knock off a kitchen ceiling lol

Also surprised how much a 38spl will penetrate before it stops