Thought I would share this with the group here.
I will say that I think I got lucky this time, because although I thought I was being careful, I think there was an element of carelessness involved.
As many of you know I've been working on a field assignment in Minnesota. I got the word through my supervisors that my Minnesota assignment will be wrapping up around mid-January.
Last Friday was my last work day of 2018. Knowing that I would only have two more trips out of Minnesota to get all my stuff moved out, I loaded up the truck with as much stuff as I could, including my Remington 552 Speedmaster and my Remy 700 .243 win.
Preparing to pack the rifles, I opened the bolt on the 700, confirmed empty, packed it into it's travel case. I've been using my .22 to dust squirrels and rabbits from the kitchen window, so I knew I had some ammo in the magazine, and I thought that I had one chambered and the safety on. Removed the magazine follower and emptied the 10 or 12 rounds that were in the magazine. I worked the charging handle a few time to make sure the chamber was empty. Nothing ejected. I paused in my mind for a second because I thought I had one in the chamber. My key mistake, I didn't stop to visually confirm the chamber was empty. It was a little dark in the kitchen and for those of you familiar with the 552s, you have to tilt them down toward a light source to get enough light into the chamber to see if there is a round in there or not. It's not as obvious with this rifle as it is with most firearms, you really have to make an effort to see into the chamber. Shame on me, I skipped that step.
I got home late that night after a 7 hour drive and unpacked the truck. I finally got around to cleaning the .22 today, Tuesday, before putting it away. It had been sitting on my work bench in the basement, still in the case, since I got home last Friday night.
Before disassembling the rifle I cycled the action a few more times, nothing ejected. Again, in the back of my mind that didn't seem right to me. This time I tilted the rifle so I could get some light down into the receiver, sure enough, there was a live round in the chamber that for whatever reason, did not eject even though I had cycled the action at least half a dozen times between the time I packed the rifle away and now after unpacking it. I tried a few more times to engage the chambered round with the ejector but it would not eject. Finally, I had to hold the charging handle open to back the bolt away from the chamber, and then used a cleaning rod to push the round out from the muzzle end.
Although this was a non-accident that ended well, I have been kicking myself all day long for not visually checking the chamber to confirm it was empty. And the fact that I drove all the way home from MN with a live round in the chamber of my .22 is really something I can't kick myself enough for. Even experienced people can make stupid mistakes. I will never make that mistake again. Always, always, always perform a visual confirmation that the chamber is empty. I know all of you do. Even when you think it's empty, sometimes things don't work the way they should.
MORAL OF THE STORY: IT'S ALWAYS LOADED!!
I will say that I think I got lucky this time, because although I thought I was being careful, I think there was an element of carelessness involved.
As many of you know I've been working on a field assignment in Minnesota. I got the word through my supervisors that my Minnesota assignment will be wrapping up around mid-January.
Last Friday was my last work day of 2018. Knowing that I would only have two more trips out of Minnesota to get all my stuff moved out, I loaded up the truck with as much stuff as I could, including my Remington 552 Speedmaster and my Remy 700 .243 win.
Preparing to pack the rifles, I opened the bolt on the 700, confirmed empty, packed it into it's travel case. I've been using my .22 to dust squirrels and rabbits from the kitchen window, so I knew I had some ammo in the magazine, and I thought that I had one chambered and the safety on. Removed the magazine follower and emptied the 10 or 12 rounds that were in the magazine. I worked the charging handle a few time to make sure the chamber was empty. Nothing ejected. I paused in my mind for a second because I thought I had one in the chamber. My key mistake, I didn't stop to visually confirm the chamber was empty. It was a little dark in the kitchen and for those of you familiar with the 552s, you have to tilt them down toward a light source to get enough light into the chamber to see if there is a round in there or not. It's not as obvious with this rifle as it is with most firearms, you really have to make an effort to see into the chamber. Shame on me, I skipped that step.
I got home late that night after a 7 hour drive and unpacked the truck. I finally got around to cleaning the .22 today, Tuesday, before putting it away. It had been sitting on my work bench in the basement, still in the case, since I got home last Friday night.
Before disassembling the rifle I cycled the action a few more times, nothing ejected. Again, in the back of my mind that didn't seem right to me. This time I tilted the rifle so I could get some light down into the receiver, sure enough, there was a live round in the chamber that for whatever reason, did not eject even though I had cycled the action at least half a dozen times between the time I packed the rifle away and now after unpacking it. I tried a few more times to engage the chambered round with the ejector but it would not eject. Finally, I had to hold the charging handle open to back the bolt away from the chamber, and then used a cleaning rod to push the round out from the muzzle end.
Although this was a non-accident that ended well, I have been kicking myself all day long for not visually checking the chamber to confirm it was empty. And the fact that I drove all the way home from MN with a live round in the chamber of my .22 is really something I can't kick myself enough for. Even experienced people can make stupid mistakes. I will never make that mistake again. Always, always, always perform a visual confirmation that the chamber is empty. I know all of you do. Even when you think it's empty, sometimes things don't work the way they should.
MORAL OF THE STORY: IT'S ALWAYS LOADED!!