Embarassing Firearms Stories

[cbhausen]

The first time I disassembled a 1911, I launched the spring cap past my face and into the ceiling. There is a divot in the plaster from where it hit. Now, that is what a true 1911 idiot mark is.

Oh, there was this other time I left the house with an empty holster. Damn did I feel like an idiot going out unarmed. The gun sat home that day in the safe while I did my best to conceal my stupidity.

I've caught myself leaving home with an empty holster once or twice. Not saying it can't happen again but the embarrassment of an unintentional GFZ protest has me double checking everything now:

1. Holster
2. Pistol
3. Spare mags
4. Knife
5. Flashlight
6. Keys
7. Cell phone

The thought of needing to draw and grabbing a handful of air is pretty damn scary.

EDIT: And the time I was grouse hunting up in Canada with my dad and missed a bird because I forgot to pull the hammer back (all caught on video for posterity). Shotgun was a single shot H&R .410.

 

[88GT]

My first time shooting my .44 redhawk at the range, first shot blew the clip holding the target clean off. Immediately the range officer was returning the Line to replace the clip and target. Hd just shook his Head and said try aiming at bottom of target first.
I felt like one foot tall and trying to hide. Was a lot younger then.

Shoot, we never get our deposit back from Atterbury because one of us is always sending a round high and cutting the rebar clean through.

 

[Tnichols00]

When I was maybe 15 I was out back shooting cans with my .22 bolt action when a round got stuck between the feed tube and the action. I took couldnt get it with my hands so I took the gun into the house, unloaded the feed tube and took the stock off the gun. The stock on this gun includes the forgrip and the trigger guard as well. So I sit down on the couch with a pocket knife and pretty easily get the round out of the action. Once Its out I decide since I had the knife in the action I better make sure it still works so I slide the action forward (There was a round left in the tube feed) as the bolt closed it pushed the gun on my lap just enough to pull the trigger firing a round right into the fire place.

I shoulda really thought it through a little more but luckily the gun was pointing in a safe direction and nobody was hurt.

 

[jayhawk]

Was cleaning the M&P and lubed the slide. While watching TV, I was pulling the slide back and forth to spread the lube and I was so distracted from the TV, my palm skin got caught between the chamber and slide when the slide pushed forward. HURT like a mutha ****er.

Done that!

 

[Icarry2]

Once when I was a kid I went hunting with a buddy. I had a stocking cap on with one of those little poofy balls on the top (the embarrassing part, I know) but it was a warm hat. Anyway, he was wearing gloves and when he racked his 20 gauge shotgun closed it fired, his gloved finger was in the trigger gaurd and pulled the trigger. Very lucky to be alive, the shot from his shotgun blew the poofy ball apart and nearly nicked my scalp.. I was deaf in one ear for about a week.. Never went hunting with him again..

Once when shooting clays at a local shooting range as a kid I borrowed a side by side 12 gauge of an elderly man I knew to pop off a few and after busting the first clay with the right barrel switched to the left barrel trigger and when I pulled the trigger the barrel split open and bruised my left thumb. I didn't check the barrel and the idiot I borrowed the shotgun from had inadvertently left a cleaning rod section and a patch in the left barrel. Sad part was the gun was a collector item and I ruined it from my own stupiditiy of not checking the barrels..

 

[sepe]

Can't really think of any. About the worst that has happened so far was my Argentinian Colt .45 decided it didn't like the original grips anymore (bakelites from the 50s) while at the range. About half way through the first magazine, before letting someone new to guns shoot, I felt a pinch.

I've got a S&W 686 that a friend wanted to shoot. Being a little recoil sensitive at them, I thought it would be funny to load a couple hotter .357 and some fairly light .38s for him. His reaction was slightly embarrassing for him but after apologizing because he thought he blew the gun up and some choice words after I told him what I did, we laughed.

 

[Indy60]

Got one for you that happened about 25 years ago. My parents house has a 2 car attached garage and a monitored alarm system. One winter night about 7pm after coming back from Christmas shopping we opened the garage and did not pull the car in because there were empty boxes on the floor waiting to go out. we forgot about the alarm and did not enter the code. On their alarm there was no tone to tell you it was set off or the clock was ticking. About ten minutes latter my Brother in law was going back out to the car for another load of stuff when he heard FREEZE! There to his surprise standing in the garage was a very startled young greenhorn Marion County Sheriff fumbling to draw his gun and while doing this the Sheriff dropped his weapon and it bounced across the cement garage floor towards by Brother in Law. My B.I.L. bent over picked up the gun and hands it back to the Sheriff! True story, the Sheriff was in shock frozen like a deer in the headlights. All ended well, the Sheriff regained his composure, changed his pants and all went their merry ways.

 

[DemolitionMan]

Got one for you that happened about 25 years ago.

You handled the situation better than a friend of mine.

I'm a Scoutmaster for a local Troop. One of our Scout's parents was storing part of our equipment in a detached garage at her house, which was in a fairly rural part of Hendricks County. The house was up for sale at the time, so we needed to clear out the gear. I went with two of my fellow Scouters and my sons to load the gear into the Troop's trailer. The homeowner was gone that day but left me a key.

We were working away when I heard a car pull up. I assumed it was the home owner, but in walked three county Sheriffs. They looked calm and reasonable, and their sergeant asked what we were doing.

Calm and reasonable went out the window when one of my friends, who is known for joking around, put up his hands and said "You got us!" All of a sudden hands are going on pistols and Officer Friendly had vanished.

I stepped in front of my friend and explained the situation as fast as I could. As I'm doing so I noticed the younger deputy fumbling with his holster, apparently unable to undo the retention strap. The sergeant followed my look, saw what was going on, and gave the deputy a glare that reminded me a lot of Army drill sergeants. The kid gulped and stopped fumbling, and it was all I could do to not laugh. The sergeant looked back at me and rolled his eyes.

A few phone calls later and all was explained. My friend has yet to live that one down though...my sons will still hold up their arms and yell "You got us!" sometimes.

 

[mandolin3]

Many of my recent range trips utilized a Springfield XD (no intentional/manual safety). Decided to bring a 1911 style one day (unfortunately, the day I brought a retired Army Sgt with me). I kept racking the slide and getting no fire...the retired Sgt yelled at me "safety"...Yup, I forgot that it had a safety selector. Boy, did I feel like an idiot...taught me to cross train!

 

[grogie]

I was in a muzzleloader shoot (20 shots)... Past half way through the shoot I dropped the ball in without the black powder! I got razzed pretty hard over that one, but I still took third place.

 

[ttrimcobra]

When I first took my s&w SD40ve apart to clean and oil it, I had online to make sure and clean any packing material out of the magazines. Read the instructions on how to teardown the mag but did not read the bold letters CAREFULLY REMOVE AS SPRING IS UNDER HIGH TENSION. As soon as the clip came undone... ZING. The bottom, spring and the part the holds the round in place go flying across the room.

 

[jkfletcher]

Bought a muzzleloader that already had a scope on it. Apparently the eye relief on said scope wasn't that great, because the first time I shot the thing I got the scope right between the eyes. Thankfully was wearing my safety glasses. Embarrassing enough for me by itself, but this day I happened to be shooting with my boss and another guy from work. We all had a good laugh once we realized I wasn't too physically damaged

 

[Mackey]

Made a youtube video of myself shooting a gallon of gas with a 357 (awesome fireball) following that up by shouting "yew hoo" and shooting up into the air (the original video is about 18 years old).
Embarassing. (I still kept the video though ... just made it private - it's got a clip of my dad laughing at me which was priceless).

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Made a youtube video of myself shooting a gallon of gas with a 357 (awesome fireball) following that up by shouting "yew hoo" and shooting up into the air (the original video is about 18 years old).
Embarassing. (I still kept the video though ... just made it private - it's got a clip of my dad laughing at me which was priceless).

Hahahaha, that's hilarious. Of course, hindsight and all, unsafe yadda yadda.... but awesome nonetheless :P

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Nothing really embarrasing, other than scope bite before I learned about proper eye relief and slide bite before I learned that Walther PPKs can cause slide bite.

 

[500 mag]

I always had a bad habit of flinching when shooting. So when the safety was on or it misfired i would jerk. There was always somebody there to see it of course. It was real bad if i was shooting a 12 gauge or something i knew was going to kick. haha

 

[Tnichols00]

I always had a bad habit of flinching when shooting. So when the safety was on or it misfired i would jerk. There was always somebody there to see it of course. It was real bad if i was shooting a 12 gauge or something i knew was going to kick. haha

Your user name is 500 mag and you have a problem with worrying about kick? LOL

 

[rvb]

Decided to bring a 1911 style one day ... I kept racking the slide and getting no fire...I forgot that it had a safety selector. Boy, did I feel like an idiot

Do you still feel that way? I'm quite sure you weren't racking the slide on the 1911 w/ the safety on...

-rvb

 

[500 mag]

Your user name is 500 mag and you have a problem with worrying about kick? LOL

I said i HAD a problem with it. lol, Ive gotten better since then. haha Im sure i was not the only one. haha

 

[kbailey]

Not me but I think this fits here: