A Wake-Up Call...

[sheepherder]

...That I'm getting too old...

I was trouble-shooting a new 1911 clone built up from a Sarco parts kit. Parts all looked good, nice slide, but wouldn't feed - round kept getting stuck between extractor & side of slide relief/bolt face...

Anyway, I opened my safe, pulled out my Colt Gold Cup to check clearances etc. I dropped the magazine and racked the slide & locked it back...Then noticed there was a live round in the magazine...

Just one round. Winchester 230gr FMJ-RN. Brand new. Nothing in the chamber, no other rounds. I opened my ammunition storage desk and looked for a box of Winchester .45 auto...There was one, with 49 rounds in it...Brand new box, all new cartridges...

I have no idea how that one round came to be in the magazine, stored in my safe, in the pistol. I keep my Colt Gold Cup magazine separate from all others, usually in the pistol itself.

I can't even think why I would have left one round in a magazine. I don't 'test' with live rounds, especially brand new ones with a FMJ-RN, which will chamber in practically any 1911 regardless of chamber mouth, ramp, or extractor. No need to trouble-shoot them.

It's a mystery. I went through all my handguns (took a while!) and no other chambered rounds. I don't remember buying the Winchester - I don't shoot FMJ-RN in .45 auto. It must have come from Wal-Mart, but I don't know why I would have bought it.

Mind you, I do keep a loaded handgun within reach in my home. But this wasn't it.

Certainly was a shocker.

[DavidJayUden]

Thanks for the refresher. Hopefully we can all learn from the mistakes of others.
As an aside, I have a friend who formerly worked as a pistolsmith at Cylinder and Slide, and I always marvel at how he will chamber check a handgun every time he picks one up or one is handed to him, regardless.
dju

[Eugen]

A "shocker "for sure, but better than the kind of shock that comes after hearing a loud BANG!!

This is a great reminder that 'complacency' is the biggest problem that experienced folks encounter in any dangerous situation. I learned that flying in the USN many decades ago and try not to forget it (although at times I do). Always be diligent and try not to become complacent in situations in which we are very experienced, as we tend to lower our guard.

We can all fall prey to forgetting the fundamental rule: "Always know the status of your weapon"!

Sheepherder, thanks for sharing that shocking reminder.

[mrerick]

I also teach an obsessive and repetitive chamber check of a handgun every time I pick one up. The muscle memory eventually takes over.

A few years ago, I was with a large group of collectors for breakfast. One brought in a boxed M1910 Mauser pocket pistol, and the group started to hand it around - without checking it... The first handlers were casually crossing me and others with the muzzle of the gun.

I was instantly uncomfortable, and then (out of sequence) interrupted the group, reached over our food, took the gun and checked it.

It was loaded with striker cocked and rounds in the chamber and magazine. While the body language initially read as the others being offended by my out of sequence dominant move, they were all quite relieved that we didn't end up in the newspapers and worse that afternoon.

Absolutely, relentlessly, obsessively check every firearm you handle when you first pick it up. Do the courtesy of showing an empty chamber before handing the gun to someone else.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

... check a handgun every time he picks one up or one is handed to him, regardless.
dju

Yup, that's the way I learned it back in 1966. I remember the instructor's description of how, after his son had asked to handle a rifle, he'd listen for the sound of the action's being opened from the next room. If he didn't hear it, he'd go in and relieve the kid of the gun and tell him "Maybe next time." I don't think it would take more than once or twice to instill this habit in anyone. These days, of course, we need to be our own fathers! Personally checking is the key, heavy on the "regardless".

[alanint]

Alll that being said, Richard, I would look at the barrel link on the Sarco Parts pistol. They do come in various sizes and I have experienced exactly what you describe when building a parts gun from an incorrect sized barrel link.

[Sergio Natali]

I also obsessively check my guns, sometimes I realize that I do it mechanically, still a mistake is always round the corner... better safe than sorry.

[Vlim]

The late Elmer Keith kept all his guns loaded. It was a good way to treat each gun as if it were loaded. Reversed psychology

Guns and ammo must be kept strictly separated over here, unless on the range. So the chance of anything going wrong ammo wise is minimal at best. Still a good habit to check if empty nonetheless. As Marc said, it becomes second nature.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by alanint

Alll that being said, Richard, I would look at the barrel link on the Sarco Parts pistol. They do come in various sizes and I have experienced exactly what you describe when building a parts gun from an incorrect sized barrel link.

Too short or too long???

[Edward Tinker]

I always, always check the weapon for rounds. At some point i quit being so 'careful'... not sure why, I don't shoot much anymore. But a couple of years back, I had a friend over and I was showing him my M1 Carbine and he checked the chamber, I had marked the magazine with red tape to show it had rounds in it.

Very embarrassed - I knew better and as Marc and others said, we simply have to never forget...

[rhuff]

I can't speak for others, but as I have aged, I am appalled at the brain fade that is occurring. I absolutely have to maintain rituals when handling guns to be SURE EACH TIME that things are correct. I keep a few loaded handguns in my house. I live alone and don't have young children visitors.....if I did, those guns would go into the safe before the visitors arrived. A handgun is safety checked when it is picked up just to be sure I didn't do something dumb and then forgot it. So far, so good!!

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

...I had marked the magazine with red tape to show it had rounds in it.

"The Park Is Mine!" starring Tommy Lee Jones, great flic. Red = live rounds, yellow = blanks.

[K.Wilhelm]

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone! Bill

[Sergio Natali]

Originally Posted by K.Wilhelm

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone! Bill

Somewhere once I heard that "there are two kinds of shooters, those who have had an accidental discharge, aaaaaaand those who will have an accidental discharge"
The biggest mistake would be to think: "something like that could never happen to me".

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by luger.parabellum

Somewhere once I heard that "there are wo kinds of shooters, those who have had an accidental discharge, aaaaaaand those who will have an accidental discharge"
The biggest mistake would be to think: "something like that could never happen to me".

Reminds me of the adage about SCUBA diving in a wet-suit. The two kinds of divers are those that "wet" their wet-suits--and those that lie about it. We hope that accidental/unintended/negligent discharge is not as inevitable!

[Ron Wood]

Waaay back, when I was still a PFC in the Army I obtained a pretty nice early Walther PP in .22 caliber. It had little original finish but no pitting and a a bright bore. I ran it through a box full of ammo and was cleaning it in the bedroom of our quarters. BLAM! punched a hole in the bedroom window and lodged the bullet in the patio fence of the neighboring quarters. I claimed that the hole in the window was from an errant mop handle when I was cleaning under the bed...the facility engineers knew a bullet hole when they saw one but didn't raise a fuss. Times have changed.

[rolandtg]

Originally Posted by mrerick

I also teach an obsessive and repetitive chamber check of a handgun every time I pick one up. The muscle memory eventually takes over.
Absolutely, relentlessly, obsessively check every firearm you handle when you first pick it up. Do the courtesy of showing an empty chamber before handing the gun to someone else.

Worth repeating!!
Every week there are dozens more incidents reported in the news of people who have not learned to practice this habit.

[alanint]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

Too short or too long???

Hard to say. Order a couple of sizes from Sarco or other supplier and fit what locks up properly.

[alanint]

Originally Posted by Vlim

The late Elmer Keith kept all his guns loaded. It was a good way to treat each gun as if it were loaded. Reversed psychology

Guns and ammo must be kept strictly separated over here, unless on the range. So the chance of anything going wrong ammo wise is minimal at best. Still a good habit to check if empty nonetheless. As Marc said, it becomes second nature.

This is an issue with outdoor ranges. That wayward round in the chamber is often the result of packing up and returning from the range. Sometimes we rush because the line is about to be called safe and you are no longer allowed to touch your firearms while people are downrange checking or replacing targets, which sometimes seems to take forever. On more than one occasion I have arrived home and began stripping guns for cleaning and found that I or someone who shot my guns had left a round in the chamber. As a result of this, I have established a ritual where I clean my guns the second I arrive home, no matter how tedious, since I am still in a range/safety mind set. Putting the guns away and then taking them out days or weeks later and finding that chambered round is chilling.

[alanint]

Originally Posted by luger.parabellum

Somewhere once I heard that "there are wo kinds of shooters, those who have had an accidental discharge, aaaaaaand those who will have an accidental discharge"
The biggest mistake would be to think: "something like that could never happen to me".

Around here we call them "Negligent" discharges. There is no such thing as an "accidental" discharge.