Elvis’ bullet....has left the building!
Posted on 07/17/2012 4:45:40 AM PDT by marktwain
SALEM, Ore. -- Police said a Salem man who had been drinking while playing with a gun ended up shooting his own television.
The incident happened just before midnight July 14 in the 4000 block of Cranston Street Southeast in Salem. Steve Birr of the Salem Police Department said Robert Edward Walters, 54, was entertaining himself and his dog with a laser scope on his gun. He eventually pointed it at someone on the television and pulled the trigger, forgetting the gun was loaded.
The bullet went through the wall into an adjacent home where five people were. One of those residents then called police.
Walters was charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm and five counts of reckless endangering.
These accidents may happen because some event occurs when a person is dryfiring and has just stopped and reloaded the gun. At that moment, something happens that interrupts and distracts the person. A phone rings, someone knocks on the door, an alarm goes off.
After the interruption they then recall... where was I? Oh, yes, I was dryfiring, forgetting that they had reloaded the gun. Then... bang!
While dryfiring is an excellent technique to improve proficiency, accidents can be prevented by following this procedure:
1. Unload the firearm in a place separate from where the dryfiring will occur. Repeat the mantra: unloaded, unloaded, unloaded.
2. Dryfire at something that will stop the bullets from the gun you are using. Many televisions have given their lives in the name of firearms proficiency. Concrete walls and fireplaces will stop most pistol bullets.
3. Reload the gun away from the area where you practice dryfiring. Repeat the mantra: loaded, loaded, loaded.
Elvis’ bullet....has left the building!
Like my CCW instructor liked to say, just about every gun accident happened with an unloaded gun- “I was sure the gun wasn’t loaded.”
Was he watching Robert Goulet ?
BUT
you are absolutely right....all the safety rules must be followed and guns double, triple and quadruple checked...and know your backstop...in case you failed all the previous safety rules.
I was thinking more along the lines the guy was watching MSNBC.
He might want to spend a few dollars for some snap caps. They are much less expensive than replacing a TV.
Not to mention much less expensive than lawyers and probation or jail time.
In fond memory:
1COUNTER-MORTER-68 (THROWING ANOTHER BULLET-RIDDLED TV IN THE PILE OUT BACK~~~~~)
Me thinks you need to add a number 4 to your list:
Don’t be drinking. (see early part of article)
Then again, the 2nd Amendment doesn’t mention drinking so it could be permitted under the out of context pre-consitution Declaration’s “pursuit of happiness”.
So, he has a scope to better see the red dot from the laser???
Always assume the gun is loaded. I dry fire with a snap cap only and I always make sure that is the only round in the chamber before I dry fire.
Dude! Snap caps.
Fabricate a dedicated dry-firing target. It needs to be unique such that you own only one of such targets.
Before doing ANY dry-firing, you first unload the gun and only then get out the target and place it in a position where it is safe to point a gun.
You NEVER dry-fire at anything other than the dedicated target.
When you are done dry-firing, put the target away BEFORE re-loading the gun. If you discipline yourself that you never have the target available while any gun is loaded and you never dry-fire at anything other than the dedicated target, then you are not going to have an incident.
The technique above requires that you do two things in proper order to begin dry-firing and two things in proper order after dry-firing.
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