We all celebrate the fact that the last two years have broken every existing record for first-time gun owners entering our ranks. We celebrate that permissive concealed carry laws have become the norm, not the exception, nationwide, including the steady growth of constitutional (permitless) carry. BUT…let’s all be safe, okay?

Every negligent discharge is ammo for the antis. Though accidental firearm injuries and deaths are exceedingly rare — in 2018 there were 458 unintentional firearm-related fatalities, which accounted for less than 0.33 percent of all unintentional deaths in the U.S. that year — they make the news and they shoot gun rights and, especially, carry rights in the foot.

These are just a fraction of the news stories about negligent discharges from just the last couple of weeks:

Man literally shoots himself in the foot at a gun show
ND in the bathroom at a Buffalo Wild Wings
ND in a shopping mall food court (covered very heavily in the news, most of which uses it as proof that CCW laws are dangerous)
Man shot himself in the hand while drawing his firearm because he heard gunshots in the area
ND kills South Lake Tahoe man
School Resource Officer NDs. Apparently was handling his firearm in his office.

Lee Paige Award
Lee Paige Award

School liaison officer NDs. The story is that he bumped his holstered firearm with his backpack while removing the backpack, and the gun discharged.
Man NDs into his apartment ceiling

After seeing a couple of negligent discharge stories in my feed I did a search for ‘gun discharge’ and all of these and many more fresh stories popped up.

Seek out training. Be careful. Don’t mess with your firearm when it’s holstered.

One tip I might give would be to remove your holstered firearm in its holster when you take it off at night and secure it in your bedside safe or if you must remove it from your belt and set it down in the bathroom or whatever. Replace it on your belt in its holster. Treating the gun in its holster as a single unit and avoiding drawing and holstering eliminates one of the very largest ND-inducing scenarios.

Be safe out there, kids. Don’t shoot us all in the foot.

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

45 COMMENTS

  1. Objection your honor! First remove the school resource officers and any other law enforcement. Then give us a comparison of Non LEO ND and LEO ND. I’d bet ours are lower.

  2. I STILL LIKE THE SW 38 REVOLVER FOR LTC .. YES TRIGGER PULL HEAVER THAN AUTO ,
    YES DO YA BEST KEEP FINGER OFF TRIGGER TILL READY TO SHOT
    LIKE CAUSE NO NEED FOR MOON CLIPS

    SOME TIMES WISH SW WOULD MAKE A 380 OR 9MM SINGLE SHOT , TROUBLE WITH THAT HAVE TO COCK HAMMER EACH TIME , ?? SINGLE SHOT WITH DOUBLE ACTION ??

    WONDER HOW MUCH RIM , 380 OR 9MM WOULD COST , IF WOULD CATCH ON FOR USE IN A REVOLVER ??

    NOT SURE IF COULD MAKE A DOUBLE ACTION REVOLVER WITH OUT MOON CLIPS ??

    • It’s hard to trust someone to keep their finger off the trigger when they constantly manage to fuckup using the caps lock key.

      • I’ve just gotten to the point where I simply don’t bother to read it and just mentally pass on by WHENEVER I SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

        I do the same with certain other commenters, and it makes reading TTAG go much quicker… 🙂

  4. There are too many Fudds out there, let’s be honest. That’s not an argument for tougher gun laws: look how many people drive cars and vote who shouldn’t. I think maybe our side ought to invest in more gun safety PSAs; I don’t know—but we really do need to address the issue of responsible gun ownership especially since there’s so much disinfo and misinfo on the Internet these days.

    • “There are too many Fudds out there…”

      I’ve got some news for you- if you believe the small number of “2A Purists” in your own little circle will be able to keep up the gains being made in personal liberties, God-given rights and the like, you’re sorely mistaken. Discounting any legal firearms owners because they don’t live up to your standard is ludicrous, and eventually, dangerous, if maintaining the 2A is one of your intended goals.

      It’s always fun to hang out with your gun “homeys” in your garage or basement, but it would be well to remember that in this world, there is strength in numbers, and anything that would reduce that strength or cause some to drop out won’t end well. The number of folks who dropped out, primarily due to the loss of hunting lands and the stigma placed upon it by Progressives during the late 1960s nearly ended the RKBA in the US, and it’s been a long haul back from the brink.

      It also needs to be pointed out to the Fudd-free posters that it is entirely possible, under the process laid out in the US Constitution by our Founders, to actually remove the Second Amendment, and God Himself, from the document through the amendment process in Article 5. Again, in the end, strength in numbers…

      Personally, I’d be thankful for any and all legal firearms owners, as well as those contemplating the acquisition thereof, for any future support which they may provide for the Constitution, and what presently remains of our American way of life.

    • Night Wind,

      And now, after all the MANY comments I’ve made about Wayne the Thief and the feckless, money-wasting NRA . . . I will rise to their (partial) defense.

      Back in the day, the NRA was the pre-eminent, go-to source of high-quality firearm and firearms safety training, PARTICULARLY for minors and beginning shooters. Do the research; it’s a matter of record. And they did, basically, a damn fine job. The NRA “Eddie the Eagle” program was demonstrated to be effective, and simply made sense. Their basic home firearm safety classes were good (if basic). There were good NRA training programs at least through a “solid intermediate” level.

      Then Wayne the Thief came along, and the NRA training function took a back seat to its new function – paying for Wayne’s side piece, and buying him new suits. Oh, yeah, and “lobbying”, largely ineffectively, and frequently contrary to the interests and desires of most gun owners. And funneling money to Wayne’s buddies in the process.

      With apologies to Dean Swift, “A Modest Proposal” – ABOLISH the lobbying wing, and lobbying efforts, of the NRA. Get Wayne off the damn board, along with all his sycophants. Return to the NRA’s original role, and make such training easier to obtain, and more affordable. Oh, and stay the hell away from lobbying – you NEVER did it very well, and Wayne the Thief stole millions of our dollars (yes, even mine – before I woke up and stopped supporting that corrupt organization), and accomplished nothing positive.

      We (People of the Gun) should ALL support good training.

      • FYI- NRA training, in general was primarily affected over the past 3 years by the WuFlu, the mandated lockdowns and the inability of trainers/instructors to offer classes, as well as the reluctance of many to meet in groups, even though much of the instruction is conducted out of doors. It is, for the most part, back up and running, even in 4H, BSA, and other youth programs as well as general public training, LEO and military.

        The WLP controversely has affected primarily the amount of money available to lobby and help fund pro-2A candidates.

    • Great Idea! Wouldn’t it be nice if there were firearm safety PSAs regularly on TV? It would be like treating handling firearms as a normal activity. A great way to normalize gun ownership.

  5. I would go for an infomercial on keeping your gun put up when young kids are around. Too many 2, 3, and 4 year olds finding guns under car seats and killing a sibling, a parent, or themselves.

    Wise up stupid people.

  6. Question: do people lose respect for their own weapons? Do some gun-owners become so used to carrying that they lose our sense of caution?

    Shooting always reinforces for me the power of firearms and the need for discipline. I wonder if there is any correlation between the frequency (the lack of) and NDs. is there a pattern that NDs occur more with people who practice less?

    • My brother worked for a time as a trim carpenter, and he once said, “It’s not the beginner woodworkers who lose fingers. It’s the experienced ones who get caught up in the routine and stop paying attention.”

      “Getting caught up in the routine and not paying attention” probably explains a good number of NDs.

  7. Very impressive article. Accidental discharges are bad because they reflect badly on us. Got it. Now do cars. And ladders. And swimming pools.

    Let’s face facts — if NDs didn’t occur, the media and the Democrats would just make them up, just like they make up everything else.

    • Accidental discharges aren’t user error and only reflect poorly on the manufacturer, like the Remington 700 or the Taurus 24/7 that would fire with a slight shake.

      Negligent discharges on the other hand… well, it’s four simple rules.

      • I’ve handled the Remington 700 rifles and owned a couple for decades. Banged them around going under or over obstacles, dropped them a few times, even dropped 1 while the horse wanted to buck. Never had an accidental discharge. Dumb luck perhaps. Of course, as with any bolt action rifle, or hunting rifles in general, you don’t put a round in the chamber until in position and ready to fire.

  8. I never thought that I would find someone who would opposed to an article urging people to stop LITERALLY shooting themselves in the foot but here we are

    • It’s interesting that the article focuses — as the title clearly states — that an accident is bad because it somehow in some metaphysical way threatens gun rights. In fact, that seems to be the whole point of the article. As the author concludes, “Don’t shoot us all in the foot.”

      That’s my objection. The whole collective guilt narrative. The left plays that card every chance it gets. Reading it here was a disappointment.

      • “Like Caesar’s wife…” comes to mind.

        It’s the backstory to the comment that really drives that one home. It’s an excellent political aphorism.

      • “That’s my objection. The whole collective guilt narrative. The left plays that card every chance it gets“

        You are objecting to “the whole collective guilt narrative”?

        Wait a minute, that’s what the conservative Republicans do regarding black folk, asylum seeking migrants, and every Democrat in America.

        • Miner, do you do more than walk to the corner store to get your 40’s, and to the grocery to cash your check on the first of the month? Just 1 trip to the gas station and 1 trip to buy groceries tells you all you need to know about Democrats.

        • MajorStupidity,

          “Wait a minute, that’s what the conservative Republicans do regarding black folk, asylum seeking migrants, and every Democrat in America.”

          MajorSupidity, your lies are more transparent as you become more desperate (Election Day is barely a month away). “Collective guilt”, you ignorant t***, would be your beloved ‘reparations’, and ‘affirmative action’, and ‘race conscious admissions policies’. THAT, you stupid, uneducated @$$wipe, is “collective guilt” – and conservatives and libertarians reject it utterly. And collectively condemning Leftist/fascists? Last I knew, “Leftist/fascist” wasn’t a race, an ethnic group, or a political party. It certainly IS a deliberate scam (on the really stupid and uneducated) designed and intended to concentrate power in the hands of a few ‘elites’, and give them control over every aspect of everyone ELSE’s lives.

          For bonus points, please list the prominent Dimocrats who:

          1. Support strict border enforcement;
          2. Support allowing individual states to DEMOCRATICALLY regulate abortions according to the will of the ELECTORATE of that state;
          3. Oppose unconstitutional, ineffective, stupid “gun control” laws;
          4. Oppose spending TRILLIONS of (non-existent) tax dollars to support “Green Nude Eel” idiocy.

          For a group supposedly al about DEI, Dimocrats certainly don’t represent much ACTUAL diversity, do they??? Lessee, Schumer (old, rich white guy), Pelosi (old, rich white woman), Biden (old, SENILE, rich, child-molesting white guy) . . . oh, yeah, and Heels-up Harris, the affirmative action hire of the “Biden” “Administration”.

          MajorStupidity, go pound salt in your lying @$$.

  9. A large majority of accidents in the home are with children and they result because of guns not locked up and often with the striker fired gun without any manual safety.

    UPDATED STATISTICS FOR ACCIDENTAL GUN DEATHS
    492 people unintentionally die by gun in an average year.
    Thus far in 2022, there have been unintentional shootings by over 21 children, resulting in 9 deaths and 13 injuries.

    Accidental gun deaths occur mainly to those under 25 years old. So far in 2022, 209 children (age 0-17) have died by gunshot and an additional 519 were injured. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to accidental shootings due to specific behavioral characteristics associated with adolescence, such as impulsivity, feelings of invincibility, and curiosity about firearms.

    In 2021 there were at least 377 unintentional shootings by children. This resulted in 154 deaths and 242 injuries in the United States.

    In 2021, unintentional shooting deaths accounted for over 4% (2,007) of total gun related deaths (44,912) in the United States.
    Shelter in place orders during the coronavirus pandemic have led to major spikes in accidental shootings at home by children. Unintentional shooting deaths by children increased by nearly one-third comparing incidents in March to December of 2020 to the same months of 2019.
    During the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 3,906 additional firearm deaths and 9,278 additional firearm injuries in 2020 compared to 2019.

    70% of unintentional shootings by children occur in the home.
    From 2006-2016, almost 6,885 people in the U.S. died from unintentional shootings. In 2016 alone, there were 495 incidents of accidental firearm deaths.

    The majority of people killed in firearm accidents are under age 24, and most of these young people are being shot by someone else, usually someone their own age. The shooter is typically a friend or family member, often an older brother. By contrast, older adults are at a far lower risk of accidental firearm death, and most often are shooting themselves. (source)

    A statistically significant association exists between gun availability and the rates of unintentional firearm deaths, homicides, and suicides.

    In the United States, over 4.6 million American children live in homes with at least 1 unloaded, unlocked gun, setting the scene for possible tragedy if firearms are not locked and stored properly.

    As gun sales in the US spiked by 70% in March 2020 when compared to March 2019, accidental shooting deaths by minors spiked by 43%.

    Around 31 percent of accidental deaths caused by firearms might be prevented with child-proof safety locks and loaded chamber indicators.
    A study from 2014 showed that victims of unintentional shootings were three times more likely to live in a household with a firearm.

    A 2001 study found that regardless of age, people are nine times more likely to die from unintentional firearm injuries when they live in states with more guns, relative to states with fewer guns

    https://www.aftermath.com/content/accidental-shooting-deaths-statistics/

    • “In 2021 there were at least 377 unintentional shootings by children. This resulted in 154 deaths and 242 injuries in the United States.”

      I am in no way attempting to excuse any dead human being via unnatural cause, but 154 out of some 330 million is not much of an impact. I have to wonder how that number might compare to those killed by bees or wasps during the same time period…

      • to Craig

        Your attitude “Losses can never be too high when the children are sacrificed on the alter of “no gun control”. And it was all preventable.

        • dacian the demented dipshit,

          Cool story, bro!!! Now do children drowning in pools (ENTIRELY preventable), accidental poison/medication ingestion (ENTIRELY preventable), medical malpractice (largely preventable).

          The absolute, politically-driven fascist hypocrisy of you Leftist/fascists would be laughable, if it weren’t such a pathetic scam on the stupid and ignorant (such as yourself). Go commit self-fornication, you lying s***weasel.

        • “… And it was all preventable.”

          So- YOUR attitude is that “if it saves one child’s life”, it’s worth tossing out all of the God-given rights of all Americans? There won’t be much agreement on that one, whether here on TTAG or in the American court of public opinion.

          You might be far more effective preaching to the crowd about the drugs flowing in over our open borders, or the preying criminal element that also flows in, as well as the coyotes and cartels themselves who have created the human trafficing situation. In any of those, and other cases, far more children would easily be saved.

        • That is not what Craig said at all. And your too ignorant to understand what was meant.

          We have gun control, gun control does not stop the criminals. Just as Socialism does not relieve poverty, nor does Communism, and your Fascist tendencies do not promote a healthy society either.

          Your the reason for people stating “Some peoples children. “

    • There are just as many guns per capita in those states, they’re just not “registered” by thugs and gang bangers.

  10. Negligent or accidental discharge of a firearm is just nature weeding out the stupid.
    There is no excuse for screwing around and mishandling potentially deadly/dangerous pieces of equipment.

  12. Breakingexisting records for gun ownership DOES not mean that it’s right-only that that the GUN INDUSTRY is putting profit before death and destruction in it’s never ending exercise convincing that SELF DEFENCE with a deadly weaopon if the New Religion when you know and I know that any attempt at self defecnce with a fire arme if s far more likely to cause loss of life than it is to save it. All gun ownership for Mr Average American means is that the Bad Guy or Gal, who has just the same survival instincts as anybody else, is far more likely and encouaged to use a firearm as a first optiion he of she feels threatened and they almost ALWAYS have the advantage becasue it’s pretty much a given cedrtainty that the bad guy or gal will have GUN IN HAND whilst you will have some fancy dan HOLSTER recommend by THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS writer who is collecting a hefty commission or AS RECOMMENDED above it will be in you bloody BEDSIDE SAFE .

    GO ON DISPROVE ME! Epecially the COMMISION bit!

    • No, we just laugh at you to your face, and behind your back.

      Because everybody knows fake Brits *hate* being laughed at… 😉

    • Some people just need killing. Mr red shoes in NYC for example. Criminals are just out to get an easy score. Seen tons of video where they shit themselves taking return fire. Remember “He shot my arm off “? Squealed like a bitch or pompous limey.

  14. I’m going to get a lot of hate when I make the statement that it is safer to carry your gun “Israeli style” with a full magazine and an empty chamber.
    Yes, you now have to rack the slide to get the gun into action.
    That takes entire one second, and two hands.
    And it is possible to short stroke the slide in an emergency situation.
    I accept these drawbacks and exchange for the added safety.
    Every single one of the negligent discharges mentioned in the article above would have been prevented by empty chamber carry.
    Most TTAG readers will be surprised to find that in the analysis of gun fights the great majority of citizens have plenty of time to get their gun into action.
    I refer you all to “Five Year analysis of the Armed Citizen”by Claude Werner.

  15. “Breakingexisting records for gun ownership DOES not mean that it’s right-only that that the GUN INDUSTRY is putting profit before death and destruction in it’s never ending exercise convincing that SELF DEFENCE with a deadly weaopon if the New Religion when you know and I know that any attempt at self defecnce with a fire arme if s far more likely to cause loss of life than it is to save it.”

    If there is record breaking numbers of people buying firearms, sounds to me it is consumer driven. People have decided for a variety of reason the need/want a firearm.

    What would you use in self defense? Not that self defense is allowed in your professed Country or residence. Would you, if able, use a cricket bat? What if you hit them in the chest and they went into cardiac arrest and died? Would that cricket bat be a deadly weapon that the cricket bat industry put profit over human life to sell?

    Every side can point to a study that shows DGU results, and both sides can find fault with the others studies. My opinion is this, you decide what you are comfortable with and what injustices you suffer from others. Myself, the commission of a forcible felony is my decision point to engage whether armed or not. Some may be comfortable filming a forcible felony and posting it, others see the responsibility to their fellow human to intervene. That choice is yours.

    ” All gun ownership for Mr Average American means is that the Bad Guy or Gal, who has just the same survival instincts as anybody else, is far more likely and encouaged to use a firearm as a first optiion he of she feels threatened and they almost ALWAYS have the advantage becasue it’s pretty much a given cedrtainty that the bad guy or gal will have GUN IN HAND whilst you will have some fancy dan HOLSTER recommend by THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS writer who is collecting a hefty commission or AS RECOMMENDED above it will be in you bloody BEDSIDE SAFE .”

    Situational awareness. When you are among humans, especially in the times we live, one must be aware of those around them. Predators whether human or animal share common traits that give away their intentions. Situational awareness is noticed by these people, and most will avoid you. Those who think you are a target, failing to evaluate you properly, will also recognize your intentions as they approach you. Where are your hands? Where are you looking? What do your eyes say? I have no issues with moving my hands openly to show I know your intent and am responding to it.

    At night, my firearm is not in the safe, it is of no use there. My security systems, my locked doors are all there for dissuade a bad person. If they ignore the obvious, they will meet a large cranky dog who has complete loyalty to her family. Injure that dog, and you will likely not make it thru the night. If they ignore these things, the intent is not good, and I will respond with the force morality and the State allows me too. If they die, it is a result of their actions, not mine. I will not fret over it.

    “GO ON DISPROVE ME! Epecially the COMMISION bit!”

    I do not care if the authors receive a commission for their articles, since most will include that information. Carpe Diem.

    You really haven’t said much to be disproved, nothing you stated is reality.

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