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ND..It Happened To Me ... Be EXTRA CAREFULL using Snap Caps in a Semi-Auto Handgun...

Outdoorsman1

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
1,248
Location
Silver Lake WI
Ok.. first off .. I have already thought of and condemned myself in anyway and everyway anybody here could. To the point of seriously considering NOT carrying anymore.... Here's the story...

I recently purchased snap caps (fake practice rounds)to practice trigger pull without actually firing the firearm. I heard (from instuctors) that they can be used in a Mag combined with live ammo when shooting at the range. Load a combination of both so when shooting you unexpectedly fire a snap cap you can check your reaction compared to firing a live round. So when I got home I loaded a Mag with only snap caps and a second Mag with a combination of both snap and live ammo (for use at the range). I made the MISTAKE of putting a snap cap as the last "round" in each Mag so to look at them all you seen was the (purple) snap cap. I layed both mags on the kitchen table. I then got a phone call from my son in Florida who is dealing with some serious health issues and looking at the possibility of loosing the use of his right arm. After the call I picked up a Mag., put it in my Glock 27 and chambered the snap cap that was on top of the Mag. I went into the living room and preceeded to "practice" my trigger pull with what I thought was the Mag loaded with only snap caps. You can guess the rest.... 1st trigger pull... ClicK... I manuall racked the slide to eject the snap cap and chamber the second... 2nd trigger pull... BANG..... a 40. Cal. hole im my hallway wall... I had MISTAKENLY grabbed the wrong Mag... THANK GOD THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE IN MY HOUSE...

I checked and made sure the bullet did not exit and exterior wall and spent the next 6 hours paceing in my kitchen and trying to get my heart out of my throat and stop the rapid heart beat that sounded like a bass drum in my head.

That was four days ago... I have not carried since... Starting today, I will carry again on a daily basis as before but with the KNOWLEDGE and MEMORY of my SEVERE STUPIDITY. I have also drilled a small hole in the empty casing and will wear it around my neck forever as a constant reminder of the day I could have NEGLIGENTLY killed someone...

I HAD to post this here to help me in getting past this as well as WARN EVERBODY about the unexpected DANGER of using snap caps in a semi-auto...

Outdoorsman1
 
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H

Herr Heckler Koch

Guest
It takes a good man to admit error.

LOADED MUZZLE TRIGGER TARGET
  • All guns are LOADED unless they are not.
  • Cover with the MUZZLE that only which would be destroyed.
  • Keep your finger off the TRIGGER.
  • Know your TARGET and what is beyond.
 
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Outdoorsman1

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
1,248
Location
Silver Lake WI
Herr...

Thanks...

Yes, I know all the rules you mentioned... No excuses....

As amatter of fact I have taken multiple firearm saftey classes and up until 4 days ago, prided myself as being a safe firearm handler....

THATS THE SCARY PART....

Outdoorsman1
 

TyGuy

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
775
Location
, ,
I won't preach about what you did or didn't do correct. All I will say is that I'm glad no one was hurt and that you, and everyone else, can use this as a teaching moment. I'm sure you'll never make the same mistake again! All the best, and everyone out there stay safe.
 

HandyHamlet

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
2,772
Location
Terra, Sol
No excuses....

You are alive. And no one is hurt. And welcome to the club. :uhoh:

They are called negligent discharges because they actually happen. To real people. Doesn't matter how much training you have. All it takes is one distrac.... Oh look! Shiny!
 

SovereignAxe

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
791
Location
Elizabethton, TN
I like your idea of wearing the casing as a reminder. If I may make a suggestion though-cover it in something. Enamel, matte medium, a very tough paint, plate it in nickel-something to keep it from turning nasty. I'm assuming this is a brass case, and not a nickel one. If it's nickel, ignore this whole post. But if it's brass, having it up against your chest will make it dark and nasty in no time and you'll be reluctant to put it back on when it does.
 

amaixner

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
308
Location
Linn County, Iowa
For a suggestion, I have decided that the place to practice dry-fire is in a basement, where the wall has nothing behind it but dirt.
 

Outdoorsman1

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
1,248
Location
Silver Lake WI
Thanks for the suggestions...

Yes it is a brass case and I would not have thought of coating it.... I will based on your suggestion...

As I live in a mobile home (trailer), I have no basement... I will NEVER pull ANY trigger in ANY type of house or garage, etc... ALL my snap cap practice will be either at the range our outside pointed in a SAFE targeted area...

Edited To Add.. As a matter of fact... Before this I was a firm believer in the firearm NEVER leaves the holster unless self defense is mandatory or at the range... I think I will get back to that way of thinking and practice it to the extreme...

Outdoorsman1
 
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64Impala

Regular Member
Joined
May 17, 2010
Messages
21
Location
brooklyn, wi
All my practice, dry-fire mags have a different colored bottom plate on them, so i know at a glance what I have. I don't have any live ammunition in my practice area (basement) and my firearm gets cleared in a different room, the live round mags are left in that room until I'm done practicing. I never mix-match practice and live fire mags.

Glad to hear nobody was hurt. +1 on the basement.
 

ayce2

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
89
Location
Greater Fox cities area
opposite problem

the range master where I just finished a 4 day training suggested throwing all snap caps away because not only can they get you in trouble by going bang when you expect a click, but when you need the bang and just get a click it could mean your life!
 

jpm84092

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Messages
1,066
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
May We All Learn From This Incident

Snap Caps have their place, particularly when used under the direction of a qualified firearms instructor. However, having a pre-loaded mixed magazine, particularly when not at a range, is inherently dangerous. The idea behind cap and dummy is to have another person load the magazine at the range with the muzzle down-range and with a live round on top so you are reminded that there is at least one live round in the magazine. Then, all trigger pulls are done down range. The instructor can then evaluate what the student is doing correctly as well as what is being done incorrectly.

Snap caps are not necessary to dry fire a modern center-fire handgun (rim-fire is another matter). I personally limit their use in my class to teaching safe loading practice with no live ammo in the room - or cap and dummy practice at the range. The Yellow Cat teaches dry fire with no ammunition in the room. It appears that one of my students has had a memory lapse.

What happened was avoidable, but I am sure that any browbeating that I might give you would be far and away less than you have already given yourself. I hope the members of this forum will view this as a teaching moment.
 

Shotgun

Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
2,668
Location
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Wow, that's quite a story! Yes, we are all relieved to read that nobody was injured. I too believe in snap caps as training tools, but I never have a magazine with both live rounds and snap caps anywhere but at the firing range. Elsewhere, my magazines have only live rounds, snap caps only, or are empty. The same is true of my revolver speed loaders.

Knowing the safety rules is important, but probably few unintended discharges happen to people who are unfamiliar with the rules. For that reason I always emphasize that "attitude" is the most important factor in gun safety. Being able to recite the rules in your sleep does little good if one does not continually resolve to follow them at all times. One mental lapse is all it takes to get bad consequences, no matter the level of experience or skill.

Yes, thanks for having the courage to share this so that others may benefit from the lessons learned. It could not have been easy for you to admit the mistake, but that you did shows that you care about your fellow shooters. For that I applaud you. Stay safe!
 

hazek

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2011
Messages
88
Location
--
OP, you should probably watch this:

[video=youtube;o6Y7LIJm5gI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Y7LIJm5gI[/video]
 

E6chevron

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Messages
528
Location
Milwaukee Wisconsin
All my practice, dry-fire mags have a different colored bottom plate on them, so i know at a glance what I have. I don't have any live ammunition in my practice area (basement) and my firearm gets cleared in a different room, the live round mags are left in that room until I'm done practicing. I never mix-match practice and live fire mags.

Glad to hear nobody was hurt. +1 on the basement.

64Impala, Good advice and protocol.

Yellow Cat's suggestion to always have at least one live cartridge on the top of the mixed mag is a great idea, to make sure that the entire magazine is to be treated as if every cartridge was live.

For those who don't have enough mags, to dedicate one permanently to dry-fire use, with/without snapcaps, I suggest the brightly colored poster hanging putty from an office supply store, and flatten out a section to completely cover the bottom of the magazine. Nothing but snap-caps are loaded in that dry-fire magazine, if I ever had a need to put any live rounds in it, I would first peel off the turquoise putty on the bottom of the mag.

A mixed mag, of snap-caps and live rounds, can be useful in some training for jam/misfire clearing practice. The mags should only be loaded in that fashion, AT the RANGE, and if you have done that, before leaving the range, you should empty every mag you had out, to make sure none contain snap-caps.
 
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AaronS

Regular Member
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
1,497
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
I won't preach about what you did or didn't do correct. All I will say is that I'm glad no one was hurt and that you, and everyone else, can use this as a teaching moment. I'm sure you'll never make the same mistake again! All the best, and everyone out there stay safe.


I would like to have gone off about this, but I would agree with what Ty said.

In the end, I am just happy everyone is ok.

I cant say that you should not feel bad about this, it was a real bad move.
Same time, you are not the first, and will not be the last to do a thing like this. I had a "bad" day once as well. Not the same as yours, but still dumb.
Just remember what you did (I know you will), and move on.

Bet you are even "more safe" today!
 

Outdoorsman1

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
1,248
Location
Silver Lake WI
Thanks to all for the good advice....

My apologies to the Yellow Cat for not being a better (safer) student... You DID teach me to know better...

I am learning a lot today...

Outdoorsman1
 

wild boar

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
445
Location
wisconsin
I scared the hell out of myself...

chambering a round in my Beretta M-9. The safety is a decocker, when I chamber a round I never let the slide close hard, I control it. In doing so the hammer didn't strike until I removed my hand, man I know the beating heart. Even though I had just placed the safety on one second prior to the chambering I was shaking. Unloaded, dismantled the pistol, that's just the way it is. Let it close a little harder and you don't even notice it. boar out.
 
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sawah

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
436
Location
Virginia
Actually that's pretty classic. Storing live and snap cap mags on the same table/room, emergency phone call, then forgetting what you were doing.

Glad no one was hurt. Don't beat yourself up over it, i.e. wearing the casing - that's silly. :)
 

Da Po-lock

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Messages
131
Location
Green Bay, WI
Glad to hear no one was hurt especially that it happened in a mobile home. We lived in one for a few years and luckily the bullet didn't hit somebody outside or have someone hear it. Those walls are pretty thin and weak.

Not to get snarky here or anything but postng an incident like this on the internet makes me cringe for several reasons.

1. Obviously could be seen as reckless by the firearm fraidie-cat antis who would have a field day reading this. (We all know they are always lurking around here) More fuel for their fire. Admitting negligence with a firearm EVER will prove their point that even with the manditory training we are still not competent to carry guns in public.

2. Possibility of one of your neighbors reading or even hearing about this.

3.The remote possibility (depending upon where you live) of being tracked down through your IP address and questioned or fined for discharging a firearm within a city limits.

4. Having your license revoked because of this somehow.

Seems with the anti-gun sentiment anything is possible.

May want to consider deleting or wiping out what you posted all together.
 
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