Confession time...

[IronKnees]

:?  Experience and Complacency...

I did something today... and it really got my attention. Yesterday, a new scope arrived that I ordered from Cabela's to mount on one of my rifles... This morning, I opened the gun case, got out the rifle, and proceeded to mount the scope. I already had the rings and tools laid out, and my cleaning box and rifle cradle ready, so it was a simple matter of mounting the new one-piece base, and going through the obvious steps of mounting the scope... Got the reticle (spelling) all nice and lined up, finished tightening everything down, and since the bases are the see through kind, did a bit of sighting through them with the open sights and then, bringing the rifle back up and sighting through the scope... Nothing out of the ordinary there at all....
    Then, while grabbing a sandwich for lunch, I realized that NOT ONCE did I open the action, or cycle the lever (Marlin 336) to check the rifle... It really hit me hard. I am very strict with myself in this area, and I can honestly say that I  never get out a gun of any kind without first, pointing it in a safe direction, and checking the action carefully...
    As a professional pilot, I am fully familiar with the dangers of complacency, and how it can "sneak up" on you, especially with years of experience. It's just as true in other areas and professions as well. 50 years of handling firearms is no excuse for getting careless, and that is precisely what I just let happen... Never too old to learn... Never too old for a self imposed attitude adjustment... and humble enough to admit a mistake... Dave (IronKnees) Quick
NOTE: PLEASE DON'T GET ON ME ABOUT MOUNTING A SCOPE ON A LEVER GUN... I HAVE TO, CAN'T SEE THE IRON SIGHTS WELL ENOUGH TO USE THEM ANY MORE...  :cry:

[Ron T.]

It's easy to do, Dave... I've ALMOST done the same thing many times.

All our kids are grown up and gone... and I keep all my long guns unloaded in a protected gun-cabinet that NO ONE except me EVER gets into... so it's a hassle to take out and open the rifle or shotgun to inspect its chamber when you "KNOW" that no one except yourself has touched ANY of the guns in the cabinet.

BUT... regardless, ya gotta check 'em... ya gotta "LOOK"!  I've been doing it for over 50 years and never found one loaded......... yet!

The closest I came to finding a firearm "loaded" was when I found a .270 Model 70 Winchester's barrel obstructed by a cleaning patch when a hunting buddy handed me the rifle and a round... and kept urging me to "Go ahead, load it and SHOOT!"

Fortunately, my "caution" has included ALWAYS looking down a rifle's or shotgun's barrel (with the action OPEN, of course) to insure the barrel is "clear" BEFORE I "load" the firearm, regardless of the "peer pressure".

You're probably "harder" on yourself than any of us would be.  Bet you don't "forget" to do it again, eh... Dave?

Good Hunting!

Ron T.

[Robert]

You might remember my post last July about blowing my pinky off with an 'unloaded' rifle.  There is no such thing as being 'too safe'.  I made certain that rifle was empty, but the tube magazine got jambed and I didnt know it.  I showed P.J. how the action worked, and didnt realize that in doing so, I chambered a round.  I learned a very valuable lesson, and thank God that I didnt shoot P.J.  We would certainly miss hearing about all his new toys, aargggh.
  Just for fun...try this.  Bend your finger at  the first knucle, and try to scratch an itch in your ear.
    Sincerely, Robert9fingers

[longwinters]

Thanks for the reminder IronKnees.  I think all of us  can  get apathetic or forgetful at times . . . after all "It could never happen to me".  Your "almost" could remind someone else before its too late.

[volshooter]

What kind of sandwich? This happens to everyone at somepoint, and I mean everyone. If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will. Be careful. Thanks for fessing up IronKnees, makes me feel better hearing you say that.
A few years ago our local police dept had set up a $50 gun buy back. We managed to secure the property just before the buy back area and set up signs and tables offering free professional gun values. (some folks had real bueaties they didn't know about) Yes we did buy several guns ourselves but quite a few were sent to local gunshops for consighnment sales. Many widows had their late husbands guns and no one to tell them what to do with them. This whole event was being filmed. When an elderly lady drove up, she had 2- .22 rifles in her back seat. I opened the door to get them and with the first one I got so excited that I didn't check the chamber first! I did point it in a safe direction but the looked at the make/model before I opened the action. Caught on tape! The first rifle I looked at was a Remington SpeedMaster, a real beauty, only very slight wear. The other was a Remington 66 autoloader. She was going to let the police have these beauties for $50 each! This lady was told her rifles were worth alot more than $50. She asked me what I thought and I said I'd give $100 apeice myself. She said SOLD! ( I didn't intend to actually buy them but) I sold the 66 for $250 and kept the Speed Master for myself (did you guys know it will shoot .22 shorts just as well as .22 LR?)
Rick

BTW We didn't pressure anyone into stopping by and didn't heckel anyone who just wanted to "get another gun off the street" What you do with your gun is your business. The whole thing was part of a HUD money deal. That I opposed. Money for guns instead of fixing up projects, scheesh, give me a break. Oh, it was the last time HUD done a buyback in east TN. :grin:

[Graybeard]

You guys got UNLOADED guns in your house? What the heck good is an unloaded gun? Mine stay loaded all the time. No need to wonder. Just accept the fact they are loaded and iffen ya gonna handle one ya first gonna unload it. Now somewhere in the house there "might" be one that is unloaded. BUT since my policy is loaded guns I still treat them as loaded and for sure most all will be.

GB

[DesertRam]

I'm with GB - all the guns in my house are loaded.  Well, there might be one at the back of the safe that isn't, but overall, I know that if I pick up a gun, it's loaded.  I want to know that if I need a gun, it's going to be more than a club!  Of course, the handguns that are out for such instances will soon be locked in a small "rapid access" safe because of the little one, but it'll still be loaded.  I grew up around loaded guns and agree that unloaded firearms, like "dull" knives, are far more dangerous than the loaded or sharp ones.  It's always the unloaded guns that get you.

[Kragman71]

Iron Knees,
First;keeping your guns loaded vs unloaded is strictly your personal preference and respossibility. Situations vary a lot,from one Household to another. As for Me;only one gun is loaded,and guns that don't get used very often,have trigger locks.
I  confess to having an offset scope on my Winchester '94 carbine.
I also confess to making the same mistake that you did. My den/workshop is upstairs and away from every place else,and I can leave a setup in place,just as you did. That convience causes my complacency,at times.
Frank

[Mikey]

Ummmmm, Dave - how soft are your three point (or three bounce) landings??????  Just askin'.  Mikey.

[Power]

My college roomate brought out his 10/22 for an outing one day. Just messing around in out apt. he picked up his gun and pointed it at the huge, pane-glass window in the front. I asked what he was doing and he said he was just looking through the scope. He's been around 22's since he was 8 so he acts like he never makes a mistake. I was nervous as there is no good reason to point a gun out the window of your residence. I turned and then "Bang!".

With a ringing in my ears I turned and my friend had pulled the trigger. Luckily he decided to aim up at the ceiling at the last second, just in case. Put a nice hole in the celiing that was there up to the day we moved out. The real scary part was our upstairs neighbors. We rushed upstairs but they weren't home. They were good friends of our and later we told them what happened. I still remind him of that day 12+ years later.

[Cabin4]

As much as it concerns me the mistake of you not checking to see if the chamber is clear, I think it pails in significance to the fact that you can't see and your a Pro Pilot !!!!   Now, what airlines do you fly for ?  

[Ron T.]

Cabin4...

Dave (IronKnees) is a RETIRED airline pilot...    


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

[jhm]

Somehow I fail to find any humor in the fact that dave is a retired pilot. J  JIM

[ButlerFord45]

jhm  
Being a retired military pilot (who is starting to appreciate scopes much more cause I cant see the iron sights), I'm tickeled to death that Dave (who uses scopes cause he cant see the iron sights) has retired from flying!!!!

[jhm]

Butler:  I will agree with that if that was the intended part of rons reply I thought he was making light of him being a pilot and that maybe it was humerous he had made a mistake with a firearm, I have always thought that pilots were the only profession where they earned their wages with all of that responsibility and lives riding on their decisions. didnt mean to offend anyone but a pilot to me has a lot of my respect both commercial and military.     JIM

[ButlerFord45]

jhm
Thanks for the compliment, and no offense taken, just tryin' ta help ya find the funnie.


 

[Dave in WV]

Dave, thanks for sharing this. You're not alone in the eye sight problem. Think your dot sight is going bad? Get glasses! I learned that one the hard way. Think a pilot with old eyes is a problem? Try being a Herk FE and see the overhead panel with "reading" glasses!:shock: NVGs were a joke for me.  Dave

[Ron T.]

jhm…..

I, too, am a pilot and a member of IronKnee’s (Dave Quick’s) forum to which he’s just made some vast improvements.  Therefore, I have the upmost RESPECT for Dave and his abilities.

Being a pilot, myself, I know the difficulty in earning one’s “ATR” (Air Transport Rating)… the most difficult FAA license or “rating” there is to obtain, and a license which Dave has obviously attained.

This is the license which entitles it’s holder to fly airliners.  In order to get one’s ATR, one must first study hard and earn all the “lower” FAA pilot’s licenses & rating including your Private Pilot, Single Engine Land, then your then your Instrument Rating, then your Commercial Pilot’s License, then your multi-engine rating, then, after passing a written and actual flight test for each rating, one must have enough hours as pilot-in-command and study hard and pass both an extensive written FAA test as well as a tough FAA flight test to get his/her ATR.  As you can see, it’s a long, tough road to one’s ATR… and that’s ONLY the BEGINING!

Once a pilot has his ATR, a pilot must get his “type rating”, meaning he must have a set number of hours at pilot-in-command in the type of jet liner which he intends to fly plus many, many hours of difficult study about all the systems for that kind or “type” of aircraft such as a Boeing 747.

Therefore, I’d be the LAST one to ever make fun of… or laugh at a pilot’s or ANY man’s dimming eyesight.  Besides, I’m older than Dave by 15 years and know EXACTLY what he means.

My “laughing icon” was added to my post because I found it funny that Cabin4 jokingly (note the laughing icon he used at the end of his post) showed concerned that Dave was still flying airliners and he (Cabin4) wanted to find out what airline Dave flew for so he (Cabin4) could avoid flying the particular airline for which Dave was working due to the fact that airline employed pilots who had sight problems.

Obviously, Cabin4 was joking and I was simply going along with him and poking fun at him as well.

Now that you know the FACTS, don’t you think that it's FUNNY?


Ron T.

[jhm]

I can see where it could be funny,   JIM