Story from a reader

[darwin]

I don't know if you would call this negligent or accidental, but either way it was a wake up call. I want to share this as an example of how an accidental discharge could happen to anyone.

I have been around weapons my whole life. I shoot sporting clays regularly and make it to the pistol range about every other month.

Last week I purchased a new CZ SP01 for my wife for home protection. I wanted the double action/single action feature for safety so that the first round could be fired double action thereby requiring a deliberate action to make the weapon fire. While trying the weapon out for the first time, I lowered the hammer on to a live round in order to try out the double action feature and the weapon fired. I got a nasty bite on my thumb, but the weapon was pointed downrange and no one got hurt.

A good friend of mine who introduced me to sporting clays a decade or so ago once told me that "if you hang around guns long enough, one day one will go off when you don't want it to. The only difference between that being an embarrassment and a tragedy is where the end of the gun is pointed". For the first time in my life a weapon has gone off when I didn't want it to. Fortunately it was just an embarrassment. However, I have renewed respect for the possibility that it can happen, and a renewed commitment to remain ever vigilant to prevent it and to ensure if it does, it remains an embarrassment and not a tragedy.

Please don't use my name. I'm too embarrassed - but fortunately, my wife and I are still alive.

[loneviking]

Your story shows a common problem with CZ pistols and that is there is no decocker. That's why I carry a Sig P6 as I won't use a gun where I have to manually drop the hammer onto a live,chambered round.