fl.huntress

Now I know I'm going to get dogged on for this and I deserve all the mean and nasties y'all can come up with but i figured I'd share this one in hopes that it will make at least one of y'all think. Nothin' y'all can say isn't something that I haven't already said to myself.

As most of y'all know I am a safety freak...safety first always!! I mean I'm the one who will wear my harness 7ft off the ground,while climbing up and down, i bring orange when it's not required, i bring tons of precautionary things each trip, etc, etc, etc.
I'm always the safe one and have pride in myself for being that way but............

Yesterday evening I wasn't as safe as I thought I was. Almost took myself out on the walk and stalk back to my truck. I had my Knight Muzzleloader and the screw safety undone like most of the time. I was relying on the front push safety if needed. My arms started gettin' a lil worn out so I put it on my shoulder for a bit. I checked the safety and it looked like it was on. I walked a hundred yards, if that, and switched arms...crossed this lil wet area and as soon as I hit the dryer part of the trail I heard "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM". I screamed and next thing you know i'm on the ground rubbing my ear/head and hip. I knew something hit me but I didn't know exactly what happended. Scared me half to death. Even though the initial reaction wasn't fear. No time for fear to enter my brain which was kinda cool. I thought someone was shootin' at me thinkin' I was a deer but that's when I noticed it was my gun that was smoking and the emotions went into overdrive. I got the nerve up to check for blood. That's was probably the worst part. After searching and making sure I was still alive I realized the barrel had hit my ear and the bolt nailed me in the hip. In other words I got LUCKY...WAY LUCKY!!! Blessed beyond words. The top of the barrel was thankfully pointed away and up high enough to where the bullet went up and back a lil. I looked my gun over and realized that my trigger and safety were loose so my safety was not on. But for the life of me I can not seem to figure out how the trigger got touched. Only thing that makes sense is that maybe it got caught on my backpack but i'm not sure if I was moving it to the other arm at that time or not. The little details don't really matter at this point. They should have mattered more in the first place. All I know
I never thought I'd ever have something like happen to me. Never in a million years. Winning the lottery would be more feasable (sp?) and if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.
A part of me wasn't going to tell anyone because I am ashamed, embarrassed, urked at myself beyond words, etc. but I decided that I have to tell y'all so hopefully next time y'all will think about how lucky I got and take that extra moment to make sure you are truly safe cause the next person may not be so lucky. Y'all please be safe!!

SyPTo

i guess you learned the big lesson "NEVER trust a Rifle"

Rifle is still a mechanical part, and safety can fail , no matter how many safety's you have on a particular model... even that 1 in a millionth chance i won't take...so even if i would go stalk hunting i will not have it loaded at all..

jrbsr

I am really glad you are OK.

It took guts to tell this story.

And I will not rib you for it.

Poop happens in the woods.

We just have to learn from out mistakes.

I had a simler thing happen to me with,
A 357 magnum revolver.

To make a long story short I have 2 guarter size scars,
On my right calf where the bullet entered and exited.

Like I said before poop happens.

Thank GOD He was with you.

And Thank You for your story.

skeeter 7MM

It takes bigshoulders to admit mistakes and swallow their pridejust toremind others how easily things can turn horribly wrong in the field. Cudos and thanks for the reminder!!! I am glad your ok.

WVCritter

Yeah, it did take a lot of guts to post this story but others may learn from your bad experience. I have a Knight muzzleloader and I always keep the screw in the safe position, the trigger safety on and the plunger let down. It's only when I see a deer that I pull the plunger back, unscrew the plunger safety and then take the trigger safety off. Mine uses #11 percussion caps and I don't know if this will work with the 209 ignition. Glad you're ok now get back out there and hunt.

strut

Thank you for the story FLH, I have a couple of Knight rifles and always leave the screw down thumb safety on until I'm ready to shoot, Thanks again for the reminder and thank God that you or no one else was seriously injured or killed

rgarza

An old timer told me once that the devil puts bullets in unloaded guns. He also moves safeties, loosens triggers, etc. The smart thing was that you had the gun pointed in a safe direction and so he didn't get you, this time.

You can NEVER be too careful when the devil is out to get you. This thought has always helped me to be careful, and I hope it helps others.

mauser06

thanx for sharing the story..takes some guts...EXSPECIALLY on this board!! lol......i know safteys can fail...and always try to keep my muzzle pointed in a safe direction...that would just scare me...exspecially being that when i hunt im usually with a group of guys....and the worst part is some of them arent as careful as they should be....and us smarter guys are always watching their guns as well as ours...just never know when the saftey gets bumped by us..our bodys..packs ect..or a twig or brush..then the gun gets jarred and goes off or the trigger gets bumped....i know myself im always checking my saftey and watching good..but it can happen to anyone..you sound like you are like me...dad taught me from the beginning to check my saftey all the time....when i shot my first squirrel i was all excited and though the gun had no ammo in it i closed the bolt...and left the saftey off....i caught some heat from dad when i handed it to him and he noticed it....he had a hammer fall on a 30-30 lever gun when he was a kid....thats why he passed the major saftey on to me.....noone was hurt in his accidental discharge...just the ground...i dont know the story but i guess it was at that kinda half cock most people carry lever guns at and it some how fell.....glad your not hurt...thanx for reminding me one more time.......

Buckstopshere

Every reader will benefit from your story.
I had just the opposite experience with my Knight. The trigger woldn't pull back. I had a big deer in bow shot range but couldn't fire the gun. I changed the aim while trying to discharge the weapon and it did fire. Missed the deer. who remained curious . The sound of the reloading and closing the breech finally spooked it away. I took the gun apart and sprayed the trigger mechanisim with wd40 and haven't had the problem since. It's unlikely, but maybe your trigger (sear?) was caught in an " in between" position , regardless of the position of the trigger safety.
I hope some others will come forward with their "lessons well learned" so that the rest of us can avoid an unforseen consequence.

Chuck7

First ..I'm thankful that you are alive. Stuff happens . Because of what you said I won't put my primer in till I'm in my stand. Black powder is very fun and very dangerous too. You may want to post this in the black powder section. Your experience could save another person's life.

God bless,
Chuck7