# Press the shutter, not the trigger. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 2, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681 "2015-09-02T05:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/21 "2015-09-02T16:39:16Z")
Truly a photo finish. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/22 "2015-09-02T17:59:07Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Truly a photo finish. Excellent username/post combo. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/23 "2015-09-02T18:10:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, are we actually sure that this was an accident? Guy aims a gun at his own head and shoots, I’m inclined to think deliberate suicide. That’s possible. Perhaps he staged so his friends and family would think he was a blithering idiot rather than suicidal. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/24 "2015-09-02T18:12:03Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I want to make fun of this guy but I don’t have the heart. Two kids without a father for a \*really \*stupid reason. That’s debatable. Perhaps the next day Dad might have posed one of THEM with a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/25 "2015-09-02T18:18:55Z")
This is my camera, This is my gun. This one’s for selfie-ing, This one’s for . . . whoops, not fun. This isn’t just an American thing. In Russia, [according to CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/asia/russia-selfie-death-brochure/index.html), selfie-destruction has become such an epidemic that the Interior Ministry has put out a “safe selfie” guide: > [@](#): > > The two-page guide contains infographics that resemble road signs, most of which are based on actual incidents – such as the case of a 21-year-old Muscovite who accidentally shot herself in the head and a teenager from the Ryazan region who died after trying to take a photograph of herself on railway tracks. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/26 "2015-09-02T18:40:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, are we actually sure that this was an accident? Guy aims a gun at his own head and shoots, I’m inclined to think deliberate suicide. The article says that he found the gun, so it wasn’t his and he wasn’t familiar with its operation. “Found” could mean a lot of things, but I won’t go there. What I imagine, and what happens when people are not familiar with handguns, is that he removed the magazine/clip with the bullets in it and thought that unloaded the gun completely. Or that the magazine/clip was empty and in the gun and he had accounted for all the rounds. Not realizing that there is a round already chambered that can remain in the gun even after the mag is pulled out. Showing off, taking a selfie, oops, BLAM! Where the hell did that bullet come from?? ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/27 "2015-09-02T21:46:13Z")
Not to get into a whole magazine/clip derailment, but you’ll be better off to just always just say magazine. You’ll be correct 99% of the time. As far as I know there are no modern pistols that use clips. And rifles that use them generally don’t make the news. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/28 "2015-09-03T04:32:57Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Truly a photo finish. About 0.001 seconds after the starting pistol; not bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/29 "2015-09-03T04:35:13Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The article says that he found the gun, so it wasn’t his and he wasn’t familiar with its operation. “Found” could mean a lot of things, but I won’t go there. > > What I imagine, and what happens when people are not familiar with handguns, is that he removed the magazine/clip with the bullets in it and thought that unloaded the gun completely. Or that the magazine/clip was empty and in the gun and he had accounted for all the rounds. > > Not realizing that there is a round already chambered that can remain in the gun even after the mag is pulled out. > > Showing off, taking a selfie, oops, BLAM! Where the hell did that bullet come from?? Since that sort of accident seem to happen relatively often, wouldn’t it make sense for automatic handguns to have a safety lock that if the magazine is removed firing would be impossible? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/30 "2015-09-03T04:52:54Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Since that sort of accident seem to happen relatively often, wouldn’t it make sense for automatic handguns to have a safety lock that if the magazine is removed firing would be impossible? Some do. It’s controversial in self-defense circles. Some want the magazine lock as they can disable the gun in a struggle by dropping the magazine while others want to be able to reload during a fight while leaving a round chambered in case they need to take a shot with the mag out. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/31 "2015-09-03T07:19:40Z")
Does anyone else have a story rattling around their brains of a fellow ho decided to play Russian Roulette -_with a friggin’ Automatic!_? Seems he put one (just one!) cartridge in the magazine, operated the slide, and pulled the trigger. This is (I sincerely hope) just food for Snopes, but I can almost believe somebody is (well, was) stupid enough to think there was a non-zero chance of a round firing. The Second Amendment - ridding the country of select idiots for over 200 years! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/32 "2015-09-03T12:30:07Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Par for the corpse? OK… its a hole in one… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/33 "2015-09-03T12:32:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > That’s possible. Perhaps he staged so his friends and family would think he was a blithering idiot rather than suicidal. Or he wanted someone to feel guilty by having a picture of his shooting himself. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/34 "2015-09-03T13:51:11Z")
Is this one of those :rub your tummy, pat your head: things? I could never do that. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/35 "2015-09-03T14:26:21Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Does anyone else have a story rattling around their brains of a fellow ho decided to play Russian Roulette -_with a friggin’ Automatic!_? Yes. [In Houston Texas](http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2000-04.html) Maybe it’s something in the water. ETA: Or maybe just being 19. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/36 "2015-09-03T17:38:01Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > A 19-year-old Houston man is dead after police say he accidentally shot himself while taking ‘selfies’ while holding a gun. Rather than accidentally I would say unwittingly- that is, in the absence of wits. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/37 "2015-09-03T18:22:15Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > At 19 [he’s](http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2015/09/01/teen-accidentally-shoots-self-while-taking-selfie/71546868/) already got two kids, so the pool is still stocked. I actually know right where that is (used to work down Bissonnet)… the residents of that area aren’t known for much other than criminality and squalor, so I’m not terribly surprised that this sort of foolishness might happen over there. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/38 "2015-09-03T20:56:47Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Rather than accidentally I would say unwittingly- that is, in the absence of wits. Even if he had any wits before he pulled the trigger, he certainly became witless a fraction of a second after he pulled the trigger and donated his wits to his immediate surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![Eliphalet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eliphalet/32/9563_2.png) [@Eliphalet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eliphalet)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/39 "2015-09-03T21:04:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Remember, don’t ever, ever aim your camera at something you don’t intend to take a picture of. As a photographer, may I steal this? I fell off my chair reading it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681/40 "2015-09-03T22:18:07Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > How did the picture turn out? This made me giggle uncontrollably for a minute. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/press-the-shutter-not-the-trigger/729681.md?page=3)