# Story of stupidity only gun enthusiasts will get. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 9, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469 "2007-02-09T05:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/1 "2007-02-09T05:43:49Z")
So I’m at my local range to touch off a few rounds in my 9mm and .22 revolver. And this guy is there when I arrive with a nice little Bersa .380 Auto that he’s having problems with. Seems that when he loads the gun and pulls the trigger, nothing happens. The range employee checks to see if the gun is unloaded, then sticks a pencil in the barrel, points it at the ceiling, and pulls the trigger. The pencil goes flying out, so he concludes the firing pin is working. At this point I go into the shooting room and take care of my business, walking out occasionally to use the can, etc. Everyone’s scratching their heads over this dude’s problem. The relative merits of Bersa firearms are discussed, as are the MagTech ammo he’s using. No one can figure it out. Finally, as I’m getting ready to leave, I learn what the problem was. Seems this guy was pulling a loaded magazine into the gun while the slide was closed, then trying to shoot it without racking the slide! I had to work not to laugh at the guy to his face. The lesson? Learn how to drive before you get behind the wheel! At least his ignorance didn’t end with a hole somewhere one should not have been. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/2 "2007-02-09T05:47:52Z")
This kind of thing scares me. If the guy doesn’t even know how his firearm works, what are the odds that he actually knows how to handle one safely? Anybody who picks up a firearm should receive professional training in a structured class format so that they at least have no excuse to say, “But I didn’t know! Nobody told me!” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/3 "2007-02-09T07:35:18Z")
[Professional training isn’t always the best thing either…](http://youtube.com/watch?v=LHtlxfcuilM) ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/4 "2007-02-09T08:05:03Z")
As a person who reads the owners manual for motor vehicles even though I’ve been driving for decades, this is just so stupid. That person isn’t smart enough to be around firearms. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/5 "2007-02-09T08:34:25Z")
Huh. You’d think anyone who’s ever watched a movie would know about doing that cool badass-sound-making _shhk-shhk!_ thing three or four times whenever you handle a semi-automatic pistol. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/6 "2007-02-09T08:45:29Z")
[QUOTE=MEBuckner] Huh. You’d think anyone who’s ever watched a movie would know about doing that cool badass-sound-making _shhk-shhk!_ thing three or four times whenever you handle a semi-automatic pistol. [/QUOTE] Well, he probably made the _shhk-shhk!_ sound; he simply forgot to pull back the slide while he was doing it. It’s just so confusing. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/7 "2007-02-09T08:48:28Z")
Now see, if you use the _gun_ to make the _shhk-shhk!_ sound then the Bad Guy (or the Good Guy as the case may be) Knows You’re Serious, whereas if you just go _shhk-shhk!_ with your mouth then…well, I suppose you could make a clean getaway while the other guy is laughing too hard to shoot straight and/or chase you. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/8 "2007-02-09T15:01:06Z")
Funny story. But just to sober everyone up a bit…show of hands, how many of us have done something similar, only maybe not in public? I thought so. My hand was certainly up. Doesn’t make what he did any stupider, but we’ve all been there once at least. My stupid act? I was showing a friend my “bedpost” 9mm. I took it out of the holster, cleared the chamber, dropped the magazine, and handed it to him. :eek: He was a friend, so he didn’t laugh or punch me. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/9 "2007-02-09T16:03:12Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Funny story. But just to sober everyone up a bit…show of hands, how many of us have done something similar, only maybe not in public? I thought so. My hand was certainly up. Doesn’t make what he did any stupider, but we’ve all been there once at least. My stupid act? I was showing a friend my “bedpost” 9mm. I took it out of the holster, cleared the chamber, dropped the magazine, and handed it to him. :eek: He was a friend, so he didn’t laugh or punch me. [/QUOTE] I don’t get it. How is what you did stupid? You mean you cleared the chamber while the mag was still in it, so even after you dropped the mag, it had loaded another round into the chamber? My point in the OP was not that I’ve never done anything stupid with a gun myself–I most definitely have. But most people can learn about racking a slide on a semi-auto just by watching TV. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/10 "2007-02-09T16:04:44Z")
[QUOTE=MEBuckner] Huh. You’d think anyone who’s ever watched a movie would know about doing that cool badass-sound-making _shhk-shhk!_ thing three or four times whenever you handle a semi-automatic pistol. [/QUOTE] I read on a list of movie cliches (maybe on this board) that anytime anyone handles a gun in the movies, you always hear the sound of a shotgun slide racking–no matter what gun it is, no matter what the character is doing with it. Is he cocking the hammer of a revolver? _Shhk-shhk!_ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/11 "2007-02-09T16:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=Lizard] I don’t get it. How is what you did stupid? You mean you cleared the chamber while the mag was still in it, so even after you dropped the mag, it had loaded another round into the chamber? [/QUOTE] That was it. But yeah, I see your point on the OP. You’d think the salesman at least would have cycled it in front of him before putting it back in the box. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/12 "2007-02-09T16:36:39Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Well, he probably made the _shhk-shhk!_ sound; he simply forgot to pull back the slide while he was doing it. It’s just so confusing. [/QUOTE] Ok, this got to me to laugh out loud. Only because I can totally picture myself making the sound. But I’m with **Stranger**. Sca-ry. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/13 "2007-02-09T16:38:34Z")
I’m amazed that the range employee’s didn’t find the problem sooner. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/14 "2007-02-09T16:40:19Z")
Exactly. He had to have racked the slide to cock the weapon for the pencil test. Didn’t he or the owner twig to it then? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/15 "2007-02-09T16:47:40Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Well, he probably made the _shhk-shhk!_ sound; he simply forgot to pull back the slide while he was doing it. It’s just so confusing. [/QUOTE] What I’d like to hear some day is _shhk-shhk!_ tink-tink-tink roll roll roll as he ejects the round in the chamber when he racks it the second time. That would be hilarious. Side note to this: in the filming of _Attack of the Clones,_ they had to edit out the sound of Ewan McGregor making light sabre sounds during his fights. Probably helped with his timing… ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/16 "2007-02-09T16:49:32Z")
On the ranges I’ve helped to clear slightly dumber people’s stoppages (using the SA80, this was before the A2 variant came in, stoppages were inevitable). A couple of times I’ve nearly shit myself because someone’s turned towards me (with their rifle) with an “It’s not firing…see _click, click_”, facing towards a line of blissfully unaware bodies. It’s obviously slightly more dangerous with live rounds, but I’ve seen scorched NCOs when someone manages an ND with blanks and an ill-fitting BFA/SFD. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/17 "2007-02-09T16:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Well, he probably made the _shhk-shhk!_ sound; he simply forgot to pull back the slide while he was doing it. It’s just so confusing. [/QUOTE] Heh. What I wouldn’t give to look down the line of shooters and see some guy yelling out six "BANG!"s and one “click”. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/18 "2007-02-09T17:14:19Z")
[QUOTE=pretend my name is witty] but I’ve seen scorched NCOs when someone manages an ND with blanks and an ill-fitting BFA/SFD. [/QUOTE] So what happened to the scorcher, I suspect being at the receiving end of a pissed off Sargent’s wrath is not a happy place to be. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/19 "2007-02-09T17:20:05Z")
[QUOTE=if6was9] [Professional training isn’t always the best thing either…](http://youtube.com/watch?v=LHtlxfcuilM) [/QUOTE] Holy crap! The first part of the video was a perfect display of violating every one of the [Four [Basic] Rules of Firearm Safety](http://www.iguanasoft.com/~jeffersonian/4rules.html). But the last part–after he shoots himself in the foot–where he then stomps around the room bleeding on the floor and demanding someone hand him another weapon (“Stop! It’s unloaded; this one’s unloaded!”) is hilarious…as long as you’re well out of range. How does this guy dress himself in the morning? [QUOTE=silenus] Exactly. He had to have racked the slide to cock the weapon for the pencil test. Didn’t he or the owner twig to it then? [/QUOTE] Presumably (although it’s clear with firearms that one should never assume anything) the employee removed the mazagine from the gun before sticking anything down the barrel. Since this was done, if I understand the story correctly, off the firing line, the employee probably assumed that Gunman Dipschitz had already cleared the chamber. Why the employee was firing the gun up into the ceiling and off the firing line is another question entirely. Casual familiarity with firearms, explosives, and pubescent teenage girls that one is not related to is always ill-advised and generally an indicator of someone you want to stay far, far away from. [QUOTE=pretend my name is witty] On the ranges I’ve helped to clear slightly dumber people’s stoppages (using the SA80, this was before the A2 variant came in, stoppages were inevitable). A couple of times I’ve nearly shit myself because someone’s turned towards me (with their rifle) with an “It’s not firing…see _click, click_”, facing towards a line of blissfully unaware bodies. [/QUOTE] Ah, this brings back fond childhood memories: “Don’t you point that fucking gun anywhere but downrange! If I see that muzzle crossing something that isn’t a steel plate we’re going to have a sit-down! All I have for you is a leather belt and bubblegum, and I’m all out of bubblegum! Keep that fucking muzzle pointed east!” Good times. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![SeaCanary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SeaCanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaCanary)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469/20 "2007-02-09T17:30:44Z")
[QUOTE=Lizard] Finally, as I’m getting ready to leave, I learn what the problem was. Seems this guy was pulling a loaded magazine into the gun while the slide was closed, then trying to shoot it without racking the slide! I had to work not to laugh at the guy to his face. The lesson? Learn how to drive before you get behind the wheel! At least his ignorance didn’t end with a hole somewhere one should not have been. [/QUOTE] Think about the next step. What dangerous stunt is this guy gonna do when he tries to clean the weapon? I hope for the sake of the average innocent passer-by he gets some help. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-of-stupidity-only-gun-enthusiasts-will-get/391469.md?page=2)