I am going to share this embarrassing incident that happened to me recently in the hopes that it might save someone's life someday. I have a rule in my home that I never deviate from. It is that, except for my carry gun, I never never ever have a loaded gun where I store my guns in the house. I never break that rule. I recently purchased a new Sig 1911 Ultra .45. A magnificent gun. When I picked it up from my FFL friend, he gave me a magazine with Sigs new custom ammo in it to try out. I placed it back in the case and took it home. I have a rule that when I pick up a gun from my collection, I always release the magazine first, then I clear the firearm twice. I then handle it. I have been doing this faithfully for 30 years. A few weeks ago, I went to inspect my new Sig. I took it out of the case to admire it. The doorbell rang and I answered the door. I returned to my office about 15 minutes later. I decided that I wanted to feel the trigger pull. I picked up the Sig and aimed it toward the large windows with Key West shutters on them. I gently squeezed the trigger and BOOM!!!!! Loud is an understatement. My initial reaction was WTF? I then looked all over myself for any blood...none. I looked all over for where the bullet went...no sign. By then my screaming and crying wife was all over me. When she saw that I was not hurt, I saw a look on her face that I have never seen on her in over 34 years of being with her. She thought that she had lost me. I went outside and saw a huge hole in the double paned window about 3 inches perfectly round. My backyard is private, wooded, and overlooks a preserve. Nothing around thank God. I went inside and found a small hole in front of where I was sitting in the shutter. I felt like an idiot. I let my wife down with shattering her security blanket. I let myself down by violating one rule that I never break. I was distracted. I did not release the magazine because I thought for a second that it was a new gun, I never loaded it...there was nothing in it. Ah, but there was. My FFL's magazine gift to me with the Sig ammo was in it. The moral of the story is this. I just turned 61 last month. I am not as sharp as I used to be. That alone is tough to admit. I can't hide things anymore, as I forget where I placed them. Before I leave the house, my ritual now is find the keys, sunglasses, carry bag, and remember to bring all that I need for the day. This is not a 5 minute affair. And then there are my guns. I could have injured or killed myself, or a loved one, or a complete stranger because of a dumb stupid mistake. I have ordered a new safe for the garage. There will be no more guns in the house except for the ccw I carry and always properly put away and the bedroom cannon in case of intruders. I am no longer carrying my ccw with one in the chamber. My vehicle firearm no longer has one in the chamber. I always was very proud of my firearms. I was always very respectful of my firearms. Some where along the line I forgot about being extra careful. I mentioned this to my FFL friend, who is ex LEO. He just smiled and said "Welcome to the Club". For the rest of your life, you will now exercise more caution than you ever had in all your previous years. Learn from it. I have.
