[legion]

I went trap shooting today. I took two people (husband and wife) with me that hadn't shot before. We had seven people--three couple and another friend. Aside from the couple mentioned above, all I had gone shooting with before.

I got to the range an hour early so that I could give a lecture on proper range etiquette, how to operate each firearm (I had brought my single shot, pump, semi-auto, and over/under), and how to play a round of trap.

I've done this dozens of times. I've never had an issue.....until today. I've been a member of the range for three years and it is VERY important to me to keep in the good graces of the owners as this is the only range within 50 miles of my home.

One of the newbies had poor trigger discipline and ended up discharging the shotgun as he was shouldering it. He shot the grass between the shooting line and the trap house. He was immediately given a safety lecture by the owner's son (they tend to keep an eye on new shooters--and I had let them know that we had new shooters in our group). His trigger discipline improved but I still didn't have confidence in him. Later I caught him loading too early and walking from position five to position one with a shell in his shotgun (though the action was open).

Later, as my wife was closing the action on her semi-auto, she discharged her shotgun...right into the box of shells she has on the ground. I was in position one and she was in position four, and I couldn't see the mess from where I was standing with the microphones and buckets for empty shells in the way. It wasn't until one of my experiences friends (who was in position five) said to my wife: "Are you going to clean that up?", that I realized something had happened. Fortunately, she did not hit any of the primers in the box.

I walked over to her and threw her box of damaged shells in the trash and said to her: "You're done." The guy who had had the earlier incident also elected to leave the game. We finished the game with three, experienced shooters without incident. After the game, I decided that we were done for the day.

Now, I was (AM) livid. In my opinion, firearm "accidents" do not happen, but are the result of people not treating them with the proper respect and taking appropriate safety precautions.

After the game, I redressed my wife in front of everyone else. This is NOT something that I would normally do, but I feel it is important to let everyone know that continued invitation to my shooting club is dependent on their proper respect for firearm safety. My wife claims that the gun just discharged on its own as she was closing the action (Remington Spartan SPR 453). I don't buy it. Modern firearms do not discharge randomly on their own. The hammer HAD to be released by pressing the trigger.

Now, I have made two decisions as a result of today. The person who caused incident #1 will not be invited back to shoot with me unless he completes a proper firearms safety course. Also, I will not be taking my wife to the range again until she can explain to me exactly how her shotgun discharged. We completed a safety course together last summer and she should know better. In my opinion, I do not want to shoot with people who are not aware of and cannot properly operate their firearm.

Our guests left the house about two hours ago. I have not spoken to my wife. She knows I am absolutely livid and tolerate no negligence around firearms. I know she is very upset. Normally, I would do the "man" thing and apologize and make her feel better despite her being in the wrong. I can't do it this time. I can't forgive potentially deadly mistakes.