Gun City Incident

[Rangemeister]

Was there an incident recently at Gun City. Anybody heard about anything unusual?

[Guest rock river]

Not that I know of, but everybody's favorite blowhard Mr. Buford Tune managed to shoot his pinkie off in a gun class last Saturday....I'm gonna guess he probably won't highlight that on his web site though. This incident really happened, got it from multiple sources in Metro PD as well as THP.

[Guest BungieCord]

Judge: Nashville's Gun City Willfully Violated Gun Control Act | Nashville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

[Oh Shoot]

Judge: Nashville's Gun City Willfully Violated Gun Control Act | Nashville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Um, that's all from a year and half ago.

- OS

[Oh Shoot]

Not that I know of, but everybody's favorite blowhard Mr. Buford Tune managed to shoot his pinkie off in a gun class last Saturday....

I thought he only had guns pointed at his head.

- OS

[abusfullofnuns]

I don't have any details either, but both officers at my hcp class on Sunday were whispering about something along these lines.

[Guest HvyMtl]

When I was looking for a HCP class, I stopped by Gun City. All but one of the staff ignored me. That younger fellow was nice enough to tell me the price and when it was available. As we were talking, a HCP class came up from the shooting range. All were hot, pouring sweat, and gasping in the cooler air. The staff member I was talking to noticed I had focused in on the fellow with the claw hand. He stated: That's our instructor, he accidentally blew his hand off, and due to that he is one of the best instructors you can get.

Yes, he stated due to the guy blowing his own hand off, he was better versed to be an instructor than anyone else.

I found that odd, at the least. I also found the range without proper ventilation, hot, and poorly lit.

So, was this guy telling the truth, one of their instructors had shot his own hand off, or someone else blow it off? Or was it some other accident? I thought it a very bad way to "sell" their HCP course.

After this incident, and asking around for Gun City's reputation, I would not be surprised if this actually occurred.

[Rangemeister]

I had heard something along these lines. I am a state instructor and am a little appalled at this incident. I don't agree with the "because he shot himself he is a good instructor" theory. I have used/taught firearms since 1970 and have had one incident. It still embarrases me and I don't like sharing the incident, but I and no one else got injured.

[monkeylizard]

Breaking News

This just in: Gun City still blows.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic, Donald Trump has bad hair, and the Minnesota Twins lost.

[Steelharp]

Breaking News

This just in: Gun City still blows.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic, Donald Trump has bad hair, the Minnesota Twins lost, and the Dodgers left Brooklyn.

Just a little help...

[Westwindmike]

I just got an email from Buford Tune about the accident. Here it is:

This weekend (May 14th, 2011) I was injured in security class when a student’s handgun accidentally discharged in class. I was injured and will require some surgery. Fortunately, no one else was physically injured and my injuries were not life threatening. Several have called to ask what happened and how I was doing. I thought it would be appropriate to share the facts because rumors, even well intended ones, can get out of control.

Our longstanding policy is that we tell EVERYONE that they shall NOT bring any loaded firearms, magazines or speed loaders into the classroom. Everyone is required to bring their ammo separate so the firearm, equipment and the ammo can be checked during the class so that potential problems can be addressed before we get to the range.

A student violated that rule and brought a handgun (Walther P99, .40 cal) into the classroom with the magazine removed but with a round chambered. The handgun was in a case and he said that the gun was unloaded. I picked up the gun out of the gun case to inspect the handgun and verify the condition and was holding the gun in my right hand and pushed the slide back with my left hand to check the chamber nonetheless. The gun, which has a striker firing mechanism, discharged while being racked. The round struck the first joint of my little finger on my left hand.

I always try to be as safe as possible in the classes and on the range. However, accidents do happen and although most accidents can be prevented there will be times when an accident or a malfunction will still happen. We train to anticipate these problems but even that training is not a 100% guarantee that nothing will go wrong.

The rumors and the Monday morning Quarterbacks’ have already started. I would like to remind everyone that if you were not here you do not know what happen and if you want the truth and not the rumors and tales call APPS and do not listen to the street talk.

Thanks to all of you,

Buford

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I'm very ignorant of gun innards. Think I recall reading that some pistols have interlocks so the striker can't release if not in battery. Of course any mechanism can fail.

Are there a lot of current designs that can fire when not in battery? Apologies if that is a dumb question.

[Oh Shoot]

Okay, I'll do Monday morning quarterback opinion since it's Wed:

I'll grant that in a super rare scenario, some striker fired pistols might could go off when slide is DROPPED, but I know of NO circumstances that it could do so by being racked BACK. And even given that, this is a full sized pistol, so just how does one get his little finger in front of the barrel while racking it? The only way I can think to do it would be by racking the thing by grabbing it up toward the muzzle, and this model doesn't even have serrations in that location.

I simply must opine that this happened like 99.99 of all other "accidental" discharges -- that being with the trigger being depressed at the wrong point.

- OS

Edited May 18, 2011 by OhShoot

[Garufa]

Being the Wednesday evening quaterback that I am, how in the hell was said left finger in front of the muzzle at the time of said slide racking?

Accidents DO NOT HAPPEN. Carelessness and arrogance cause unwanted results. Getting a little more than you expected with a fart is an "accident", everything else is negligence.

[dlm37015]

i have known buford tune for over 30 years as he said accidents happen .i dont know what happened but for his email with that said i can think of no other person better that buford to take my back if you can back it up it aint bragging

[dlm37015]

i have had a accidental fart that was a little more hell alot more but we womt talk about that

[Guest kirkosaurus]

He lost all credibility with me when he sent out the news story about the hiker shooting himself in the butt and changed "Smith and Wesson" to "Glock" in the story just because of his bias against Glocks. I sent him a link of the actual story and he admitted to adding the "Glock" part because a coworker told him that's what it was. Then he said it must've been the polymer S&W (like that has anything to do with the guy shooting himself in the butt). Then he proceeded to trash Glocks.

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

I also dont understand his version of events. I have NEVER heard of a gun discharging simply from being racked. Hell most guns now days are dropped tested & dont even go off if you throw them on the floor.

And like others have said, why would you EVER put your finger or hand in front of the barrel, for any reason? Thats silly. I must agree, all "accidents" are caused by ignorance & carelessness, & it seems like its no different in this case. Love how he tries to pass the buck off to the guy who brought in the loaded gun tho. But in my opinion the instructor should ALWAYS treat every gun as if its loaded, & not put his pinky over the barrel while racking it.....

[Guest HvyMtl]

This begs the question: Why is Gun City still open?

[Guest Broomhead]

This begs the question: Why is Gun City still open?

Excellent question! They no longer have a valid FFL, correct? Their staff treats customers as if they are interrupting something important, or are just plain rude. I have been in that store twice now. The 1st time, very shortly after I bought my first gun/pistol ever, was to shop around for a holster, during which I had to wait 10-15mins to ask about holsters and see if it was cool to bring my pistol in to try some of the holsters out (no HCP yet and still wet behind the ears as far as guns were concerned). The 2nd, and last, was a range trip with my Dad, still early on in our gun ownership phase, when neither of us wanted to drive all the way out to ASP or G&L. Their range is the sorriest excuse for a range that I have ever had the misfortune to use.

[mikegideon]

First of all, if the P99 is like a Glock or M&P, doesn't the striker block prevent the firing pin from contacting the cartridge under ALL circumstances other than the trigger being pulled? On a Glock or M&P, the striker block is deactivated by the trigger mechanism.

Since you're not supposed to pont the muzzle at anything you're not prepared to destroy, the pinky must have been a valid target.

One more thing... if you use a proper fart testing procedure, an accidental discharge is highly unlikely.

[Guest Spurhunter]

How absurd for him to compose that email. How stupid does he think we all are?? You CANNOT dischage a P99 by racking the slide, you CAN discharge one by pulling the trigger WHILE racking the slide.

To have an "instructor" pull out a gun and assume it was unloaded out of a students gun case proves he should have his credentials removed ASAP!

As sorry as my HCP course instructors were, they met you at the door and physically inspected your weapon. There are ZERO excuses here.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Spurhunter

[mikegideon]

I don't know if he needs to lose any credentials. I do know that he made a mistake trying to blow smoke up everybody's butt's. Fess up already, and try to turn it into something positive. You can't shoot yourself (on first impact) if you follow the rules.

[Guest Spurhunter]

The email SHOULD have said, "I broke two of the cardinal rules of gun handling. Never put your finger on the trigger unless your ready to fire, and treat EVERy gun as it is loaded" I guess you can also add, dont point a gun at anything you dont want to destroy, but why pile it on huh?

[mikegideon]

The email SHOULD have said, "I broke two of the cardinal rules of gun handling. Never put your finger on the trigger unless your ready to fire, and treat EVERy gun as it is loaded" I guess you can also add, dont point a gun at anything you dont want to destroy, but why pile it on huh?

I always put that first.