Had a safety incident today

[manhairetis]

Hello everybody!!!
I went to the range this morning, having not slept very well and a bit preoccupied by some everyday matters.
I picked a firing bench, loaded two magazines and started shooting at a stationary target.
At some point the ammo in the second magazine was used up (or so I thought), I removed it, put the gun down pointing downrange  and started reloading the magazine I had emptied first.
Only after having loaded 3-4 rounds, I noticed one in the other magazine!!! I then saw the pistol, slide forward and in SA mode. I picked it up very carefully, pointed at the target, pulled the trigger and, of course, it fired!!!
Several hours later, I cannot still understand what made me think that I had shot the whole magazine.
Please note that I am a very cautious person, professionally familiar with safety matters.
I felt that I should share this experience with you, because everybody can have such a "blank" in his situational awareness at some point in time.
In such cases, only compliance to all safety rules can avert accidents, by disrupting the error chain (in this case, leaving the gun on the bench pointing at a safe direction).
I would greatly appreciate your feedback.
Thank you very much and stay safe!!!

[MileHighJC]

First and foremost, happy to know that you and all there were safe.
As commented in my other threads, I am relatively new to handguns, and establishing a set of safe habits has been at the forefront of my mind.   I think your story makes the point of the need to have safe habits as an imperative.   If it were not for your habit of placing the gun on the bench pointing downrange could have been the difference between a unnerving incident and a disaster.  IMHO, its a compliment to you that you have done that.
As I was choosing where I would shoot, there are two ranges that were close, and inexpensive enough to merit consideration for me in the short term.   Both offered "ala carte" plans ($20/visit).   One requires users to sign a form that includes their safety procedures, and then you can shoot away.   The other (the one I chose) requires anyone using the range to attend a 1 hour safety class, and has implemented a pretty rigorous range safety officer program (There were three on the line monitoring 6 active lanes).   I am sure to many the class was redundant, and perhaps even a touch annoying as it covered mostly common sense items, including incidentally a policy of firearms ONLY being out on the firing line, and ALWAYS laying on the bench pointed downrange.   Violation of the safety codes results in you losing your privileges for the day, and if you do it twice, they will yank your membership.   Draconian?  Maybe.  But for me, it provided an increased sense of comfort on the line that everyone should be practicing safe habits.  In today's world where there are LOTS of new gun owners (including me), I like erring on the side of safety.   
I dont believe that safe habits are necessarily natural.  It takes discipline, and repetition to ingrain them into your routine.

[doctordoctor]

Thank you for your honesty and for sharing your educational experience. I never trust anyone at the range and because of that carry hot n ready at all times there and stay very vigilant.  I actually prefer to shoot alone.  There are too many Pennsylvania residents who think they know things about firearms... when they really dont . Frankly it is scary and disturbing. No wonder the left is worried about gun owners. 

But the safety story and advice is openly and well received.  Thank you for the reminder!

[bucsgolf14]

In such cases, only compliance to all safety rules can avert accidents, by disrupting the error chain (in this case, leaving the gun on the bench pointing at a safe direction).
I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

Manhairetis, thanks for your honest post of a safety incident.  As you've said, only by following the fundamentals that we've practiced over and over at the range prevented a negative outcome during your "blank" moment.

I'll share something that I am having difficulty with after coming from a different platform (i.e., 1911 and PX4).  When I put my P-01 in the range bag at the end of the day, I've twice now forgotten to decock.  Since that trigger pull on the decock is essentially our safety, I've been finding I need to concentrate a little bit more when I'm done for the day to make sure I properly put away the pistol.

To me, these incidents or "blank" moments can be diminished by always practicing the fundamentals: fundamentals unique to your pistol, and the fundamentals of the safety at the range.

[kai]

Consider yourself lucky that you kept it pointing down range.  When I was going threw tactical training there was 2 clowns.  One would dray the weapon and sweep it instead of pulling back and pointing down range.  She always found herself on the right most lane.  Another guy was going to holster his weapon, not sure what he was doing at the time but it went off hitting the floor.  Focus.  Your brain is your first, and best safety.  If that's off, you may have problems.  Habit is your next safety.  I was trained to account for every last round.  I load 16 rounds, I better send 16 down range, and there better be 16 holes in the target.

[manhairetis]

MileHighJC,
Thank you for your detailed comment. My range stands somewhere between the ones you described in terms of safety. There is no structured safety course before starting, but one of the attendants briefs every new shooter before he actually starts using the range, and keeps a cautious eye on him afterwords. Moreover, the safety rules are printed on each shooting bench - of course it is always easy to ignore anything after having seen it many times.
It is true that you can never be "too safe".

[manhairetis]

kai,
counting the rounds is a valuable piece of information, I will adopt it.
This is why this forum is so great.
Thank you very much.

[manhairetis]

Thank you all very much for being so supportive and informative.
Speaking about these things reduces guilt, helps others avoid the same mistake and makes it easier for them to speak about their own negative experiences.
Many thanks again.

[Rock-it3]

kai,
counting the rounds is a valuable piece of information, I will adopt it.
This is why this forum is so great.
Thank you very much.

I generally count the rounds fired as well, when I am shooting at a bullseye-type target. However, I find that I am not always correct in my count. Also, sometimes I am practicing drawing and shooting varying strings of rounds, so counting isn't practical. In addition to counting, though, you should always verify the condition of the firearm before stepping away from the firing line and placing the firearm on a bench. Drop magazine, slide locked open, visually inspect chamber. I never lay a firearm on the bench with the slide closed, unless I have verified it, and it is going immediately into its container.

[tristan1001]

Wow, these accounts and practices are excellent information for newbies such as myself. A lot is common sense I guess but it just goes to show diligence to safety is the primary goal in enjoying a day at the range and keeping a possible tragic accident from occurring. Kudos for your concise and honest account.

[BGlas]

Personally, I don't trust my ability to keep up with my shot count; especially when practicing double tap, etc.  I will only place the gun on the bench pointed down range once I have removed the magazine and locked the slide open. Only way I can be sure it is empty.

[Stogies]

So the slide was actually not locked back on an empty chamber? That's interesting. I have not had that one yet but I have once realized that I had a round left in the chamber in my Kel Tec SU16B. I had removed the mag thinking it had locked back on empty racked the handle and pa-pling out came one last round.

[MileHighJC]

I believe this thread is developing into something pretty valuable for those of us who are relatively new to handguns - some good habits that I expect I will be adopting:

• Pretty obvious, but VERY important - always have the muzzle pointed down range (a version of the NRA never let the muzzle point at something you are not willing to destroy)
• One that my instructor was after me for : When picking up the gun, keep my trigger finger high on the slide (fully above the trigger guard) until I am ready to fire.  I had already developed a bad habit of having my trigger finger too close to the trigger guard - clearly outside of the guard, but draped across it.   She made a valid argument that its just too easy to slip it into the guard if startled (not that I would EVER be startled on a shooting range by the 44 mag going off on the next lane  ).
• Counting rounds fired vs what was loaded.    I have been counting, and have already had one situation where my counts didn't match.  In my case, I was one short (I miscounted going into the mag, and I wound up not loading the full 14).   No harm, but it made me stop to think when I thought I still had one to go and the slide was locked back.
• Never lay the gun on the bench without the slide locked back.   I like this, and am not currently doing it.  It makes it easy to see that the chamber is empty.  Not a big deal 99% of the time, but that ONE time when I stop to talk with someone, think it is empty, and its not is all it would take.
• Decock after racking the slide EVERY time.   I started with this as my plan but got away from it because I was struggling with DA accuracy, and started to get lazy.   I started racking the slide, getting on target right away and firing away in SA.   Even if I plan on firing a full mag in SA, I think it would be better to have the habit of decocking, then drawing back the hammer after getting on target if I want to fire a full mag in SA.
• One thing I have not figured out (and thankfully have not experienced) is how to react if I observe someone else at the range "cowboying" it.   Safety being my #1 concern, and being a pretty direct person my natural response is to say something immediately.   But being the new guy on the range, Im not sure how well that might go, especially as I know I am still in the process of building my habits (read that I suspect Im not perfect myself).  With the RSO's at the range I just joined, I have a reasonable expectation that I would not HAVE to get involved in a discussion, but Im pretty sure this will not be the only place I ever shoot.   I have heard some stories about the first range I mentioned... while I dont think its common, apparently occasionally there are people who are not practicing the same level of safety procedures that at least I would want to see.

I imagine that these are ALL natural things to the experienced folks around here, but I know Im certainly interested in hearing others thoughts about best practices.

[Duckie]

My range requires that every gun be pointed down range at all times and that any gun laid down have the slide locked back or bolt open and a chamber flag inserted. The flag guarantees that there is not a round in the chamber and prevents the slide or bolt from being released.

[Riptide439]

My range requires that every gun be pointed down range at all times and that any gun laid down have the slide locked back or bolt open and a chamber flag inserted. The flag guarantees that there is not a round in the chamber and prevents the slide or bolt from being released.

+1 - Sounds just link our range also