handgun safety opinions needed

[abexgunenthusiast]

Help me solve a "disagreement" with my wife:

Situation: Went out on a Saturday night partying with friends. Someone told the story of their brother having an accidental discharge while cleaning his handgun. With the story in mind, I got back home, admittedly intoxicated, and took my .40 out from the bedside table, released the magazine and worked the slide a few times to ensure there was not a chambered round and that it was adequately oiled. My wife saw this and immediately adamantly rebuked me for playing with guns after I was drinking.

She knows very little about firearms, is not interested in learning, and is of the opinion that guns are bad and dangerous no matter what. I am very familiar with my handgun, its operation and safety devices/indicators and safety etiquette.

While obviously I admit that it is not a good idea to be "playing with guns" with alcohol, I have not been able to convince her that I was, in fact, ensuring the weapon was safe and that this is not a crime I should serve a life sentence for. She says she will trust the opinion of outside experts. Do I have a case here?

[OakRidgeStars]

Wouldn't the gun have been "safe" if it had been left in it's present condition in the bedside table?

I agree that no crime was committed, but perhaps a little bad judgment was. Unnecessary handling of any firearm is just that. Unnecessary.

[GeneFrenkle]

alcohol and guns do not mix. you violated good policy in leaving the gun in it's place. take the hand slapping and next time leave the gun alone. to your wife, it was bad judgement to pull it out but no one was hurt. i'd recommend she take riana's (or someone closer, maybe proshooter's) course to feel more comfortable and confident about and around them.

[FiremanBob]

Very poor judgment. Don't do it again. And tell your wife she was right - that will pay dividends down the road.

[Palladin]

Very poor judgment. Don't do it again. And tell your wife she was right - that will pay dividends down the road.

+1

[CfieldShooter]

Very poor judgment. Don't do it again. And tell your wife she was right - that will pay dividends down the road.

+1

+2

[ShotgunBlast]

Unnecessary handling and poor judgement. Take your lumps and be thankful that nothing bad happened that time.

[ProShooter]

Your deserve to sleep on the couch for a week...maybe two.

The gun was perfectly safe where you had it. No need to play with it while intoxicated. You should never handle a firearm when you've been drinking....for many reasons.

[gunderwood]

alcohol and guns do not mix.

This is mostly a cultural IMHO. For example, the Swiss actually drink red wine on the firing range before doing their military qualifications (approx. half a glass, real assault rifles too). They do this because a little bit of alcohol will actually make you shoot better, not worse. The reason is that it relaxes the muscles and calms the heart rate. It also does dull the mind though, but aiming a rifle isn't very thought intensive.

It's not so much that alcohol and firearms don't mix, but rather that alcohol abuse and firearms don't mix. For a variety of reasons (much to big for this post), what most American's mean by "I drank alcohol" is "I got drunk." I.e. intoxication. In that state there is no argument, you shouldn't be handling firearms, chainsaws, kitchen knives, driving, etc. Although no crime was committed, it's extremely foolish. In the OP case, there was no reason to touch the firearm at all.

[Gotlabs]

Have your wife take a self defense and firearms safety class so next time she can disarm you and speak first person knowledge. As for booze and bang, it is not recommended to mix the two. Ive done it plenty of times in the past and thankfully never had an issue. I no longer drink so I can fondle my 22 pistol whenever I want to nowadays.

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[Nemo24]

Very poor judgment. Don't do it again. And tell your wife she was right - that will pay dividends down the road.

+1

+2

+3

[dorminWS]

If I could have pulled it off, I would have grouchily mumbled something unintelligible, gone to sleep , forgotten it, never mentioned it again, and hoped she didn't. Let sleeping dogs lie until they die in their sleep of old age. But sounds like it might be too late for that.

[grumpyMSG]

I think you should go ahead and hold out your hands and your wife should slap them both. You admit you were intoxicated. You had no need to pick up the pistol, it wouldn't have gone off without somebody touching it. Accept your punishment for your judgement.

Since your wife will be using this forum to back her up, I think it is up to us to convince her that she needs to take a firearm safety course. You didn't say whether you have kids, but if you do, it would be very wise for her to have the safety course and be able to safely secure any firearm that you have in the house. I would never say that you would intentionally leave a firearm unsecured around children. Along the same lines, I would never knowingly lock my car keys in the car, however I have done it. It should help her feel safer if she were able to unload your firearms.

[Reverenddel]

"...Rather that alcohol abuse and firearms don't mix. For a variety of reasons (much to big for this post), what most American's mean by "I drank alcohol" is "I got drunk." I.e. intoxication."- Gunderwood.

This.

I don't do it because it makes others nervous, but having ONE drink, and make the weapon "safe" isn't an issue. If you were intoxicated? Yeeeaahhh, different story.

[GeneFrenkle]

@gunderwood - the op stated intoxication and my response relates to that condition as framed by the anecdote/request for opinion. the consequence to the antecedent can range from benign (as the case here) to very negative. In ad absurdum, I would find it difficult to consider a prosecutor in VA or Fed dropping any charges because other countries drink (small, but measurable) amounts of alcohol. Imo (which the op requested), it is best to separate the two.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[gunderwood]

@gunderwood - the op stated intoxication and my response relates to that condition as framed by the anecdote/request for opinion. the consequence to the antecedent can range from benign (as the case here) to very negative. In ad absurdum, I would find it difficult to consider a prosecutor in VA or Fed dropping any charges because other countries drink (small, but measurable) amounts of alcohol. Imo (which the op requested), it is best to separate the two.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

I wasn't saying they would drop charges. We mix many things with firearms all the time that alter reflexes, mental capability, judgement, etc. These range from sugar to over the counter meds to caffeine to prescription meds to gluttony to even the humble water (disturb the ion balance in your body and you'll get very loopy and then possibly die due to cellular de-ionization). Let's not even forget simple states such as being tired. Our culture predisposes use to assume that some are worse than others, but the science often disagrees. For example, driving tired is just as bad as driving moderately drunk (slightly over BAC). Yet how many of us would admonish the OP if he was merely tired and had drank nothing? Presumably, the risk has not changed at all...just our perception of the risk.

Given that the OP was intoxicated, he should not have been handling firearms or anything else potentially dangerous. However, hard fast rules such as "alcohol and firearms don't mix" shouldn't be required for responsible adults, nor are they accurate. No firearms magically disappear because I had a beer or took nyquil or had a long day at work. Being a responsible adult requires that I know when I can and can't handle firearms, regardless of why I shouldn't. If you can't do that, perhaps you shouldn't own them because no one can enumerate the nearly infinite combinations of things that alter your body/mind in such hard rules. Furthermore, we use such rules for young children that can't understand why they shouldn't touch a hot stove. It's terribly parenting to leave it at that once they can comprehend. You don't build responsible adults magically at 18.

The OP owns a firearm and exercised poor judgement. The OP needs to learn a lot more than merely don't don't drink and play with guns. The OP needs to understand that it would be foolish to operate a chainsaw and drink just as it would be just as foolish to do so while tired, on meds or whatever. The OP needs to learn and mature enough to recognize that certain states of body/mind occur for a multitude of reasons and operating or playing with dangerous items while in such a state is foolish. Only once the OP understands this and commits to it can the OP handle the numerous other situations with firearms as well. Just my opinion.

[Palladin]

OK side bets are now open - do you think he'll come back and take his medicine, or never be heard from again... ?




Just kidding buddy, come on back.

[gunderwood]

Just kidding buddy, come on back.

+1

Yes, we all make mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

[OakRidgeStars]

Wife might have suspended his internets pending an investigation

[gunderwood]

Duh! We all forgot to welcome the OP!



Better late than never.