What are the chances of shooting yourself while cleaning your gun?

Question

I have heard alot of stories of ppl accidentally shooting themselves while cleaning their guns, is this cover up for a suicide? thanks

Answer 1

unload your clip before cleaning?

Answer 2

Pretty good if you don't know anything about guns.They are not toys,they are can be dangerous in the hands of children or stupid people.I don't know about every one out there but every time I pick up a gun the first thing I do is look and see if it is loaded.If you follow this rule you will never have a accident.

Answer 3

Are you considering this?  Most gun owners think Safety First, and check, check and double check to make sure their gun is unloaded. So to answer your question, anything is possible.  Accidents happen.

Answer 4

It requires at least two, maybe more, very foolish mistakes,

but it might happen.

Answer 5

It would require extreme circumstances. There are some things that should be ingrained in your psyche if you have a gun. One is that ALL GUNS ARE LOADED. Another is that you never point a gun at anything you would like not to have a hole in. Those who are really familiar with guns will always treat a gun as loaded, and the first thing to do when you pick one up to clean it is to unload it. But people do stupid things, perhaps when drunk or drugged, or perhaps just because of basic stupidity or carelessness. I'm with you, though, in that a lot of "accidents" reported are actually suicides, and the family just don't want to publicize it. The same happens on occasion with car wrecks and drug overdoses.

Answer 6

Zero if it's unloaded.

I've been shooting/cleaning guns for 36 years and have NEVER come close to shooting myself.

I don't think it's a cover for suicide if some1 does, though. It's just carelessness.

Answer 7

I don't think this is a cover up. I think a fair amount of people do have accidents when cleaning.  If you think about it this way....The time when most people clean their gun is right after they've been shooting it at the range or whenever.  They decide to stop shooting and put their gun back in their gear bag.  Then get the gun out days later to clean it, assuming that they emptied the chamber but forgetting that they didn't.

As others have said, you must double, triple, quadruple check everything you do.  But mistakes do get made.

A month or so ago I took a friend from work shooting who had never used firearms before.  We decided to quit the handgun part of the range and walk over to the rifle range.  When she was done, she handed me the gun (muzzle still downrange) and I almost put the gun away in my case without checking the chamber.  At the last minute I caught myself and checked it and found a round in the chamber.  Even if I hadn't of caught it, I still check my guns again when I get home and again before I clean.  But you can see that it is possible if you are careless.

Answer 8

It won't go off unless you are stupid. You don't clean a loaded gun. You unload it first.  

Answer 9

If you follow the basic rules for handling a gun, it is impossible to shoot yourself while "cleaning it".

1. All firearms are loaded until you unload it.

2. Remove all ammunition, then recheck the firearms chamber.

3. Remove all ammunition from the area before cleaning.

4. Recheck the firearm to make certain the chamber is empty.

5. Clean the firearm.

Marie

Houston, TX

Answer 10

If you examine 100 so called accidental shootings while cleaning a gun

One may actually have some slight possibility of actually being an accident

And he was drunk

Answer 11

If you use the proper procedures for safe firearm handling you will never harm yourself or anyone else accidentally, that is "if" you follow all the safe handling rules!

Answer 12

Sometimes it can be. If you're doing it right, not only should the magazine be cleared but so should the chamber. Normally, I disassemble the carrier completely to clean it. A gun can't go off if it's in pieces.

Answer 13

Cleaning accidents are extremely rare, but still possible. If someone doesn't unload the gun and is carelessly trying to take it apart then it is possible to accidently pull the trigger and fire the gun. The gun can't just go off on its own though.  It is a great cover up story for suicide too.

Answer 14

If you follow the safety rules and visually double check that your firearm is unloaded before attempting any inspection or cleaning of said firearm, there is zero chance that you will shoot yourself.

Contrary to the anti-gunners claims, Unloaded guns cannot kill people, unless they are being used as a club.

I agree that sometimes the term "shot while cleaning a gun" is sometimes misused to explain firearms accidents and suicides.

In the case of suicides with no note, this can make the family feel better that their relatives suicide is listed as an accident.

Many non-suicide accidental shootings occur while someone is FOOLING AROUND with a loaded gun. The ones that survive try to conceal the fact they were PLAYING WITH a loaded gun by using the false excuse that they were "cleaning it" instead.  

Answer 15

first rule is to make sure the gun is not loaded before cleaning it!  i field strip the gun to clean it which makes cleaning more effective and safer.

Answer 16

a reasonably careful person, is highly unlikely to shoot themselves or someone else, while cleaning a gun.

That being said, NOT everyone, is careful, while handleing a gun.

STUPID IS, AS STUPID DOES