This is the hardest post I've ever had to put here, or any other forum.
I'm the son of a gun smith, dealer, and shooter, and have been shoot shooting for
at least 67 years. My first memory of shooting was from about age 5 when I got a black eye from the scope of a 1903 Springfield 30-06. My dad was an absolute stickler for gun safety, and I always have been too.
About an hour ago, I had my first accidental discharge...in my kitchen...with wife and youngest daughter standing within 3 feet of me. Fortunately I was well taught about never pointing a gun at anyone, even when unloaded.
I'm not making excuses, but here is the story:
Daughter is getting divorced and ask me if I had a pistol she could take home because her soon-to-be ex hubby lives less than ½ mile from her...in the country...8 miles from the nearest town, on a dead end road in the Missouri Ozarks. (She's my daughter and I'd supply her with an atomic bomb if I had one).
I got out a PT58 stainless .380 and some another brand .22 LR that I wasn't familiar with (bought it but never fired it). Since I keep these guns loaded, I cleared them both (removed the magazine and racked the slide) and was showing them to her and when I pulled the trigger on the .22 LR to show her it is double action, it went off, bounced a round off the kitchen island, off the stove hood, off the ceiling, and onto the kitchen floor. Apparently the extractor didn't pull the round free from the chamber.
I did everything right EXCEPT that I didn't visually inspect the chamber when I racked the slide.

Shame on me.






