I do not talk to much about politics or major gun issues on my blog because, well, I don't have any credibility in that area. Even if I have an opinion and even if I can articulate it, I don't have much knowledge or experience to back it up, so I prefer to leave that to those who can like Tam, Weer'd, or pretty much anyone other than myself, but yesterday I got an email asking me to help get the word out on the debacle that is NBC.
I had not heard of the people sending the email and was not sure what to think, so I asked around and conversed a little with the woman who sent the email and since I do believe that what NBC appears to be doing is dangerous not only to our Second Amendment rights, but to our entire way of life, I decided that I would step out a little and post the link.
Clearly, I do not have enough background to add any validity to Remington or this case, but I do think it is at least worth my tossing this out there for you all to decide for yourselves.
The gun can have 30 safeties, or zero safeties. If the primary safety - the brain of the user - is not engaged, id doesn't matter what features the tool has.
ReplyDeleteThe guy was hurt. Unfortunate. But he didn't unload his weapon and placed it in a precarious position. Treat all weapons as if they are loaded ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE! Do not rely on a safety as they are mechanical devices and any mechanical device can fail. I learned these simple facts in a hunter safety class. I'll bet they are taught in his class, if he attended.
He was dumb and wants to blame someone else. It was his fault that he leaned a weapon against a tire. Stupid move.
It is said that you need to be at least 10% smarter than the machinery that you operate. He should hunt with a blunt object.
And this is why I leave the commentary to those who know:)
DeleteBut being wrong brings more responses from the people who DO know.
DeleteI concur with North, all of the allegation's against Remington are not as they are represented.More firearms injuries are a direct result of owner/shooter neglect than "accidents".
ReplyDeleteThat is what I am learning.
DeleteYeah, kinda hard for a gun to just "go off" without some sort of intervention by a third party, whether it be the owner, excessive heat cooking off the powder in the shells/rounds, etc. But, as someone fairly smart once said, "objects at rest tend to stay at rest". So Remington's shotguns are not going to just arbitrarily decide "what the hell, I'm bored, lets see what this guy who left me loaded and leaning against a round object does when I take it upon myself to slide off, aiming at his posterior, and plant a load of buckshot in his keester". I mean, I've heard shotguns discussing going out for a curry after a day of skeets, but never really anything vindictive like this.
ReplyDeleteThe Four Rules are there for a reason. If you don't follow them, you've got nobody to blame except your own dam self. Trying for a frivolous lawsuit just makes you look even more like an idiot (as demonstrated by the fact that the lamestream media is on your side).
And that's my $0.0002 (adjusted for inflation, global warming, and the GNP of Bolivia).
Ha! Good insight!!!
DeleteI mirror everyone above's statements. I have found reputable manufacturers to step up and issue recalls if needed to address any shortcomings found "out in the field" after a model hits the streets.
ReplyDeleteThe 870 has been out there a long time. There is one here and I trust it to function properly! The four rules are there for a reason as noted above.
Thanks for weighing in Keads!
DeleteA shotgun that hasn't been made since the '60s discharged when dropped on its butt and this is news?
ReplyDeleteProtip: Don't drop your loaded shotgun so it lands on its butt. Also, don't lick the blade of a running chainsaw. Is gun. Is not safe.
Excellent advice. Good to know:)
DeleteWell....cwap. With I'd've knowd thath thainthaw thing this moahnin....
DeleteWith over 10 million 870s out there, if there was truly a problem with the design, the rate of injuries related to mechanical malfunction would be astronomical. It is not. I have one in the safe right now and trust it completely to function as it was designed. Would I load it up with a slug, put on the safety and play tiddly winks with it? No.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever play tiddlywinks??
DeleteThis entire story stinks to high heven. Another story was done on a Remington 700 in the same way. A Remington 870 has to be the most popular shotgun ever. If the shotgun would go off with the safety on when bounced law enforcement and our military wouldn't use the weapon. Countless hunters, self defense, and security personnel also use a Remington 870. There is something else going on here that has nothing to do with the weapon.
ReplyDeleteCrapy reporting. If it was a true problem they would have a gun on camera showing the malfunction described. Funny that they don't...
Just an observation.
Good point.
DeleteI didn't watch the whole story, I just saw that the OK State forensics report for the first incident mentioned that that particular shotgun was Remington Model 11-48, which was discontinued in 1968.
DeleteThey weren't notably drop safe (nor were many guns beck then) which is why to this day hunter safety courses caution against climbing over fences or up to tree stands with a loaded gun.
This would be like a guy wrecking his '68 Chevy and complaining that the airbags didn't deploy.
this whole episode reeks of the Toyota "unintended acceleration" scandal a couple of years ago. the .gov tried to do a shakedown of toyota based on a few anecdotal stories of cars that "would just run away with the driver". they tried to get millions out of the company but failed parlously when Toyota proved that their accelerator design was completely safe and the problem, if it existed at all, was some bonehead stepping on the wrong pedal.
ReplyDeletenow, substitute Remington for Toyota and "it just went off" for "it just took off", and you have your "controversy. it didn't work last time and i'm not sure how it is they think it will work this time, but like Einstein said, "One definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, getting one result, but expecting another result."
also, if memory serves, it was NBC who faked up those Chevy trucks witht he side mounted gas tanks exploding in a roll over accident. they even had film footage of a truck in a controlled roll over bursting into flames. trouble was, if one looked closely at the footage one could see the model rocket motors they had affixed to the gas tank to MAKE it ignite, whether it was designed to or not. much face was lost, but it looks like they're at it again.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know they did that. We live in a strange country when no one even cares that you lie.
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ReplyDeleteThe saying goes, you can't fix stupid. I've seen a pic from the 6th Sense, modified to go something like this:
ReplyDeleteI See Dumb People. They're everywhere... they walk around like everybody else... they don't even know they're dumb...
And apparently some of them own firearms.
I'm not for gun control legislation, but I like to think gun owners have a way of policing themselves to know if they have the acumen and intelligence to operate a device that is as easy to operate as a bottle opener. Problem is, this device can bite ya in the ass if you're not careful.
As mentioned, those rules of gun safety are there for a reason. The guy who claimed to exercise safety may have, but he also exercised monumental stupidity in resting a LOADED shotgun against a ROUND object like a tire.
Hey Einstein, try unloading it first, leaving it open, and laying it in the pickup bead facing AWAY from anything. Takes a few seconds, but it hurts a LOT less than buckshot to the butt and leg.
You can't fix stupid, but stupidity has its own way of cleansing the gene pool.