A.D.

Not referring to the year of our Lord, though I did come mighty close to meeting Him as a result of one many years ago. 

Accidental Discharge. 

I almost had another one tonight.  I was out back doing sprints up the hill.  At the top, I turn, run back down, draw my XDM and engage a couple of targets.  It's a good way to get your adrenaline a'pumpin'.  Anyway, I'm getting old, so I was pretty tired after doing that several times.  I dragged back up to the house and started pulling off guns and cell phones and sweaty shirts. 

I dropped the magazine out of my Springfield and refilled it from the box on my shelf.  Before I shoved it back in the holster, I started to drop the hammer on an empty chamber to take the tension off the spring.  It's not necessary, just something I do.  Now I had the gun pointed in a "safe" direction -- the floor of my office.  Most of my house is on a very tall crawl space, but the office is a subdivision of the garage and shares the slab, albeit several inches higher. 

Suddenly I got one of those weird crawly feelings and froze.  Looking closer, I saw that the loaded chamber indicator was jutting up.  There are no words to convey the sick feeling that swept over me as I realized what I had almost done. 

After jacking the round out, I checked it about three more times before I pulled the trigger.  Outside.  With it pointed at the ground.  I know it was silly, but it's probably what I will do from now on.

Likely no one would have been killed or injured -- unless my wife beat me senseless for taking a piece out of the carpet and probably the concrete and most likely knocking a hole in something from the ricochet.  It sure would have been embarrassing -- even without trying to explain how and why my hundred and ten pound wife blacked my eyes.

You can't be too careful.  Never take anything for granted when dealing with a firearm.