58 posts later in this thread I read the following comment/brief story about a loaded Civil War rifle. It was an interesting and excellent reminder to me about gun safety whenever handling a firearm. The ML forum member gave me his okay to copy his post and share it here. Always good to have such safety reminders.
Be safe!
PT7
There's a rifle on display at the civil war museum in Harrisburg PA. It supposedly was the last gun loaded during the civil war to take a life. The story went that a farmer picked up the loaded musket after the battle if Gettysburg and hid it in his barn. Fast forward a hundred years, two kids playing in the barn at the family farm found the gun behind a pile of scrap lumber. A young boy playing army, pointed the gun at his younger sister, pulled the trigger and killed her instantly. A terrible accident committed more then 100 years after the gun was loaded by a soldier who probably didn't survive the battle where he dropped it. I treat every gun as if it was loaded. My son and I attended a gun safety class together because he wanted to go hunting. The very first thing the instructor asked was "Does anyone know what type of gun is responsible for more accidental shootings and deaths then any others?" Eager raised hands offered types of old guns with poor or no safety devices and general descriptions like "pistols" or "military guns" and to each the instructor shook his head no. When he was sure he had everyone's interest peaked he said " the number one firearm responsible for more accidental shootings and deaths is an empty gun!" He waited for it to sink in then said ........"I don't understand what happened, I thought the gun wasn't loaded!"
