I have thought long and hard about posting this, and I am prepared for the onslaught that is likely to ensue. This is something that I just do not see very much info on when searching it out. Fact is, I lost a digit on my left hand over the weekend and I feel obligated to say something about it.
Without giving you a full history, I will tell you that I shoot almost every single day, I shoot suppressed 90% of the time, I reload most of what I shoot, and am fortuntate to be able to shoot in my back yard. Most of my shooting experience is with bolt guns, not semi autos like an AR.
Bought a pistol AR in 5.56 and switched it out with a 300BLK upper. Had an issue with concentricty using an adapter for the can, but figured it out before any real damage done. Bought another pistol AR in 5.56 and shot it unsuppressed for a bit with no problems. 7 inch barrel with a plain old bird cage flash hider.
Another friend of mine bought the exact same rig and brought it over to shoot it in and get it on target. He was having some issues getting it consistent even at short range, so he had me take a shot at it to see if it was operator error or equipment issue. Found the quick release mount he was using with the red dot sight was a bit loose, and I loaded the mag with three rounds of his factory made 223 ammo. Using an Uncle Buds Bull bag and a 10 round mag, I tag a shot that was right were it should've been. Was gonna put two more down range for confirmation, and do recall repositioning a little bit, with my hand on the left side of the bag and the weapon on the right. Pulled the trigger again, and felt the impact to my hand instantly. My first thought was that the barrel had ruptured. Gun looked fine. Took a look at hand knowing it was not gonna be good, and it wasn't. Middle finger tip practically gone and charred, pointer finger gashed pretty good and charred but not as bad. As reality set in, my calmness surprised my two friends, my wife, and even me. To make a long story not quite as long, the doc ended up taking the first digit of my middle finger not quite to the joint. Not good, but not nearly as bad as I thought it might be. Pointer finger sewed up and should be just fine, barring any infection.
I shot this length of weapon many times from the bench using this setup, and at least another 30 rounds free handed not using a rest. Somehow, my hand made its way even to the end of the barrel and lit my ass up causing the loss of a body part. It is certainly an embarrasment, and is nothing less than negligence on my part. I own that. But still, a big question I have is why it happened on that shot and not 49 shots earlier. I have no explanation. I have reenacted the shot several times at my shooting position, and my hand does indeed line up perfectly with the the end of the barrel. Having spent most of my time shooting this length of barrel with a supressor, it does make some sense that I would have set up this way creating this eventual injury.
I have spent many hours this week looking for some other instances of this type of thing occuring. I have only found a couple of forum messages talking about this, and of course it boils down to just being a dumbass, and accept that. But the fact is this type of accident is happening more than what is being posted up. My doc confirms this as well, but there is little data on the interweb that I can find to this point. With the popularity growing for this style of weapon it seems, I think is something that could be discussed more so that what happened to me, might be prevented from happening to someone else. It sucks. It happened. It didn't have to happen. I hope it never happens to anyone else. Fire away.
Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
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Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
I have heard of folks getting similar injuries from the cylinder gap on the X Frame Smiths and BFR revolvers. We can all get complacent. I’m glad the damage wasn’t more severe.
Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
It's a concern of mine. I shoot a SBR PCC competitively and I've trained so as not let it happen, but still, once the clock starts who knows what will happen? I try to always grab the end of the handguard and go no further. But stuff happens. I add length to my barrel to help dodge the issue.
I've had people handle my firearm and some have stated that they'd shoot a finger off.
Sorry you lost the end of your finger, hope all goes well with the healing.
I've had people handle my firearm and some have stated that they'd shoot a finger off.
Sorry you lost the end of your finger, hope all goes well with the healing.
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Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
Like you said, you're used to shooting bolt guns and SBRs with a can so that is where your muscle memory puts your front hand. Its an unfortunate accident that can happen with a shorter platform. I'm sorry you lost your finger, and I'm glad it wasn't worse too. Thanks for sharing as a reminder to all of us that this risk exists. I hope your hand heals well.
Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
Thanks for having the courage to share your story. We all benefit from an occasional reminder to be careful and it takes guts to post like you did.
Kudos to you, my friend!
Kudos to you, my friend!
Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
I wouldn't necessarily call you a dumbass, careless at that moment maybe, but that's it. I don't know if shooting gloves would have prevented that or not due to the apparent damage but it may have made it less severe. When shooting my 44, I have felt the sting a couple times which has reinforced my holding technique and the fact that I need to check before firing.
Hickok45 demonstrates this with a revolver.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFBAcz16GvU
Hickok45 demonstrates this with a revolver.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFBAcz16GvU
"Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it."
~Pericles~
~Pericles~
Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
I think dumbass pretty well sums it up
You're in good company tho, or at least a crowded room of like minded people.
Shooting a 229, i think, weak weak handed and not changing thumb order, so left handed with a right thumb position, allows a thumb to ride up for the slide to travel on or should I say mostly through. All the way through the skin and into the bone.
Lots of ways to leave a mark that don't include the bullet.
Thanks for the reminder. This is a huge potential for those that tuck the suppressor inside the hand guard.
Glad you're OK.
You're in good company tho, or at least a crowded room of like minded people.
Shooting a 229, i think, weak weak handed and not changing thumb order, so left handed with a right thumb position, allows a thumb to ride up for the slide to travel on or should I say mostly through. All the way through the skin and into the bone.
Lots of ways to leave a mark that don't include the bullet.
Thanks for the reminder. This is a huge potential for those that tuck the suppressor inside the hand guard.
Glad you're OK.
300 Blackout, not just for sub-sonics.
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Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
The thing I don't get is why anyone would want to shoot an unsuppressed 7" .223. That's unpleasant even before you blow a finger off.
Glad it's not worse. Perhaps a hand stop would help in the future?
Glad it's not worse. Perhaps a hand stop would help in the future?
Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
So, we recreated the scene using the actual weapon, the bull bag, and the same target position. I had the weapon on the right side of the bag and my hand on the left side. The target used at the time of injury was slightly downhill which lowered the end of the barrell with my left hand in the exact same place as the previous shots. This downhill target put two ports of the birdcage in line with the index and middle fingers, about 3- 4 inches away. As stated, I had already shot several with the same length weapon, but I was shooting at 50 yards which was not a downhill target, which meant I had not felt any indications in these previous shots since the ports were directing over the top my hand.
It won't happen to me again, that is for sure. Hopefully, this will help someone not make the same mistake. Thanks for the replies and well wishes.
It won't happen to me again, that is for sure. Hopefully, this will help someone not make the same mistake. Thanks for the replies and well wishes.
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Re: Costly mistake with an AR Pistol Rig
I like the re-enactment of the scene. All you need to do now is put a couple hot dogs where your fingers were and let it rip. For science.
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