File under: Only Professionals may have Guns

[Promontorium]

I qualified on the M240. I've shot it about 5 or 6 times off the range, out at sea.

I know enough about the M240, and Navy Destroyer Weapons Conditions that this story doesn't fully make sense.

1. In port, the M240 would not be topside, unless there was some serious reason (like terrorist threat) in which case it would be manned 24/7.

2. Maintenance of small arms like the M240 is not performed topside (and that includes cleaning) and even if it were, you do not perform maintenance on a weapon that has been checked out with ammunition.

3. It is OBVIOUS when an M240 has more than 1 round locked in.


What probably happened?

I don't know, the number of fuck ups that had to have occured for this to happen is astounding.

The number one reason people unintentionally discharge an M240 is by doing the downloading procedure out of order.

Safety on, pop the top, remove the ammunition, lock the top back down release the slide forward (by pulling the trigger and riding it so it doesn't wear down the firing pin).

Some people screw up and release the slide forward before they remove the ammunition. Even if you ride it forward slowly, it will still fire the ammunition (and if you're riding it forward, and holding the trigger down, and there is ammunition, it will all fire, until you release the trigger.)

By the way, isn't "I was cleaning it, when it just went off" the most bullshit cliche' excuse in the world of mishandling firearms?

If you can't handle a weapon safely, I seriously doubt you care enough to try to clean it.