What is the dumbest thing you ever did to damage a brand new gun?

[meigsbucks]

I had just purchased a Browning shotgun. When I got home I assembled it and leaned it against the wall while I opened the safe. It slid down the wall and the forearm landed on a floor vent putting several parallel dents in the forearm.
Not me, but a gun shop clerk did something interesting to a Ruger rifle I was purchasing. He brought out the box for me to examine. When he closed it up and lifted the box off the counter, the box opened up and the rifle began to fall out. As he scrambled to try to catch it, he fell on it breaking the stock at the grip.

 

[clockwork_7mm_gator]

This thread makes me feel better that other folks do dumb stuff to new guns... but worse because y'all are dinging and scratching way nicer rifles!

 

[clockwork_7mm_gator]

I had just purchased a Browning shotgun. When I got home I assembled it and leaned it against the wall while I opened the safe. It slid down the wall and the forearm landed on a floor vent putting several parallel dents in the forearm.
Not me, but a gun shop clerk did something interesting to a Ruger rifle I was purchasing. He brought out the box for me to examine. When he closed it up and lifted the box off the counter, the box opened up and the rifle began to fall out. As he scrambled to try to catch it, he fell on it breaking the stock at the grip.

Ouch.

 

[jdemocko]

Walked smack dab into a barbed wire fence in the dark.

 

[pjaln]

about 30 years ago I bought a Westley Richards 318 from Champlin arms it was owned by Craig boddington and pictured in his book , after I looked the gun over I decided I wanted one in better original condition so I called George caswell and told him tho its a decent example but I wanted a better condition rifle ,ok ship that back I will find you one no problem give me some time . I get off the phone with him and I had the gun near a table that I was doing some work with muriatic acid ,well I spilt the acid on the gun and it immediately removed the bluing as a tried wiping it off as fast as I could and took some of the wood finish with it , I called George right back and told him to cash the check and the next move was to send the gun to Turnbull for a rebluing recut of the light engraving and when the gun came back I stripped and restored the stock ,then sold it for a loss !!! at that point I didn't want to look at it anymore.

 

[TroyF]

My dad got me a very nice sako 222 one year, I shot a small buck with it. I rolled the deer over and got blood on my thumb, when I took the rifle off my shoulder I grabbed the barrel and got a thumb print on the barrel. I Immediately wiped it off with my Sleeve, to my shock the bluing was gone.

 

[Jamie D Van Roekel]

Some friends had left their stuff in my pickup as we were going coyote hunting very early in the morning. I took the rifles in overnight, I had a narrow garage at the time. Loading up in the dark in the morning I laid the rifles over the tailgate in cases so I could back out and open my door all the way to load them. I was shooting a much loved Rem. Model 7 with a new Leu. 4.5x14 scope. I When we got to our destination no model 7. I thought I must have left it in the house. I used a extra rifle someone had taken.

When I got home there it laid in the garage with a tire track running the length of the gun on the case. I realized that it was shorter and stock heavy so had flipped out over the tailgate. I opened it and other than a couple scratches it looked good.

A few days later I got a chance to shoot it. I went to load it and the bolt handle wasn’t in the right place? Looked and it was bent down closer to the stock. Crap! Loaded it and shot. It was a foot to the side. Thought I bent the barrel sick feeling in the stomach. Thought I would try to adjust the scope to see if I could still shoot it with the bent barrel. Adjusted the scope then it didn’t hit the target. So I hid it from the wife and didn’t look at it till summer.

Took it out and really looked it over close. The barrel looked good but there was one little scratch on the side of the scope. Put a different scope on and a nice clover leaf group. Hid the scope from the wife. Couple months later got up the nerve to tell the wife. Turned the scope and gun, because of the bolt and some scratches, into insurance. The amount for the gun covered the deductible, so got a new scope.

Hindsight 20/20 Leopold would have probably given me a new scope. To this day I laugh when I shoot it. There is more clearance between the bolt handle and the scope.

 

[Safari Dave]

I bought a beautiful Weatherby Deluxe when I was a senior in high school. I didn't want it scratched up, so I decided to keep in stored in the original box until I could save up for the perfect matching scope to put on it.

Late one night I came into my room and accidently knocked the box over into the sharp base of an office chair. I opened the box to find a DEEP ugly gouge in that beautiful walnut! I nearly cried.


I bought a slightly lesser quality scope just to go ahead and start hunting with it, because my gorgeous work of art had been blemished.


It turned out that that gouge was the best thing that could have happened to that rifle!



I've taken it halfway around the world and all over the US. It has slain 10 times the big game animals that it would have if it had been destined for life as a "safe queen".


As a matter of fact, that rifle convinced me not to have "safe queens" and it really has been liberating.

 

[Sabattiboy]

My story may not have damaged my rifle but it took ten years off of my life.
I purchased a new Savage 110 BA in 300 WM and with optic was a shy of $3k.
I loaded ammo with a Lee collet neck sizer and didn't realize how little neck tension was holding the bullets. The range shutdown period started and I had a chambered round so opened the bolt to remove the shell. To my chagrin I found powder spilled in the action and the bullet stuck in the leade.
Dislodging the bullet and removing the spilt powder I proceeded to complete the group when the range went hot again. I fired the 1st round and found a tighter bolt opening and an extracted case with a large dent at the shoulder. OMG! I thought the chamber was dented and bbl ruined. A worker with a flashlight looked up in the chamber and couldn't see anything unusual so still shook up chambered another round and nothing was a miss.
I believe there was some spilt powder still in the chamber when I fired the round that was dented.
At the point I thought I ruined the barrel a scratched or dinged stock would have been a most welcome sight.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I made an sling for my new bespoke 404. Somehow managed to attach it poorly. Sling detached, rifle fell and broke the stock in half at the wrist. About a month before I was supposed to depart for the Caprivi after hippo, buffalo, and elephant.

 

[Brent in Az]

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to heat up stubborn stickers.

Dropped a pistol on the tile floor and busted off a chunk of the rear sight. It wasn't loaded.

 

[pjaln]

I made an sling for my new bespoke 404. Somehow managed to attach it poorly. Sling detached, rifle fell and broke the stock in half at the wrist. About a month before I was supposed to depart for the Caprivi after hippo, buffalo, and elephant.

on the bright side it didn't happen with an angry hippo charging !!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I really blame Savage for this (and they will get a call tomorrow), but I just put a half dozen scratches into a brand new walnut stock. They placed a giant Savage sticker on the butt and the damn thing might as well have been glued on - could not get it off easily with my fingernails. By the time I finally picked it off, to my horror the butt is all scratched up from my fingernail. Could not believe it. So pissed

Cheer me up with some stories

@curtism1234
Maybe you should have cut your fingernails first.
At least I know now how not to take the stickers off

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Although not a brand new rifle from the dealer I inherited a pristine Brno ZKK 30-06 from a close friend that had passed away , so a new rifle for me . I took it to the range to sight it in a literally blew it up , I also ended up in hospital and had to have an emergency operation on my right eye . On investigation I had somehow ( negligently ) used the wrong powder whilst reloading . Even though I had about 30 years of reloading experience a lapse in concentration on my part caused me to ruin a beautiful rifle that had huge sentimental value to me , luckily I was able to get it fixed .

@Paul Raley
Glad to hear you came out of it ok.
Must have been a hell of an overload to dismantle a ZKK that badly

 

[Paul Raley]

@Paul Raley
Glad to hear you came out of it ok.
Must have been a hell of an overload to dismantle a ZKK that badly

I should not admit to such stupidity but the powder I negligently used was handgun powder and I almost tripled the Chamber pressure. The powders were stored next to each other , the correct powder I normally use is Somchem's S365 and the powder I used was S265 , a lapse in concentration and I almost blinded myself . I am sure the quality and strength of the Brno ZKK action stopped me from being injured a lot worse than I was , many other actions would not have handled the pressure I am sure . The stock was cracked from front to rear , the magazine blew out bending the steel magazine plate , the extractor was bent and the action was jammed closed . An expensive and valuable lesson learnt !

 

[Newboomer]

I always double check the label on the can of powder when I take it out of the drawer. I'm afraid of just what happened to you. I had a progressive press overcharge some rounds and ruined a rifle. Luckily it just locked the bolt up andI wasn't hurt. Sure screwed up the receiver, though.

 

[Paul Raley]

"Accidents" can happen very easily and very quickly but I am honest enough to realise and say that mine was negligence . The lesson learnt is never be complacent , double check all aspects when reloading and wear eye protection at all times when shooting .
Damaging a nice firearm is gut wrenching , but permanently injuring ones self or another person will be worse .

 

[Tanks]

My brand new Heym 88B in 9.3x74 got beat to hell on the stock by the trackers pushing the rack on to the stock. Even though it was in a soft case. By the time I noticed the stock had divots in it and scratches.

I sent it to JJ to see if he can fix it.

 

[Sabattiboy]

Contrary to proper practices, I failed to put away the first powder I used then used a 2nd powder and dumped the unused container in with the first powder. I tried to separate/sort them out but gave up and lost about 3lbs of powder.
Years later I was working loads on a 7mm Rem Mag and had a hard to open bolt. Turns out I had followed the wrong powder line and used the wrong start and Max amounts. I pulled bullets and weighed the charge then compared the load data is how I figured out what happened.
With 30 plus years of reloading mistakes will get made. The key is catching them in time.
If one finds themselves making mistakes regularly they need to reconsider whether they should be reloading.

 

[Tanks]

My brand new Heym 88B in 9.3x74 got beat to hell on the stock by the trackers pushing the rack on to the stock. Even though it was in a soft case. By the time I noticed the stock had divots in it and scratches.

I sent it to JJ to see if he can fix it.

Just talked to JJ. It will be a refinish job costing $7-800 due to the amount of damage. Lesson learned, only Blaser R8s go onto the rack from now on.