Life is usually about odds. The more you do something, the greater the odds. The less you do something, the lower the odds. It’s basic math. Swim in the ocean, might bump into a shark. Swim in the creek, probably not.
But…it’s never zero in the creek. Don’t believe me? Google sharks and shark attacks in American rivers. Trust me, it’s more common than you would’ve ever thought possible.
The more you shoot (and swim), the more likely you are to see “things”. For example, where I used to work it was common to witness 30-45,000 rounds of handgun ammunition fired in a 3-4 day training cycle. Yes, really. That is NOT an exaggeration. New ammo. Old ammo. Target ammo. Duty ammo. US Government ammo. Police ammo. You name it, we saw it.
But you know what? Seeing a dead primer, with a good strike, in a good gun, on factory ammo…it happens. How often? Often enough to prove out the need to stay sharp on those malfunction clearance drills. But not often enough to have it happen during a demonstration of those drills.
Fast forward to today. I shoot just as much, but I am around other shooters much less. Not quite as big of an ocean as I used to swim. But I am certain there are unseen sharks in the water. Watching…lurking…just waiting to…
Click!
Totally dead round on some good factory ammo. After I finished the drill, found the round on the ground, checked it out, took these pictures, then single loaded it again and…boom! Down range it went.
Not every encounter with a shark results in a bite. Sometimes it’s just a bump…to…you know…see what’s up.
Remember what I said above, this is a numbers game. Shoot enough, see enough. It’s not bad ammo. It’s not a bad gun. There isn’t anyone or anything at fault. All kinds of creatures in the sea to bump into. But come tomorrow, just to be safe, we’ll do a detail strip of my CCW gun to…you know…make sure I haven’t picked up a creek-water-shark somewhere.
Sincerely,
Marky
www.John1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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