The old adage, “familiarity breeds contempt,” comes to mind when watching this video we found of a man who pops off a negligent discharge inside a gun store and range. The ND clearly catches the other customers and staff by complete surprise, each of them flinching, crouching and covering their ears.

The Gun Store Negligent Discharge

The round appears to harmlessly impact the ground at the gun handler’s feet. Obviously, this could have been much, much worse. Though we didn’t receive any information about this incident, let’s examine the anatomy of this ND.

Upon first reading “familiarity breeds contempt,” one might scoff at the notion of contempt. For many, that statement reads like a job. A man goes to work everyday for 10-15 years, and he becomes to loathe everything about it. He develops contempt for that everyday toll he must pay.

Surely this man doesn’t have contempt for shooting, right? Why would he come here during his free time and pay money to shoot if he hated it? OK, keep your eyes on the man in yellow. We’re guessing he is a shooter. He’s handling his gun confidently, he has the look and feel of a guy who has shot before. Maybe even a lot. And that’s where the contempt comes in.

The Anatomy of an ND

The contempt is for the tried and true safety briefings he’s likely heard a million times. He possibly feels contempt, even if only subconsciously, for the required cold ranges. Maybe he gets ticked off every time the range won’t let him come hot out of the holster. And once that type of defiance builds up inside us, it’s tough to really embrace the safety procedure exactly how we should.

Or maybe he simply got distracted. But in a way, that’s saying the same thing isn’t it? The man allowed something to distract him: the guy behind the counter, the young lady he’s talking with, the number of people and noise in the store. Something pulled his attention away from what he was doing.

Then he racked that slide on that pistol and let it come home on a loaded chamber. The footage isn’t definitive enough to say his trigger is on the finger, but we all suspect it was. But even if by some chance it wasn’t, why are you manipulating the gun, at the counter, between all those people in the first place?

There’s a lot of wrong going on in this video. It doesn’t make him a bad guy, or a bad shooter, or anything else. It simply illustrates a preventable mistake. But it is a clear mistake, one that could have resulted in terrible consequences. Hopefully, it becomes a clear reminder for all. Safety is absolute, and it is paramount. And it’s the responsibility of us all.