I always had a "safe spot" at low and 45 that I used for dry firing practice at home. That POA happened to line up with an ugly corner lamp on the bedroom nightstand.
One day about 2 years ago I was dry firing when the phone rang. I hurriedly slapped the loaded mag back in and racked a round into the chamber getting it ready to put away again.
I ran and picked up the phone, talked a while, then came back to the bed. I decided to practice a little more and picked up the XD-45. I dropped the mag, leveled at the "safe spot" and BOOM. The 230 gr HP obliterated the crystal lamp shade and pierced the wall low and behind.
The world stopped. My ears were ringing, the smell of smoke was filling the room. All was dead silent. I felt shocked, embarrassed and worried almost simultaneously. I surveyed the damage. The lamp was dead, glass everywhere; carpet, bed, nighstand. How could I have done something so stupid? What would I tell my wife? Would she ever trust me again?
After the first second or two, I shook myself, looked at the hole in the wall and went outside to see if the bullet had passed through. Luckily my "safe zone" was low and 45 in the corner, and the .45 ACP round was stopped by the extra 2 X 4 framing there. It didn't penetrate to the ouside. Thank goodness!
I was raised with guns and gun safety from a very young age. I am an IDPA member and was shooting regularly at the time. But still, a momentary lack of focus was enough to precipitate what could've produced disastrous results.
Luckily my wife and kids were away at the time and I was home alone. I cleaned up the mess, gave the lamp a decent burial, and reflected.
There were some tense moments for me when I told my wife. To my surprise she was understanding, forgiving, and promised that she still trusted me with safe handling of my weapons. She did seem a little miffed at losing one of a matching set of lamps.
Until that time, I would've said it would never happen to me. On the upside; this experience was very sobering and has made me more careful and safe than ever before.
Another good thing came out of it all; I hated that lamp. 8)
