“Gun Didn’t Kill My Boy..I did"

[Sancho]

46. Do you mean would accidents ever happen?

Maybe.

Chances are that better training, better safety systems, and fewer distractions would make a difference.

All we have is the article's description of the incident. In my experience, for many years we taught children and teenagers gun safety at shooting ranges. Typically with those shooters, we used single-shot, short 22s. Nothing more distracting than kids. For that reason, you supervise kids - then do your own shooting separately. Don't mix the two. My license requires children to be supervised, not co-shooters.

If you are practicing with a semi-auto (particularly pistols), you are taught to expect cartridge ejections. That's likely a training issue. We don't know the details, but chances are very great that the shooter(s) were under-trained and over-armed. I'm sure I would never "reach" with a gun in hand, but I'd have put it down on the bench pointing out before adjusting my glasses or anything else. Training should be part of a license.

Insurance companies might have had something to say about the construction of the range. I don't live all that far from that range, and you can see all sorts of dangerous range practices here. A better one may have had one shooter per station for exactly those accident reasons. Insurance should be part of a license.

Without more details, it's hard to say.

My license is to prevent dangerous people (and situations) from easy or casual possession of guns. The higher the bar, the fewer number of deaths and shootings. Nothing is foolproof, but right now it's crazy out there.