They amputated the wrong finger ...

They should have amputated the trigger finger, because THAT is the finger that pulled the trigger.

Judge dismisses personal injury case against Smith & Wesson:

 A Tennessee couple, Randy and Vicki McNeal, sued the Massachusetts’ gun maker for more than $75,000 in January. According to their complaint, Randy McNeal was shot in the finger as he attempted to make the gun safe inside a gun store in Murfreesboro, a town just outside of Nashville. They claimed a loose screw on the built-in laser sight of their Bodyguard .380 pistol prevented the slide from locking in position. 

 The couple’s lawsuit says McNeal dropped the gun as he tried to lock the slide back, which he was having trouble because the screw obstructed the locking mechanism, and the gun discharged when he tried to catch it. Afterward, he needed the small finger on his left hand amputated.

I have just a few comments about this "unsafe firearm injury incident":

(A) ... He was handling a gun in gun store, and he obviously didn't understand the controls.
(B) ... Who allows anyone to load a gun in a gun store?   NOBODY!
(C) ... Sounds as if it was his own gun, which he brought into the store.   Why?  Had he tried to disassemble it at home, and put it back together wrong? Inquiring people want to know.
(D) ... A "Loose Screw"?  Ignoring the personal obvious slam, why did he need to lock the slide?
(E) ... If it was, in fact, his own pistol, he should have been aware of the problem; that's the crux of the question (and a question which was never addressed in the article).
(F) ... I'm looking at the Bodyguard 380 on the S&W website, and I don't see any screw.  Do you?          (Note: a view of the pistol is included at the bottom of this article)
(G) ... the complainant is a jerk, an idiot and incompetent.  He's one of those people who should never touch a gun because ... well, mere incompetence is sufficient reason.  What do you want to bet that he has never sought a class in "Basic Firearms Safety"?
(H) ... basic firearms safety: (1) don't bring a loaded gun into a gun store, and (2) don't try to catch a dropped gun.

Need we mention that this is a DAO ("Double Action Only") design, and you have to squeeze the trigger REALLY HARD to make it fire?   We're not talking "hair-trigger" here; merely "Hare-Brained Owner".

This "DICKWAD" (I'm not sure what this word means, but it seem appropriate under the circumstances ... where was I?  Oh, yes) ... this DICKWAD not only proved his own incompetence to possess a firearm, but compounded his own error by suing the manufacturer.  I ask you, does this sound like someone who has a legitimate grievance?  Or is it that pathetic attempt by an IDIOT to not only excuse his own incompetence,  but to compound the error he attempts to sue the manufacturer for building an "unsafe" weapon.

He violated the three rules of gun safety: according to the NRA;
He violated the four rules of gun safety: according to Concealed Carry;
He violated the five rules of gun safety: according to Generation Wild:
He violated the six rules of gun safety: according to Facebook!

(I do not like a lot of those rules, because they often make your firearm unavailable for personal defense.)

Lots of people have various versions of Gun Safety Rules, but one thing is clear:
He screwed up!

Himself.  It wasn't the gun, it was the man with the gun in his hand (or in this case, the man who dropped the gun.  Which presupposes another rule of gun safety ... Do Not Drop The Gun and perhaps also Do Not Attempt To Catch A Dropped Gun!

What is that ... seven rules of gun safety?   Eight?  Never mind; he didn't do ANYTHING that a responsible gun owner should do!   But he blamed the gun.


PERSONAL NOTE TO Randy and Vicki McNeal ... get rid of your guns.  Buy a guard dog.  Let him pee on the carpet.  It will be cheaper, and less embarrassing.  Also, less likely to hurt innocent gun dealers who foolishly allowed you to handle a loaded pistol in their shop.  (Apparently, there is no end to the proliferation of idiocy in America!)

S&W Bodyguard .380

BY THE WAY .... I'm looking at a LOT of controls on this pistol.

The button behind the trigger is obviously the magazine release.

Among the controls just under the slide, I'm guessing that the most forward is the slide lock; the second (middle) is the safety, and the rear-most is the de-cocker.   I have to admit that the plethora of thumb-activated controls can be confusing for a new shooter.   But with a lot of practice, the manipulation of controls should become second-nature for someone who has used the gun enough to become so familiar with them so that they are activated appropriately without conscious thought.

THE TRIGGER IS OBVIOUS, and one which our Dear Friend, Randy, has not yet quite become familiar with.