That story is a good example of the pandemic ignorance even a lot of gun owners have about the way firearms function and the trouble they can get into as a result. The gun in this case was undoubtedly a revolver with some chambers empty and at least one loaded. Every time you pull the trigger, it rotates the cylinder and the hammer falls on a new chamber. Keep pulling the trigger until a loaded chamber comes up and things can get loud. And sometimes nasty.

But I guess that can work a couple of ways. Ignorance of the way firearms function once saved President Gerald Ford's life. "Squeaky" Fromm, a disciple of Charles Manson's, was sent to assassinate Ford on a visit he made to California. She was given a Colt .45 automatic, loaded with five rounds in the magazine. She was told that all she had to do is walk up to Ford, point the gun at him, and pull the trigger. The Secret Service apparently didn't pay any attention to the scruffy little hippie, and she got to within a few feet of Ford. She apparently knew enough to cock the hammer, which she did, pointed the gun at Ford, and pulled the trigger. The hammer fell with a click. She was crying, "It didn't fire! It didn't fire!" as the Secret Service belatedly disarmed her and wrestled her to the ground.

But what happened, of course, was that whoever loaded the gun slipped the loaded magazine into the grip as usual, and apparently assumed it was ready to fire. Either that, or he assumed that "Squeaky" knew something about handguns, which she didn't. After inserting the magazine, you have to pull the slide back and release it. As the mainspring snaps the slide forward, it strips a cartridge off the top of the magazine and chambers it. So, although there were bullets in it, the gun that "Squeaky" was using was functionally not loaded.

Don Firth