Circa 1989: My best friend and I joined a club together. He at that time had a girlfriend who tagged along on most fishing trips and ended up wanting to go deer hunting that year. For some reason my buddy felt she needed to carry a gun despite the fact she wasn't leaving his side. So he borrowed a Winchester lever 30-30 from a friend, which was of questionable working order. Turned out we took my car, A luxurious Chevy citation. Well before daylight We drive down and I had him drop me off and I walked in to a cutover and setup. He was to take my car down about 2 miles further where he and his girlfriend were going to hunt. We had an agreed time of 11:00am that they would come pick me back up.

Well, 11:00am came and I heard nothing of him driving up but figured I’d walk out to a main road and wait. When I get there I see my car parked and my buddy standing alone to the side. He walks up to me with tears in his eyes and states, “there’s been an accident”. I think, ok….. I’m looking around and I don’t see the girl girlfriend anywhere. Not in the car, not standing anywhere…… oh crap. So I ask the inevitable, “What kind of accident?” He says “the 30-30 went off” My stomach now sinks….. so I ask….”and……??” He says, “I shot your car”. Me: “Ok…… where’s the girl?” She’s in the back seat laying down crying”. Me: “crying about what?” Him:” She thinks there’s going to be a fight because I shot your car”. Me: “is the car drivable?” Him: “ absolutely, the bullet went through the bottom of the passenger door panel”. Me: “Well let’s get home then”. I see the car door, which the 30-30 bullet penetrated through and through. I then start to laugh out loud as I now know we don’t have to make accidental death calls, and the reality of these two having the crap scared out of them with the gun going off in the predawn darkness, and the fears that I was going to be fighting and over this. I honestly was so glad we could drive it home and not have to walk out for help that I just laughed and smiled. I knew I would get years and years out of this story. That car had the hole in the door the day I sold it. The buyer loved the story as well.

Rest of the story: the lever him had jammed when he tried to chamber a round. He walked back the car to use the dome light. The action wasn’t closing as it should. But when it finally did…. well, you know.